and we're back

After an amazing whirlwind of a trip/vacation, we are back home. Off to work today for us and off to school for the boy.

I'm going to blog a bit about our stay in London, but I need to gather my thoughts and I'm feeling a bit wonky this morning. Touch of jet lag I guess, but I did manage yesterday to stay on my normal schedule.

But, to start, we had a very smooth flight over the pond. Loved having the extra leg room. The upgrade on our tickets was well worth the money. When we are both tall people with long legs, 8 hours of flying time with no room for your knees is misery. We had an exit row on the way over so that meant even more room. It was wonderful. We both managed to sleep a fair amount so when we did land we didn't feel too off. We wound our way through Heathrow and found the Express train without any problem. Again, a good splurge to take that way into the city. It arrives in 20 minutes at Paddington station. Caught a taxi there to the flat. We figured out the instructions to retrieve the key, a bit of James Bond type activity there, and let ourselves in. The flat was clean, cute, and cozy. Perfect for us. We unpacked and sent a text to our London girl. We had time to get some groceries, so we set off on foot for the nearest Sainsbury's. First order of business: chocolates and dark chocolate Digestives! I did make a list of things I wanted to buy, before we left the home, which was smart thinking on my part. Thinking on your feet after a long flight is not my strength.

So with breakfast foods, snack foods, and some beverages in hand, we walked back to the flat and waited for the girly to arrive. She did, with flowers in hand!! A lovely bouquet with a lovely smile and big hugs and tears. So amazing to see her.

We picked a nearby place, Fishbones, and had the most wonderfully fresh fish and chips. Delicious and the perfect way to start our stay.

We followed the girl back to her flat and got to see where she lives, up many flights of narrow, twisty stairs in what was the servant quarters. Cute and snug!

We then wound up in a pub for a pint. The Jack Horner was hopping with young Londoners enjoying a Friday night out. We enjoyed ourselves for a bit before we both started to feel the jet lag and took ourselves off back to our flat.

Lights out by 8:00 PM as we had an early train to catch from King's Cross in order to visit my pen pal and her family out in Stevenage.

And that was Day 1!!