Hanging with the ‘City’ boys

Well let me see, what to say… my roommate is currently sleeping – completely passed out halfdressed on her bed. Her laptop is still on and it appears she just drifted off in the middle of a game of spider solitare. No, she didnt drink too much. I believe she stuck to just a very strong glass of wine and a snakebite (mmm amazing drink).Hang on. Let me turn off the light so she doesnt wake up again. It is, after all, like 2am.

Okay, so then the night in review. Friday night we didnt go out (I know! A friday!) but we were tired and had been up til 4am or 5am almost every night before. So last night a few of us girls went out for fish and chips. We rode the Tube to Hammersmith, but decided to take the scenic route and miss the correct train as many times as possible. Paddington station is quite nice – think those Paddington Bear books – we passed through there 6 times. We finally got to Hammersmith to find that most places close down their food serving at 8pm… and it was 9. Finally found a place called Lloyd’s Bar – awesome place – loved the fish but not the chips (well worth the 3pounds!) and the atmosphere rocked! We had to leave though because one of the girls left her key in her room, and we wanted to get that before her roommates went out for the night and locked her out.

One of my friends from high school is studying here in London too this semester. He is at City Uni – in the North part of the city. He called saying he and friends were looking to hang out. I figured well, there were four of us girls and four of them boys…. Well, they took the bus to Kensington only to find that the pubs such as Queen Ann and Gloucester Arms responded ’sorry mate, but we’re closing at 11.’ I still cant get used to bars and pubs closing at 11pm. That’s so crazy! So we bummed about for a while trying to find an open bar without a cover charge. Regent Street – a shopping area I have become very familar with in my struggle to find boots – was where we ended up. Luckily we had Rich.I’ve known TZ since high school, though we just became friends first year of college through our poker games. Ty is awesome – such a classy guy. Actually, they were all outstanding gents. but TZ is so genuine and caring. He loves to travel and actually has done a lot of it with his family, which means I can always ask him my questions about different places. I love stories about travel. KK is a friend of his from college (back in the states) who is studying with him over here in London. Another of the boys Rich – who the guys thought could pull off the look of Prince Harry- was a little younger. I think he sorta does look like Prince Harry: red hair. freckles, english accent… but a little cuter than Harry if you can imagine that. Rich is a quieter first-year student at City Uni. and isn’t actually from London but from a little rural town in the center of England. He has a semester more worth of knowledge than anyone else in the group so he led the way everywhere.
Hangon. Roomie is doing that weird funny breathing thing one of my old roomies used to do. It isnt snoring – just like she cant take a big enough breath. Ha! The pillow did the trick. I swear it is the perfect cure – just hit them lightly on the head with a pillow and they stop. Much better. To continue…

So eventually with Rich’s guidance we found The Old Explorer – just a sidestreet off of Regent. We made our way through the pub which was not too crowded, thank God, and went downstairs. We found this really cool alcove red room that we all sat in. It seemed small but we had tons of space. Everyone got drinks – I had my usual snakebite but I stuck to one. I tried TZ’s Stella which is a lighter beer – it’s pretty good. We talked about our experiences thus far here in London.

Unfortunately, The Old Explorer, while it didnt close at 11, it did close at midnight. So we left when they finally kicked us out around 1am. We then walked all around trying to find the right bus to take us home. While we walked we spent time talking to each of the different guys. I spent most of my time catching up with TZ – it’d been awhile since we’d talked. And of course I talked to Rich for a while – until he and I turned down one street (he was leading the slightly ineberiated group) and they didn’t follow us and we had to chase them down. I didn’t really talk to KK at all – he was quite fascinated by everything my roomie had to say (wink!) But he seemed really nice.

We talked about where we have been in London and what we wanted to do and see. But the cool thing was, TZ and KK were talking about getting all dressed up in suits and going to the Ritz hotel for wine and dancing. They asked if my roomie and I wanted to come! Anyways, we are planning that one out. All the boys kept inviting us to do things all around with them and experience London. They were both just so respectful and truly interested in studying and being a Londoner and not just a tourist.

They are all really sweet genuine guys. They didn’t need to, but they came all the way to Gloucester Rd anyway to find us to hangout. I can’t remember opening a single door for myself the whole night. Of course, at the time I never really thought about it. It just seemed natural. You can tell they have been raised well. These boys were all dressed nice in nice pants, oxford shirts, clean shaven… They were just such gentlemen. At the end of the night, they wandered the streets with us in search of the right bus home for us – even though they live in the opposite direction. They wanted to take the bus with us back to Kensington and walk us back to our place, but we told they didnt need too. Still! how incredibly sweet is that?!

So here are the distinctions:

We have the College boys- Tall, Chicago, Hippie and Ash. All very nice guys but taken as a package, they can be very immature and loud. It’s fun hanging out with them but carrying on a conversation when they are in a group is almost impossible. They quote movies for laughs and unappropriate comments that show just how immature they really are. For example, friday night I decided to call my mom but had to sit on the stairwell to talk on my mobile because my roomie was in bed. I was sitting on the top step when they got back from the bars/pubs at midnight. Tall yells out as he sees me “She’s pointing at her boobies! She’s pointing at her boobies!” and I go, “Tall! I’m talking to my MOM!” and he goes, “Well, she is!!!” Of course my mom is listening to all this and just dying of laughter. but still. the only sweet one was Ash who walked up last and seemed a little embarrassed about Tall’s behavior and goes, “Say hi to your mom for me.” (you should know for background: Ash went to a high school near mine and his mom and mine know each other well through a women’s service league).

Then we have the ‘City’ boys-TZ, KK, and Rich. One word. Gentleman.
Honestly, it comes to them without thinking about it. Its effortless and sweet. You know they have been acting this way their entire life. You don’t notice you’re being treated like a princess until you just left them and you look back at the night just smiling to yourself and feeling pretty important. They had a genuine care about what you are doing and your goals in life. They felt like our escorts around the beautiful city of London. In a way, it kinda reminds me of how our parents all are when they go out and stuff. It is just the way being polite and caring are ingrained into them.

The ‘English’ boys- Bear, M, and friends. They are gents, but in a different way then the City Boys. They are older, and you can tell this because they have jobs and deadlines to meet. They are responsible, knowing what they can and cannot do that week. But they have this flare about them. When you hang out with them you feel completely comfortable. You never feel like you need to impress them because they are already quite fasinated with everything you say. It is the feeling like they have been your friends forever! You know you are going to laugh until your stomach hurts whenever you see them. It feels like “old times” with them; everything is exciting but very comfortable. Although we just met them, my roommate and I felt completely safe and at home. You know they would stand up and fight for you although they had just met you.

Question for you all!! Which guy or guys do you FANCY the most??? We would like to know. (don’t base on pictures!)

Cheers!