Getting rid of some pounds

I spent Monday afternoon hanging out and hitting stores with my buddy Roberto, a great friend and fellow former New Orleanian.

Roberto, who is a black and white art photographer, left NOLA just a few months before Hurricane Katrina, and temporarily relocated to Paris before landing in London with his Irish partner David.

They got married about a year ago via Great Britain's Civil Partnership Act. They live in the Vauxhall neighborhood on the south bank of the Thames River.

Roberto and I spent part of the afternoon roaming some of London's best shopping streets. We stopped first at Thomas Pink, a swank men's clothier in the chick Mayfair district where I bought this sweet tie (below) sporting tiny dragonflies.

Next stop was Fortnum & Mason for chocolates. We finished our spree at Davidoff where I picked up a Cuban cigar for Rex.

We ended the day at Bar Code in Vauxhall for the weekly Monday night Bear Code party. David was DJing the event. You can see his DJ profile at the bottom of this page.

Vauxhall seems to be home to a growing number of bears and bear bars. Roberto says the area reminds him of our old neighborhoods in New Orleans, Faubourg Marigny and the Bywater.