From July 4th to the 14th – Family, Friends, and Flights (too many flights!) of Stairs

 Dear Readers of London Calling Houston,

Thank you for waiting (more or less patiently) for my promised update on whether the country we diss on Treason Day is still flourishing across the pond. For everyone who might have been worried, never fear! England is alive and well. They might have a King Charles now instead of my favorite Queen Elizabeth II (sadly) and have experienced a drastic change in government – can you say “Labour Party??? – but unlike in America, there are not assassins running around attempting to do away with the leadership of the opposition, so overall, my Anglophile heart is pleased as punch. 

I decided to start begin the saga of my travels a few days before I boarded the plane to London, both because it is the first Fourth of July I’ve spent in America in several years – I forgot how fun the BBQ holidays can be* – and because I believe that several of you were aware of how in the doldrums I was that I was going to miss Lucy’s birthday since she seemed destined to fail to arrive on her due date (of July 7th) and had stubbornly insisted on sitting firmly upright, necessitating a C-section which was sadly scheduled for the day after my departure on July 8th. Needless to say, this lack of punctuality was deeply distressing to me, and I had a firm talking to with Lucy (via Leah) as we were swimming in the pool on the 4th to inform Lucy of the vast superiority of birth on the 5th to birth on the 9th. Imagine my surprise (and ecstatic joy!) when Mama woke me up at the crack of dawn (or shortly there before) on July 5th to inform me that Lucy would be making her arrival. I am determined to claim *some* credit for her due date for the rest of her life and to love her for all time, not only due to her spirit of accommodation, but not exclusively apart from it either. Welcome to our world, Lucy Elisabeth Darwin, my sweet second niece. I have decided to dub Carolynn my “French niece” (because she will call me Croiss-aunt – a charming variation on my favorite French pastry) and Lucy my British niece, because you can’t get more British than Lucy Elisabeth Darwin – a good, strong English name. Below is a picture of my with my French niece and my British niece, for your viewing pleasure.

The newest addition to our family, little Lucy Elisabth. She's a bit frowny in this photo, but I have it on good authority that she has already learned how to smile. A true prodigy. 

My sweet French niece, Carolynn Nancy, with her classic huge smile!

After Lucy’s timely arrival, I had to rush to pack and get ready for my departure on July 8th. I will skip over these logistics as they are, frankly, boring. What was not boring was my flight from Dallas to London, Heathrow. In fact, it was easily the best intercontinental flight I’ve ever taken! Upon boarding the plane (two hours late, I might add, as our flight was delayed multiple times), I was asked by the stewardess if I would be willing to change seats with another passenger. I, with great trepidation, agreed. It ended up being the best decision ever! I got seated by Diana, a lovely American who had recently moved to Dallas. Upon learning how much we have in common (both Christians, she’s a nurse, we love travel, etc., etc., etc.,) we proceeded to pass a flight filled with conversation and laughter (and free wine! and the best airplane food ever...I was HUNGRY!) It was lovely. And I got a couple of hours of sleep on the plane, which is practically a miracle for me. 

My first day in London was not too shabby, but also not very exciting. Diana and I got situated in our respective houses, and I went to the grocery story (the Amazon Fresh store is still here!) and then stayed up way too late before sleeping like the dead until noon the next day. 👀

July 10th was when the real fun began. My friend Megan arrived in London and came to join me at the house. We had a blast, and I got to share all my favorite places in Primrose Hill with her, including a jaunt around Regent’s Park, followed by dinner at the Queen’s pub. To make a good day even better, our food arrived so late (we didn’t mind, we were chatting) that the waitress offered us not one but two FREEE desserts. Day. Made. 

Dessert #1 was amazing! A lovely strawberry crumble thing.

Dessert #2 was AWFUL!! It tasted like a cheesecake made of cheddar cheese. 10/10 DO NOT recommend.

On July 11th, Megan and I decided to explore further afield. We had a lazy morning as we both adjusted to the jetlag, and I worked on grading my FWIS entrance exams…so. much. grading… before we blew that popsicle stand and headed off to Hampstead Heath, a beautiful park in London (of which, my Instagram followers can attest, there are many). I hope you have enjoyed the video tours of the parks – I’ve included a couple of snippets here. But to get to the park, we had to take the train, and when we got off the train, we decided that instead of taking the lift up to the exit, we would take the stairs. WE ALMOST DIED!!! This is perhaps hyperbole, but not much. I thought I might have to set up camp and live in those stairs. There were just soooooo many of them. It was ridiculous. When we made it to the top, we saw a warning sign* that informed us that we should not use stairs *EXCEPT* in the case of an emergency since there were over 300 of them!!!! Megan looked it up, and we climbed St. Peter’s Basilica on the 11th of July. RIP quads. It was insane!! But we made it. And the park was a nice reward for our pains.

*This is a picture from the internet, just to show you the warning sign. This is not the one at Hampstead Heath, though, that sign informs you that there are 327 steps to the top . . .over the number of stairs in St. Peter’s Basilica. 

After a quite lovely time in the park (I loved our little animal friends, I tried to put some videos, but they would not play nice with Blogger, so if you want tours of gardens, you must follow me on Insta), we went back to Primrose Hill where I met my friend Dani for dinner. She’s a friend I made here in England two years ago. We have stayed in touch and try to reconnect as frequently as possible. We had dinner aboard a boat on the Thames, quite charming, and were able to catch up. Super fun! 

July 12th was lovely! Megan and I went to high tea, a hallmark of England that I had not experienced before. We went to a beautiful teashop near St James’s Park where we ate cute little food and drank exquisite tea. I felt a bit like a bull in a China shop since everything was so cute and breakable and dainty and nice. But I enjoyed it! Afterwards, we went to St. James’s Park and wandered. Again, beautiful green spaces. Quite lovely. Since we were in the area, we decided to pop into Westminster Abbey for Evensong. Beautiful – the Abbey and the singing. Then, overcome by hunger because of our experiment with tiny foods for breakfast and lunch, we returned to Primrose Hill where we had some yummy food at a local restaurant. My lobster fettuccine was fantastic and reminded me a bit of the crawfish fettuccine that my family makes.

The next day, July 13th, both Megan and I were beat. We were tired at a deep, spiritual level, so we decided to have a day (mostly) in to recover and for Megan to pack for her upcoming trip to Oxford. To reinvigorate our spirits, we began watching one of Megan’s favorite shows and one that I have enjoyed intermittently but have never watched much, Gilmore Girls. Could there be a better show for two girls exploring a *Europe* (I know that this no longer applies with Brexit, but it's just too perfect!) to start? We had a blast! After a quiet morning, we went in search of a sculpture in Regent’s Park – we never did find Boy with Frog, but we did have a lovely time exploring even further into the park and Queen Mary’s Rose Garden. Beautiful, peaceful, idyllic. It was heavenly. We also finished off the cheddar-cheesecake and paired it with some wine so it seemed less like dessert and more like a wine and cheese tasting. Much more palatable.

July 14th was another quiet day as Megan headed off for Oxford and I had church and prepared to leave for Oxford myself in the following days. As promised in the title to this post, I will leave you on July 14th, with me comfortably ensconced in Primrose Hill while rain falls gently from the sky and I sip on some tea and eat lavender flavored shortbread, contemplating what I will pack for my Oxford trip. As a teaser trailer for next time, though, I would like to hint that I’m currently writing this post in a pub frequented by my favorite Oxford writing circle…if you know, you know. Until next time, friends. Stay treasonous!

*The so-called "BBQ holidays" are as follows: Memorial Day, Labor Day, and, my personal favorite, the Fourth of July