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!
1 comment:
Good times made even better by being with such good friends. It makes me happy just to read about your time together....or as Brooks would say "HAPPY"!!! gbread
Post a Comment