London Calling

I am back safely from a whirlwind trip to London. I had the most amazing time, and we did a lot in just 3 days. I was a little worried about my departure since the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving is one of the most heavily traveled days, but Don got me there in good time (a 45 minute commute compared to the usual 15) and I zipped through the automated check in and security line. The flight was pretty packed, and extremely stuffy. I slept a little bit, but for the most part read and watched movies.

I do have to say flying is much easier without an extra 168 pounds. I fit into the seats, the seat belts go around me, the tray table goes all the way down, I don't spill food down my front, the seat arms don't dig into my legs. Heck, I can even cross my legs! In another A-Ha moment, I needed to use the lav but the beverage cart was in the aisle. The flight attendant said, "Oh, you can squeeze by." And she was right! Once at Gatwick, I was able to pass a lot of people on their way to immigration - I even took the stairs instead of the escalator.

Sally picked me up and we went to have some coffee and a bite to eat at a Richmond (I think) park. It's actually an old estate and there are deer and gardens and walking paths. We went up to a lookout point where you can see the city of London below. Supposedly this was where King Henry VIII waited to see the signal that one of his wives had been beheaded. We had a quiet night. I got to catch up with Sally and play with her 5 1/2 year old daughter, Lily.

On Friday, we walked Lily to school, stopped for coffee and Sally went off to the gym while I took a long walk (OK, confession - it's was supposed to be an easy walk from the cafe back to her house, but I took a wrong turn and pretty much walked in one big circle. But I did make it back without having to ask for directions...). We then ran some errands in preparation for her party that night, had tapas for lunch, got our hair done and then got ready for the night out.

The party was great. I did know a handful of people so it was nice to catch up with them. I also got to meet a lot of people I had heard stories about. The party was at a really nice French bistro. There was a private room upstairs that really had the feel of a living room - high ceilings, tall windows overlooking the Thames, a fireplace with an ornate mirror and they places club chairs and sofas around the room. Sally had 3 large photo collages done, and those created a lot of conversation. There was also a Poloroid camera and we all got to write a message on our photos. We finally headed home at 12:30 AM, where we chatted and had more wine.

We got a bit of a later start on Saturday, first going for coffee and then taking the tube into London to Trafalger Square and the National Portrait Gallery. After taking in a few exhibits, we headed for lunch and then back home - Sally for a nap and me for a walk. We then went to dinner in Sloane Square and went off to see Wicked. This is one of my favorite musicals, and I really enjoyed seeing it in London.

The return trip was uneventful, which is probably what you want nowadays. I was lucky I got to Gatwick as early as I did since it took close to 75 minutes from the time I printed my boarding pass to actually arriving at the gate. The flight was packed and hot again. I tried not to sleep but nodded off for about 30 minutes or so. Again, I was able to sprint ahead once we landed and got through immigration really easily. I had to wait for about 30+ minutes for my back, it was really only an hour between landing and getting home.

I felt pretty good on Monday, getting up at 5:30 AM and actually getting on the treadmill for 30 minutes before going to work. I went to bed early last night and was up at 5:00 this morning, which is actually my normal time to get up. I don't have to be in to work until 10:30 this morning, so we're going to take the dogs for a hike as soon as it gets light.

I will need to sort through the photos since I have at least 100 shots on two cameras, but I will get a few posted shortly.

The best part was getting home and seeing, despite eating and drinking way more than usual, I had lost 1.5 pounds, so I am now under 170. I will write more about this later, but I think I am going to focus on not losing any more weight. I reached my goal, and really just want to work on staying on track and maintaining my current weight.

And as great as that was, the real best part about getting home was seeing Don and the dogs. Don even got me flowers (2 bouquets - long story) and a cute card. I really do miss him when we're apart, and I think I feel it more when I'm away since when he travels I at least have the dogs to keep me sane.

Anyway, I had a wonderful time and would love to be able to go back soon to see and explore even more. Maybe that could be our vacation next year...