Ladies in London

This weekend, I went to London with my neighbor, Megan, for a girls only weekend. It was such a relaxing time! We did absolutely nothing touristy-unless you count shopping at Harrod's. Megan used to live in London and has been many times since, so she really knew her way around. We spent 3 nights right at Green Park (you could see Buckingham Palace from our hotel). We ordered room service, shopped, ate in pubs, shopped, went out dancing, shopped, and saw a movie-Confessions of a Shopaholic, of course!

The thing I think I love the most about living in Europe is that I can experience the true European lifestyle. When you visit places you'll probably only go to once in your life, you tend to hit all the major attractions, and end up bypassing the real culture of the city. The last time I was in London (with my mom in 2001), we hit everything on the tour bus route. That was great, but different. This time, I felt about London like I do about Chicago where I've been many times. This time, I took time to "smell the roses" if you will. I people-watched, paid attention to the accents of the people, and just enjoyed the big city flair. The last time I was in England, I HATED the food. This time, because we went to local eateries, I loved the food. It wasn't tourist trap stuff.

It's different visiting a place you're pretty sure you'll go back to. You don't feel rushed or stressed at all. Megan and I slept in every day, lolled about watching TV in the morning and just wandered in and out of shops and restaurants. It was as relaxing as a spa weekend! No schedules, no housework, no one relying on us. I needed that time to recharge.

Jason and the kids had fun this weekend with out me, too. He took them to a Tram Museum, out to dinner with friends, and to the mall. They really enjoyed the special time just with Daddy. I think it was good for them to be just with him, and for Jason to be fully in charge for a while.

It was wonderful to get home last night, though. The kids had made me a special dinner and "welcome home" art projects. They were in bed when I got home last night, but I was accosted first thing in the morning. It's sure nice to be missed!

Here are some pics of my weekend: This is called "Swiss Corner" in the West End, by the theatres. It's some gift or something in honor of Switzerland's 700th birthday.

Me in front of Harrod's with my 5th Starbucks of the trip. In Zurich, a small Starbucks is 7 francs, so I never have it-it was a nice treat at a third of the cost in London!

The lobby of our fabulous hotel, The Park Lane

Me, shopping on Marylebone High Street (High Streets are like Main Streets-where all the shops are in each village)