Ah, London. How I had missed you.

James and I had a wonderful few days in my favorite city. On Friday, we took the train in from Banbury in time for a light lunch in the cobblestoned piazza of Covent Garden and then spent the next few hours meandering around the London Transport Museum, which traces back the literal building of the transportation systems in London (boat, train, bus, underground, etc.) I love this museum. It's housed in the old Apple Market (think 'My Fair Lady') and holds old buses and even a steam train. Afterward, we took the tube to Piccadilly Circus and had tea and chai lattes (James' new fave drink) in the 5th View Bar of Waterstone's bookstore. I loved being able to show him all of my favorite places in London. We pushed through the crowded halls of Harrods and wandered around the National Portrait Gallery and Leicester Square. At 7pm, we went on a historic pub walk/tour along the Thames, sampling honey beer and discovering some of the oldest streets in the city.

On Saturday, we made our way to Portobello Road in Notting Hill, and checked out the antique dealers and the farmer's market. We bought cheese and olives, cherry tomatoes and bread... perfect for our picnic in Kensington Gardens! The weather was warm and windy, and we lazed about on the grass before heading to our matinee showing of 'Peter Pan.' The play was good and featured Jonathan Hyde (of 'Titanic' and 'Jumanji' fame) as Captain Hook. We didn't feel that the production had the heart and soul of the story, but the staging was amazing, with lots of flying. Afterward, we wandered through Regent's Park, and I pointed out the college where Sharon and I went with Marymount two summers ago. By then, it way time for dinner, and after a mediocre Italian meal followed by an amazing dessert, we took the train back! It was a whirlwind trip, but just enough to leave us exhausted. Yesterday was a day of movies (we'd had a hankering for 'Hook' ever since the play) and baking and now it's back to the normal routine of the week...

Speaking of that, I can't believe it's my final week here. I'm really trying not to think too much about it! The one good thing about it is the motivation to plan our time together when James visits in October... There isn't too much planned for the next few days, but next weekend we will be going out on a canal boat with the whole family, and I'm really looking forward to that. Until then, I'm going to enjoy every minute I have left here!