London Wrap-Up

At long last, now that jetlag has subsided and our trip already feels like a dim memory....

I couldn't help starting with one last photo from Italy, taken by English hubby, just because. For two people who hadn't seen each other since Sweetpea was 18 months old, these two had an instant bond. Sweetpea loves her Grandad.

On our initial arrival in London to the aforementioned heatwave, coupled with two surreal nights of waking every hour to see a ghostly five year old tiptoeing out of the room to wander through the house, no doubt freaking out her break-in worried Nana, we tried to acclimate by going on a long walk to Hampton Court Palace, home of the multi-wived Henry the Eighth. From all accounts he was a real pill to live with.

Sweetpea begins her mission to have an ice cream every single day of the vacation.

After a week long break while we tasted our way through the gelato of eastern Italy, we returned and started taking the train up to central London to see the sights. The first day Auntie C accompanied us for our walk along the Thames to St. Paul's Cathedral, home of "Feed the birds, tuppence a bag" from Mary Poppins. Perhaps the bird lady sat on this very spot...

The next day, my mother-in-law came with us for the day's activities. First up, lunch at a lovely café where Sweetpea takes a break from her latté-sized hot chocolate to make a very important point to her Nana.

And at the Natural History Museum afterward literally gazes into the teeth of a T-rex, sitting on the shoulders of English Daddy.

A twirl in anticipation of her 78th bowl of pasta of the trip, this time at Jamie Oliver's new Italian restaurant in Kingston. No offense to Jamie, his food was lovely, but it didn't hold a candle to the home-cooked meals we had in Italy.

And again in Kingston two days later, Sweetpea can't help stomping for joy in a fountain. I know at some point in the near future these uninhibited acts will be too undignified for her, so I'm documenting them to remind me of that sheer joyful abandonment. And yes, she was drenched from top to bottom.

We took a river boat from Hampton Court to Kingston that day with Auntie C, and although it might not have been high on adrenaline, it was thoroughly pleasant and incredibly soporific in the nicest way possible.

And why, you ask, am I including the picture below of my Englishman at Thames Ditton station? Because it's the only documented evidence of our trip to London for the evening, without our little centre of the universe, all alone, like a date. Of course we were meeting my sister-in-law and some other friends for dinner and a side trip to a composer friend's flat to hear his music, but still! I felt like a grown-up again for a few brief hours.

Hi honey.

Our last dinner in London was fish and chips and Indian takeaway (how English), and a visit to Bushy Park to feed the ducks, but intruders nosed in on the action for any pieces of bread they could coax out of us. Apparently these deer become highly aggressive as adults, so we were warned by a stern fisherman close by to cease and desist.

On the sudden realization that we were getting up the next day to return to California, Sweetpea sunk into melancholy. I know how she feels.

And to make matters worse, we were both obviously having a bad hair day.

Back to reality.
One family visit amongst many, but one which seemed to solidify my love
for English hubby's family. I'm blessed to know every one of them.