Bring Me Back

This morning I was grabbing a tissue from the guest bathroom and saw some movement out of the corner of my eye, so I raced out, shut the door and screamed, “Brent, there’s another one!” Remember my post from Wednesday? That motherbugger had some backup, and it was holing up in our guest bath. Brent killed him (and a spider and a beetle) and we called our terminator like, um, when are you doing your first application b/c this early spring and summer weather is all fun and games until the bugs show up.

Can I just go back to last week, when we didn’t need to worry about this b/c we were strolling through the streets of London, hand in hand? When we were in an immaculate five-star hotel where Cadbury chocolates were left on my pillow every night? When the only bugs I had to swat away were while we dined al fresco at the Ritz?

Okay, so none of this happened; maybe an occasional bout of hand-holding, but our height difference makes it awkward for any real length of time. 

Our London vacation was just so great. We saw all the sights we wanted, and a zillion more, thanks to the London Pass, which was probably the best thing we bought and I would highly recommend (hmm, maybe its own post, since I’m trying to be a real blogger now and post ideas don’t grow on trees). Brent was a navigational knight, mapping out the sights and their closest tube stop, plus all the bakeries and ice cream shops I threw at him every day. But come on, we couldn’t go to London and not get these cotton candy cones. The line (pardon me, the queue) was probably close to an hour long, but it was worth it for the Instagram likes.

My favorite sight was most definitely the Tower Bridge. Visually, it’s just so striking and imposing.

The bridge allows pedestrians and motor vehicles, but the coolest part is the walkway above, where there’s a glass floor and you can look down at the bridge and the Thames and be slightly terrified of the height and thrilled at the incredible photo opp all the same time.

My least favorite sight, at least from all the MUST SEE, hyped up attractions we were told we could not miss was the Tate Modern. I hope I’m not coming across as uncultured here, b/c we saw at least six difference museums and I (mostly) enjoyed the rest of them, especially the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert. I’ll put it in terms the Londoners will get; the Tate wasn’t my cup of tea. It was cool to see all the Picassos and Guerrilla Girls, but a lot of it wasn’t enjoyable. I don’t want to look at a literal blank canvas hanging on a wall in a famous museum b/c it’s "edgy" and "thought-provoking." I don’t want to see a bunch of forks and aluminum and cinder blocks in a haphazard pile sitting in the middle of a gallery. I guess I’m just not that cultured.

My favorite meal? That’s a tough one. I think the stereotype about the British not being known for their food has definitely been turned on its head, b/c there are dozens of Michelin ranked spots and tons of great gastropubs and fast casual places to choose from. The first meal we had was the traditional Sunday roast, and we went all out at a Michelin ranked place called the Savoy Grill. Who knew Hampshire pudding was actually more like a popover than a dessert? (well, I did, b/c I Googled around about all the food we needed to eat over there)

Sunday roast w/ Hampshire pudding (that fluffy looking bun) and cauliflower au gratin, which was the shit

The trip was a mix of ardent sightseeing and logging a crazy number of miles by foot, combined w/ ducking into a pub for a pint or two and trying out my accent to see if anyone was fooled (no one was). I think it all went as smoothly as we could have hoped and fingers crossed we’ll be planning our next international trip sooner than later. At the very least, we have to make it back to London so I can hop in as Paddington Bear and Brent and I can have our dream photo opp fulfilled.