Côte d'Azur for our fifth...

On August 31st, Eric and I celebrated 5 years of marriage and looking back we continue to see how very much we have to be thankful for. That month was full of lots of fun travels and guests coming to visit, so before the craziness got into full swing, we escaped for a long weekend trip to Nice, France sans Brooks to mark our anniversary a few day early. My parents came over to play with the little guy and live the lives of London ex-pat grandparents for a few days. Thank you, Mom and Dad!!


The Blue Coast, as this lovely part of the Mediterranean is called, is known for its crystal blue water and pebble-y beaches. I had NO IDEA. The beach rivals the Caribbean for it's turquoise colored water - it was gorgeous. But it was also a bit painful. The beach is not pebbles, it's actually rocks, and zero sand. On our second day we decided to rent a couple of these beach chairs because after 8 hours laying on the rocks the day before, I thought the squishy cushions on the chaise lounges sounded pretty darn nice. :)


The historic Promenade des Anglais ("Walk of the English") is the main beachfront boardwalk, started in the 1820's during the beginning of the city's hay day. Rich and famous businessmen, artists, and celebrities have flocked to Nice for almost two centuries for its lovely views of the blue water and great weather. The sunsets each night were lovely...


I actually didn't get any shots of some of my favorite moments of the weekend including dinner Saturday night at a yummy Niçoise restaurant - ridiculously tasty and LONG. I love how the French linger over their meal-times. We also spent several evening hours on the balcony of our hotel room, enjoying the summer air and talking about meaningful moments from the last year and what we anticipated for the next year.


That yellow building was our hotel and the huge top corner balcony was ours! :)

While Monaco wasn't our favorite part of the weekend, we spent part of Sunday wandering around this Las Vegas of the Mediterranean and enjoyed seeing where the rich and famous play.


The harbor in Monte Carlo was filled with these ridiculously luxurious yachts,


and the most common car we saw that day on the streets of town was, that's right! A bright red Ferrari. Eric began to speculate that the casinos must own several garages full of them, ready to be loaned out to high-rollers on a winning streak. It got to be sort of blasé after a while, watching them cruise up and down the strip.


The Riviera was a great vacation spot and we savored the leisurely pace - staying up late and sleeping in, getting to linger over a nice dinner out, and lounging at the beach in the sunshine reading books. It was a great mini-retreat and I loved both looking back and looking forward, knowing that five more years will likely bring just as many changes as these first five. I hope we have fifty-five more years together, darlin'! I love you!

Bonnie, Bonnie Scotland

One of the things that I am most grateful for when I think about our last year is how adaptable Brooks has proven to be with our crazy on-the-go lifestyle. This shot was taken at a ridiculously early hour one Thursday in June. We had a 7am flight from London Luton to Glasgow, which meant that we had to get a taxi before dawn to take us to the train station to get to the airport to check in, go through security and get boarded and take off, all before we would normally have gotten him out of his crib. But look at this grin! He seems just as excited about traveling to a new place as we are. I'm so glad we have another little adventurer in the family.


Scotland was high on our list of places to visit, even though both of us had been there before on previous trips. We wanted to get outside the cities and enjoy some beautiful hikes and scenery and the less touristy parts of the Scottish culture. We had almost 5 days and a huge list of places to visit, just scratching the surface of this lovely part of the world. We put close to 700 miles on the rental car, so hold on tight for the blitz tour!

That first day we made several pit stops on our drive from Glasgow to the Western coast near the highlands. Our first visit was to the beautiful Loch Lomond. As we were getting out of the car and heading over to the water, I said "Brooks! Do you want to go see a big LAKE!?" in my excited, talking-to-a-toddler voice. I heard a snort nearby and a Scot who was walking in the same direction said - pleasantly, but with a chiding tone - "it's not a Lake, dear, it's a LOCH." Oops, our first encounter with a Scot, and I've already stuck my foot in my mouth! :) Brooks enjoyed the pebble-y lake front and talking to the ducks and swans.


Next we drove up this beautiful valley called "Rest and Be Thankful Pass" to find a nice stop-off and a great view. This colorful name dates by to the 1880s when the 2nd and 3rd class passengers often got out to help push the coach (and the 1st class passengers) up the hill.


We did a hike through a little park just as a light drizzle started but we loved checking out these old rock carvings. Can you see the saturn-like shape in the bottom left part of the rock? This is called a cup and ring design. Even though archeologists have no idea what they mean, they're probably older than the Pyramids in Egypt. Wow!


I've mentioned before - I LOVE how the British rights of way mean that anyone can stroll through most anywhere without fear of breaking any trespassing laws. This sign is one shepherd's best effort to keep his sheep inside the right pasture.


We were hiking through his field to get to an old stone circle (like Stonehenge, but smaller) and a cairn, a neolithic burial mound. At first Brooks was excited and ready to go...


But after playing a new game with Dada which involves flopping back off his shoulders, while Dada holds onto his ankles (more on this below)...


somebody was all tuckered out. I love how he curls his hands and arms up under his chest to snuggle in for a cuddle. This is a classic Brooks pose, and I just adore it!


Just before supper, we arrived at our BnB and found the most delightful surprise...


This house was the family home of our host, and we loved getting to know him and his wife and kids. This place was a perfect stop off for families traveling together, and we felt immediately at home. I loved the view from our sunny room out to the water...


Eric loved the huge comfy bed (our British double bed in our flat leaves much to be desired in terms of squishy-ness)...


And Brooks loved meeting Imogen, their youngest daughter who waited at home all day for Brooks to arrive so that they could play together.


That night we got a yummy dinner on the water in a beautiful pub/restaurant and Brooks played and ran around until the sun went down... From there we headed back to the BnB to turn in. Does this seem like the longest day, ever?! If you just said YES, well you're right. Note to self... if you take a vacation to the Northern part of Scotland in June be prepared for longgggg days and very short nights. Parents of toddlers, particularly, be advised to request a hotel room with window-darkening shades. Brooks went to bed late that night and got up at 4am, yes, that's right, at 4am on Friday when the sun started pouring into our window. Eric earned a medal that day for Hero Husband by taking Brooks down to the garden to play while I got dressed and packed us up.


After a fantastically yummy breakfast (Scottish breakfasts are much the same as a "full English" with the addition of blood sausage, fried bread, and sometimes haggis. You can't eat this way daily and expect to live very long), we loaded up and said goodbye and headed off to the Isle of Skye. On the way, we made several stops, the first of which was the picture perfect Castle Stalker. Being in a rather hostile part of the world, the Scottish clan lords of old generally built their fortresses in the most secure and defensively advantageous spots they could find. The castle takes up almost the entire tiny island.


After a quick stop at the Glencoe visitor's center, we decided to do some hiking and - following in the footsteps of our beloved friends from our Chicago church, the Mays and the Wilsons - we did a family hike along the West Highland Way.


Leaving my rock at the top of the summit monument...


Everywhere we looked there were beautiful views... even with less than perfect weather, we had a wonderful (hard) hike, straight up and then back down again...


One favorite detail - this lovely fluffy plant is called arctic cotton. I had never seen it before but it was growing wild all over the mountains up there.


We finished our hike and then climbed back in the car for Brooks's nap time. As we were leaving the Glencoe region, and finally on our way to Skye, I randomly spotted this...


If you double-click on this photo to zoom in and check out the foreground, you'll see a few of the hundreds of small towers of rocks that decorated this amazing field. Some of you know that I love the hymn "Come Thou Fount" in large part because of the (original) second verse which goes ...

Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I'm come
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.

I had found an entire field of Ebenezers!! Oh my gosh!! I made Eric pull off to the side of this lonely road, jumped out the car, and had a wonderful 2 minute quiet time out in that field with Jesus, checking out the sheep on the surrounding hillsides, listening to the wind blustering about the hilltops, thinking about my own wanderings, and finally adding my own stone to one of the Ebenezers raised by a previous wanderer. I hopped back in the car, knowing that God had sent us up that road for that moment. What a huge highlight that spot was for me!

That afternoon and evening, we did a lot of driving. We saw Loch Leven, Ben Nevis (the tallest peak in Scotland), Fort William, the Five Sisters (a group of mountains that pose beside the banks of a beautiful river) and Eilean Donan castle all before crossing the bridge to Skye. More important than what we saw though, was that we had a lot of really good time to talk. We covered everything from news from our family and friends, to our recollections from the past year, to dreams about the future (one fun discussion - will our kids go to summer camp or Kamp?). One of my best memories from this entire vacation will be those great conversations in the car as we discussed everything we could think of - me reading the map, Brooks napping in his car seat, and Eric loving that manual transmission! Thanks for helping me fall in love with the road trip, darlin'. :)


Saturday morning we enjoyed breakfast at our next great BnB. This one had a wonderful tub of toys for Brooks to play with in the sitting room while we lingered over coffee and a trampoline that we could bounce on when he wanted to get some wiggles out before breakfast (more on this below). The owners loaned us some hiking guides and we set out for the lighthouse on the far western end of the island. This picture shows how short I *thought* the hike would be to the edge... but then, where's the lighthouse?


Oh there it is... over three more hills. :)


Good thing we're all still smiling, because once we got to the end of the trail, we couldn't exactly let Brooks out to run around. With the extremely strong wind and the SHEER cliffs down to the Atlantic...


we weren't letting Brooks out of the backpack for a moment. Another one of those spots that in the US would be covered in "WARNING! DANGER!" signs, here it was just beautifully exposed and barrier free. I get chills thinking about how one of those big gusts of wind could have taken even Eric over the edge, had he gotten too close.

That afternoon, we did more driving and talking and checking out beautiful scenery and then just before supper, we went on a treasure hunt! My old friend Ewan Kennedy dropped me a line just before our trip and described a place that he thought we might enjoy seeing. When he was a child, his parents bought a summer home on the Isle of Skye, a little cottage really, up on the northwestern end of the island. His directions to the house were sketchy - not exactly sure if it's in this town or that one, but just drive on this stretch of road for about 5 miles, look for the little Presbyterian Church and then find the house with this kind of landscaping around it just before a rise in the road on the left. Um, seriously?! I can imagine him trying to piece all of those instructions together from a long-ago fuzzy kid-memory, but it was still funny to get that description and think how in the WORLD are we going to spot this house?! Well, well, well, lookie here...


And then just three houses down, lookie here! :)


The reason that this story is even better comes many years later, over in the US. The Kennedy family had kept the former name of the house the same after they bought it, HeatherLee. Ewan moved to the US while I was in high school and met and fell in love with the older sister of my dear friend, Tim. Ewan's bride to be's name? Heather Leigh Padgett. So fun! His family home and his future wife shared the same name. Not sure if you have a better shot of this house anywhere, Ewan, but I got as close as I dared to snap this picture - I didn't want to freak out the current owners! Thanks for the fun suggestion, I really enjoyed searching and finding this place from your past. And the directions were perfect! :)

Sunday morning we got up and enjoyed the trampoline some more (video to come...) and then packed up and headed back to the mainland. Eilean Donan castle was our first stop, the clan home of the Family MacRae. It's been restored and rebuilt after considerable damage and while still a private residence, it's also used for weddings, events and of course - movie shoots.


The next stop - Loch Ness. Of course, we had our camera zoomed in on the water, hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous sea creature, Nessie, who has definitely put this Loch on the map... but to no avail. The legend of Nessie actually dates back to 565 AD when St Columba is said to have seen a large creature on the water. Modern sightings began again in 1933. Extinct dinosaurs, large sturgeon fish, whales who swam too far upstream and got caught in the Loch - there are a million different scientific explanations for this hoopla, but until the mystery is finally solved, I feel sure that tour operators will sell postcards and stuffed Nessie dolls will go home with young children...

In keeping with the extra-touristy area, we popped into Castle Urquhart. Earliest written records of this fortress date from the 1200s, but remains have been found on this point from the Iron Age and the Pictish times. Now, the ruins have been converted into an easy tour-bus photo op stop and the place has its own audio guide, cafeteria, movie theater and gift shop. It was absolutely over-run with Sunday afternoon visitors. Though the sight was beautiful and the views truly amazing, after the wonderful loneliness of other parts of the highlands, I was ready to say goodbye to Loch Ness fairly quickly.


We spent that night in Inverness and had a great dinner at a vibey restaurant on the river. We're always amazed when we can take Brooks into a chic restaurant successfully. He had a great evening and we had a wonderful last dinner out! After several late nights in a row, we turned in early.

Monday morning, we packed up again and drove down to Edinburgh. We did a Rick Steves self-guided walk through the old town - we like getting his quick snapshot of culture and history and quirky tidbits - and then drove out to Arthur's Seat to climb the hill overlooking the castle. Oh. My. Gosh. The. Wind. It was unbelievably strong up there! When I had visited the city before, I climbed a lower outcropping, but with Eric and Brooks, we went to the tippy top and I was completely exhilarated by the hike and the fresh air.


Brooks and Eric had lots of fun on the way down from the top of Arthur's Seat (more on this below).


From Edinburgh, we jumped on the highway and zipped down to Glasgow for the flight back to London. What a wonderful long weekend - a ridiculous number of miles, a fantastic collection of sights and photos, and a great amount of precious conversation.

Thanks for an awesome trip, Eric and Brooks! :)

Trampolining on the Isle of Skye

Here are Brooks and Dada on the trampoline at our bed and breakfast. He laughed so hard, I thought he was going to throw up... he was certainly dizzy, as he staggers at the end! :)

Bouncing Down from Arthur's Seat

After climbing to the summit of the cliffs overlooking Edinburgh's old town, we jogged back down the hills to the car. Brooks loved the bouncing backpack, as you can tell from his squeals of delight. :)

Playing in the Standing Stone Circle

This video shows Brooks discovering the joy of the "Shoulder Trust Fall" with his Dada. Eric loves carrying Brooks on his shoulders, but for the better part of the summer, Brooks would consistently flop backwards whenever he was perched up there. This afternoon at the Pict stone circle in West Scotland was the start of that game!

Heading the Ball in the park

Eric and Brooks love going to the park together to play ball, and the last Saturday in September, I came along and brought the video camera.

I'm pretty sure this is the first time that Dada showed the Little how to head the ball. Obviously, he was pretty excited.

I love seeing and hearing his delight - the glee, the thrill, the high-pitched squealing giggle. I love it all. Hope you do, too!

Brooks learns "Go Auburn!"

It's been a tough month to be an Auburn Tiger, but we got to watch AU beat UT live at an American bar the weekend of Eric's birthday. I guess if we're going to catch one game this year, this was probably the one to see!

Brooks enjoyed the shaker, and with some food and toys from home he actually made it to the very last play of the game, getting into bed right around midnight. We were so proud of our little football fan!

Royal Parks Half Marathon

No, I didn't run, I cheered! On Sunday October 12, a gorgeous fall day, Eric and Brooks and I went out to Hyde Park to encourage two of our favorite American ex-pat friends who were running the race to raise money for charities.

This being the first year of the Royal Parks race (so called because over half of the course looped through Hyde Park, St James Park and Green Park), I wasn't expecting SO MANY runners. We had a great time cheering for thousands of complete strangers, but I couldn't help the comparisons with Chicago's marathon weekend. It was a zoo, but in a very British way. Only a handful of costumes/wigs, etc. Most people had their iPods in. Very few were running with partners or pacing groups. A few runners had their name on the shirts - when I shouted out to them, one person said "oh thank you ever so much", another said "cheers". As for our general clapping and cheering, some people were befuddled and others seemed pleasantly surprised to find crazy Americans still cheering - the spectator numbers were limited... We camped out for almost an hour, right after mile 11 just off of Broad Walk, and most runners seemed relieved by our shouts of "only 2 miles to go!". A few groaned. One asked "really, TWO more miles?! Not just one!?" I hope she was kidding.


Eventually, we saw both of our friends - both were looking strong and still smiling. I ran a few yards with Becky who was thrilled to meet her goal with a PR and then I finished the last two miles with Heather. Afterward, we stuck around for the race festival and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon outside. Brooks, inspired by all the running he had seen that morning, decided to test out his speed in his new cowboy boots.


He was also really impressed by Becky's wooden medal.




We got to meet baby Eloise, daughter of the Grizzles' good friends Cade and Melissa. Sweet Sweet!


Congrats runners! I'm so proud of you both! :)

A summer evening stroll through our neighborhood

The 5 o'clock crowd at the pub blowing off some weekday steam with a pint or two before heading home for a quiet night off.

The hourly peal of the bells from the Anglican church. It's a strange and haunting tune, but one I will not soon forget.

The sunshine glinting off of the peaceful Round Pond of Kensington Gardens, reflecting the palace and the church steeple beyond in its upside down glasstop, while the geese and ducks paddle about cracking the mirror and hope for more bread crumbs.

The squeals of wound-up children playing on the swings and slide and wobbly beam in the garden playground across the road from us.

The scent wafting out from the Greek Orthodox Church. On Friday nights, it's also the traditional music twirling up from the basement while the next generation learns the age-old dances. On Sunday nights, the sounds outside change to the low melancholy chants seeping from the sanctuary while the old bishop in black recites the ancient songs and hymns.

The long lines at the local high street grocery as people stop off for a bottle of wine or the final items for a quick supper.

The older men from Greece and Cyprus challenging each other to backgammon tournaments at the local cafe.

The sweet fragrance and riot of color and greenery of the large old roses in full bloom in the front gardens around our neighborhood, inspiring me to create and tend my own secret city garden the next time I have a bit of earth.

The long low sun gilding the tops of the terrace row houses, polishing the city grime off of everything, and bathing the streets and gardens and pedestrians with a warm evening glow.

The manager of the Athenian Grocery sweeping the walk and stacking the now-empty produce crates to await tomorrow's delivery.

The elegant Muslim "covered women" with their black robes and colorful sequined scarfs herding happy children and chatting amongst themselves as they push strollers along the sidewalks.

The pounding of luggage wheels on the pavement as travelers circle our block in confusion searching for their hotels.

The dogs happily barking in the garden across the road, yapping at their owners who have let them off their leash for a few minutes of evening squirrel teasing and ball chasing.

All these have become the sights and sounds and smells of summer to me in London.

The same way that mustard-y bratwurst and the crowded Lakeshore path and the sound of a baseball cracking a ball at Wrigley and the Wednesday and Saturday night fireworks became summer in Chicago. The same way that blinking fireflies, juicy watermelon, noisy crickets, running lawnmowers, blackberry cobbler, and chicken salad take me back to Nashville. Now London, and particularly our little slice of it, begins to feel familiar and comforting - even with all its strangerly ways.

Just like old times, but with an English accent...

Earlier this summer, our dear friends Tim and Melissa came over from Chicago to visit and what a treat it was! .... What a joy it was to cram both great conversation and fun new adventures into four busy days and nights - here's some of the evidence...

We took advantage of the great weather on their first day to go for a long stroll in Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. Brooks enjoyed showing off his new running skills by challenging Melissa to race.


After a good night's rest, Brooks woke up his new roommates early by throwing Bob the Tomato at Tim. Hello!!! Translation - "I'm awake now, and you should be too! Play with me! Play with me!" They got a little taste of what it's like to raise a toddler each and every morning they were here, but thankfully they were kind enough to get up and play with him rather than dump him out the window and roll over for a bit more sleep!

Saturday morning, we spent some time wandering through Portbello Road market. Just a few blocks away from us, in the center of Notting Hill, this street market really does have something for everyone. It's so fun to stroll through and point our some of our favorite vendors - the map/prints seller, the jewelry shop, the china "trio" lady - her stall is full of mismatched English Tea Trio sets that she sells for 5 quid each. She gets most of her items from estate sales, but she loves to tell tourists that she buys them off dead people. She crows "I love how that makes 'em all jump!" and then her boisterous laugh spills out. What a hoot! I thought perhaps the Youngrens might take home some old timey sporting equipment - there are several places that sell cricket balls, and old leather rugby balls - but mostly we just browsed. Maybe next time!

That afternoon, we visited the Imperial War Museum. I continue to be amazed at how much we've enjoyed that museum. Yes, it's about war, but it's also about the people that were impacted and all the various aspects of war-time life. We went through the World War II section primarily and we all did LOTS of chasing Brooks around the hallways and exhibits. We also checked out the unique boats and tanks and buses (yes, buses!) that have been used in war, a highlight being the smallest craft used in the Dunkirk evacuation of France. Brooks really likes the big gun outside the entrance.


Saturday night we introduced them to one of our favorite discoveries in London, Santorini Tavern. We're smack in the middle of London's Greek neighborhoods so this yummy restaurant is the real deal. At the end of the meal, Brooks asked for a lemon, perhaps to cleanse his palate? I'll see if I can post the video in my next post...

The following day, we took them to visit Holy Trinity Brompton and had some really good conversation about our experiences in our London church. That afternoon we had a great time seeing some new-for-us sights... For those of you who are Harry Potter fans, you understand how incredibly fun that first stop was - Platform 9 and 3/4 in Kings Cross train station! :) We took a bunch of fun pictures for ourselves and then asked some other tourists to take a group shot - I don't think they spoke English at all. I was laughing to myself at the unique group gathered around this sign and a half-a-luggage-trolley. Old and young, boys and girls, English and definitely not - J. K. Rowlings has created a universally loved set of characters. We had a ball!



From there we strolled over to the British Library. Visiting a library doesn't always top our guests' lists of things to see, but this is one special library. The National library of the United Kingdom, it houses a copy of every single book published in the country. Thirty-five million volumes are stored on site, and their total holdings include 174 million books. The building itself was purpose-built and dedicated in 1998, and most of the library's holdings are actually 75 feet below ground in special archive vaults. The incredible "highlights tour" includes the following: one of Shakespeare's first folios, Jane Austen's letters displayed on her personal writing desk, some original notes and drawings by Da Vinci and Galileo, the Magna Carta (yep, that's right! The original real deal!), Captain Cook's travel journal, and a one-year old boy's birthday card with Beetles lyrics scratched out on the back. John Lennon was apparently composing while raising a toddler - quite impressive even aside from it becoming a #1 hit! What a fun place to visit, and especially to appreciate it with our friends who love books and learning as we do. Brooks was a champ at eating cheerios and staying relatively quiet in the library, but eventually we escaped into the lobby to ditch the stroller and ride the big tall escalators up and down, up and down.


We ended our tour that afternoon with a quick visit to the British Museum. We didn't have much time, so we zipped right through to check out the Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone. The Elgin Marbles are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures that were removed from the Parthenon in Athens in 1801 by Thomas Bruce, the Earl of Elgin. He was granted permission from the Ottoman Empire to salvage the stones from the heavily damaged sight, but many saw the removal as vandalism at its worst. After over a decade of ambiguity and a heated debate in Parliament, Elgin was cleared of all charges and the statues were purchased by the British Museum. They are displayed in a beautiful room that Brooks found quite sleep-inducing.


The Rosetta Stone is a huge slab of granite over 2200 years old and became the key that allowed archeologists to translate hieroglyphics for the first time in the 1800's, unlocking a wealth of info on ancient Egypt. Discovered in Rashid, or "Rosetta", Egypt, in 1799, it has been on public display in London since 1802. Say what you will about the British Empire's tendency to pillage and plunder, they have done a fantastic job of recognizing, protecting and displaying the world's cultural heritage for centuries.


Sunday night, we all went for a triple date in our neighborhood with the Ericksons. The Youngrens put us in touch with his first cousin Matt and his wife Susan when we were planning our move last year, and they became a huge help in sorting out what an American family needs to know before relocating internationally. Susan is a full time mom of three young kiddos, and she's also been a tremendous encouragement to me as I've settled into daily life in London. It was a fun night of coming full circle - getting to enjoy the Youngrens together! Which of these two people are related?!


That night, after the Ericksons headed home to relieve their sitter, we got an urgent text message from our friend and neighbor, Ben - "Spain v Germany, penalty kicks. Hurry." We zipped down to the pub across from their flat and shoved our way in (standing room only) to watch the final moments as Spain took the title. The back of the bar exploded as a group of happy Spaniards went nuts. What fun to see some European sports fanatics in action.


Their last day in London we visited Westminster - stopping in front of Parliament and Big Ben for a photo ...


and then we toured the Abbey. The historical church heart of London, the Abbey been in continuous use as the coronation place and burial spot for English monarchs since 1066. It feels a bit more like wandering around a graveyard than the inside of a church usually does, but given all the famous Britons buried or memorialized there, I guess that's to be expected. That afternoon, we split into guys and girls, and while Tim, Eric and Brooks toured the Tower of London, Melissa and I headed to the National Dining Rooms over Trafalgar Square for Champagne Tea. For me, that was probably the highlight of their visit. Great leisurely conversation with my friend, all had with English tea and scones - it was such a treat!


After meeting up with the guys again later in the day, we wandered over to the garden across from our flat to spent a relaxing evening.


Brooks loved being in the center of the action - he tasted everyone's picnic and then ran around under the trees while we enjoyed our final night together. We savored the last hours of conversation and day-dreamed about living as Chicago neighbors with these dear friends again.



The next morning they took off for Paris for a couple of days and then returned to Chicago after a visit with the Ericksons outside of London. We were so grateful that they made the trip while we were here and enjoyed every minute - we love you guys!