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I’ll be wearing my cowboy boots with 3” heels. If that counts I’ll be sure to stop in!

Unbalanced

I think the desire to blend in vs stand out may vary depending on individual personalities. Also, I don't think it is black or white, as different people have different tolerances for what they consider to be "blended in". We live in a world with so many different kinds of people that look and dress differently as an expression of one's self. I feel like a "blend" is often a mixture of many different unique expressions. A comfortable social environment, to me, is not necessarily one where everyone is dressed and looks the same, but rather one where everyone is comfortable interacting with each other and between their unique expressions. For example, I chose to wear a blazer into the office, all the time. Some days, I am the only guy in a blazer, as everyone has decided to go casual that day. Am I sticking out, deviant, and not part of the picture? I think that would depend more on my behavior than the mere choice to wear a blazer. If I am still comfortable and "blending in" to the social environment I am in, it's just another productive day in the office. Same with heels, especially in a contemporary western setting. In this open society I doubt most people find it uncomfortable talking or interacting with you just because you are a guy wearing heels, and for the people that to do, perhaps this is an opportunity to discover differently.

Discipline

Tension

In my experience, there is more heel wearing where people are dressed up: Hotel lobbies and business centers during the weekday Nicer restaurants and bars in the evening Upscale retail / shopping malls, to some extent Parties that people dress up for, like weddings, graduation, etc. I guess it helps that I work in an office where heels are appropriate, and I try not to think too much about it afterwards. If I am stopping by the supermarket or hardware store before or after work, I'm still wearing heels and I'm not about to change out of them just to go into a store...

In my experience driving in the UK and New Zealand, I never had issues shifting with the other hand, but I certainly put the wipers on a lot in the attempt to get a turn signal LOL. The current idea is to spent a day each at the following: - Bodiam Castle, Hastings - Tate Britain - Victoria & Albert - British Museum, Globe Theatre - Buckingham Palace, Royal Day Out - Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral - Chatham Historic Dockyards Thanks for the food recommendations - will be incorporating some of those suggestions as well. My wife won't eat Indian food so we don't have to worry about that genre, but I do agree about the general excellence and melting pot of international tastes in London. On the high heel side of things, a clip from my video project that I found worth posting:

This is great insight. Will plan to get the Oyster cards for each of us! Regarding stick shift, I prefer driving stick and am looking forward to it:

Divine

I read it is about a 30 minute train ride to central London? We’ll plan ahead, it’s not like most attractions open before 10 anyway.

Thanks, we got a good deal on lodging in Croydon so that will be our launch pad every day. For trips into the city we will use the train, but for trips away from London the plan is to drive.

I don't have any pieces completely without pockets, but when pocket space is slim I move stuff to the belt. I have a loop/clip for keys, and holsters/belt bags can hold the phone. Or just holding the phone in the hand isn't too bad either. Bags are nice accessories though, and I look for just about any excuse to carry one.

Despite the hot summer weather I managed to make progress on the car. Ended up having to redo a few things here and there, which is to be expected with hobby efforts, but I'm getting pretty good at changing the timing belt and crankshaft sprocket with everything in the car since I've had to do it twice now: With the car sorted out, I can properly think about the London trip now and chew on the excellent recommendations here. Looks like we've dodged the effects of the BA strike, for now. Booked tickets to the Globe Theatre. I have Warwick Castle planned on the day we arrive into LHR since we'll already be on that side of London, but I really like the Bodiam Castle recommendation too. Maybe we'll do both - pick a day to head down towards Hastings and stop at Bodiam Castle, get in the suggested tastes too. I like the Historic Dockyards at Chatham suggestion - might make another day trip out of that as well and explore the maritime history a bit. My wife is insisting that I pack a second pair of shoes for the trip, and I haven't figured out what I'm going to do about that yet. The only thing I have worn for years now are tall boots, which are great for wearing on trips, but take up too much room in luggage. On the high heel side of things, there was a contest at work where we could submit a video expressing our passion for fashion, so I took the opportunity to incorporate some heels into my video, among other things. Some frame captures: I didn't win, but anyone who watched the videos hopefully can see that there are guys out here who are not shy about wearing heels...