ALONE in London

We could have stayed in America as long as we wanted to, and the boys were eager to stay as long as they could. I, on the other hand, was not eager to live without my husband for weeks on end. He could only come home for two weeks ... And the boys wouldn't budge. But then I realized they could stay with Collin, and I could come back with Mike. Brilliant! I was glad for the time I had at home. It's funny - I felt like I didn't do much, but looking back at my calendar now, I did a lot! It's just the day to day usual stuff: post office, Target, Costco, Sky Zone & Famous Pizza with Michael and his friends, took the cat to the vet, temple trip with the ladies from church, oil change for the cars, a visit to the hematologist, a dentist appointment for Michael, lunch with friends, visits to the middle school to get records ... Lots and lots of stuff.

Mike and I flew back to London together on July 17th. He was able to turn his trip home into a business trip so that he could save his home leave flight for Collin to come back in October. So dang cool Collin will have had THREE very long visits to London for free. But not so cool that Mike would be living the life of luxury flying in business class, and I would be cramped in economy. I did something crazy (totally not like me), and paid the extra to bump up to the next class. I think it was around $100. And I knew if I was in that next class up, they would bump me up to business class with Mike. And it worked! Breakfast in the lounge, free movies on a big screen on the plane, and much better food on the plane as well ... It was awesome. I have been so spoiled, and I love it!

It was so weird to go home ... Home? Home is in Connecticut ... but then Home is also in London. So strange. And we left our kids ... Even stranger! But they were thrilled. Mike and I had until August 13th when Michael would be coming back. It would have been until the end of August, but there was a Kendo thing Michael wanted to do on August 15th and had to be back for that. :)

We flew in on a Friday night, and went to Portobello Road the next morning. Mike goes often on Saturday mornings. It's his thing! So I accompanied him this time just for fun. It was a beautiful, busy day for the market. It was very surreal, feeling like being on vacation at home.

Mike loved showing me his usual spots.

I've always loved this building. Cute, right?

Have I mentioned Mike's knee? It started bothering him a few months back, and he knew something was very wrong. He went to the UBS doctor who took a look and said he needed to do physical therapy. That's odd. Physical therapy for what? He wasn't even given a diagnosis! He waited to see our doctor in CT who of course wanted to do an MRI to properly diagnose the problem. Poor guy had a lateral meniscus tear, and would need surgery to repair it. The GOOD NEWS is that it is a simple procedure, and recovery is quick. The BAD NEWS is that he could not run until after the surgery. What?!? This was devastating to Mike. He had already pretty much backed off of running because of the pain, but now he knew for sure that running was off limits. That was sad, sad news. He found this out when we got back to London, so he decided that he needed to get out and go on walks at least. For the first time ever, Mike came home in the evenings to go on walks with me! I was loving it!! But then he would make me walk really far ... hahaha. We spent so much time together though. I truly felt spoiled. So nice!

We always walked in Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park

since they are just down the street from our flat. Such a beautiful place!

I hadn't been all the way around the 

Hyde Park side, so it was cool to see that.

This monument was cool:
"In memory of those killed in the London bombings - 7 July 2005"

Hercules? No ... Achilles! And the Queen Elizabeth Gate.

The colors in these photos are a little muted, but it really was a beautiful day!

We walked over to the Serpentine Gallery one night because 

I wanted to see this funky outdoor thing. Yeah, kinda weird.

You could walk inside of it, and even get something at the little cafe.

I LOVE THIS. Kensington Palace. I don't know if the lighting is as good as

I would really like it, but I'm thinking about framing this. Actually, I should

choose some of my favorite shots of London and make a collage. I like that idea!

Ok, more of London ALONE with Mike ... This is one of the most fun things we have ever done - we went to a Gipsy Kings concert!!! It was one of those things I saw advertised in the Tube. Awesome! Most of you probably don't even know who the Gipsy Kings are. That's ok. They are a Spanish, sort of pop-flamenco group that was popular in the late 80's. Mike first heard them on his mission in Argentina, and introduced them to me while I was working on my Bachelor's Degree in Spanish. I loved them too!

It was an outdoor concert at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich London.

What a spectacular setting for a concert! And the weather couldn't have been better.

It was so surreal - The Gipsy Kings!!! 

How can they sound the same 25 years later?

What did I say? Spectacular!

I don't know if anyone is interested in the music ... And it doesn't

sound as good on video as it did in person. But we loved it. Everyone 

was dancing and singing. So many people our age! Good times for sure.

More time alone ...

So, this one day I went to the Geffrye Museum with my friend Trish.
We had such a nice time! Yeah, such a nice time that I only took one picture.
Hahaha. And this was a picture to ask Mike if he had heard of these flowers. LOL.

I can't even remember what they were called!

Oh, now this part is fun - Tube Strike! I love how they keep you completely informed. Mike worked from home those two days, which meant two days of conference calls in the family room. FUN ... I was blogging with my earbuds on, listening to Pandora.

On the 2nd day of the strike, I actually had somewhere to go - I had tickets to see Billy Elliott! I have wanted to see Billy Elliott for the longest time. And once we moved to London, I wanted to see it even more since it takes place in England. No one wanted to see it with me, so I went alone! Why not? It's cheaper with one anyway.

So, yeah, I had to make my way over there on tube strike day. I left a little later than I had wanted to and ended up taking a taxi. And there was barely any traffic. Thank goodness! The taxi driver said it had been very quiet, most likely because it was August and lots of people weren't going in to work. Makes sense to me. 

One of the best parts of seeing shows in London is being in these amazing London theatres. The Victoria Palace did not disappoint. And my seat was so good!

Theatre selfie, and a shot of the Safety Curtain that goes down during intermission.

The show was great! I didn't appreciate the swearing, but I was prepared for that.

And it was odd how much they smoked on stage. Do they do that in America?

But it was so good. Such great British humour, and a very nice message to boot.

Loads of people were waiting for the bus, but I was able to get on pretty

quickly and was even able to find a seat. Score! Love the post-strike email. :)

Another thing I had been wanting to do was to see this Doll Houses exhibit at the V&A Childhood Museum that was closing in September. It's right by the cat cafe, but Michael would never go with me. I finally made the journey by myself to catch the exhibit before it closed, and it was totally worth it. It was interesting to see the doll houses after seeing the Geffrye Museum - a series of period rooms from 1600 to present day. The doll houses followed the same approach, but in miniature.

The display said that the fashion for miniature houses started in Germany in the late 1500s. This one from 1673 is called The Nuremberg House. It is a miniature German home of an apothecary. (It was a little difficult to get good pictures since they were all in cases.)

1837 - How cute is this? It is a Doll's House Contract signed by 12 yr old Margaret Alsager and her father.

Margaret paid monthly rent of one shilling. She agreed not to light any candles or fires in the house. She was allowed flames made of red foil, wool or glass.

Here is house from the 1840s:

1887 - Queen Mary's House. It was made in the Arts and Crafts style, and bought decades later by Queen Mary. "She bought furniture for the house, carefully furnished it how she wanted it, then presented it to the Museum in 1921."

(I'm beginning to think I want a doll house. What would I do with one? Would it be weird if I had a doll house? I do like them so much!)

And this is where it all changes - 1930. "Gleaming, glamorous
white houses. Inspired by factories and cruise ships." SO UGLY.

And this was so very sad to me:


1965-1970. "Jenny's Home. Launched in association with Homes and Gardens
magazine in 1965, it reflects elements of Modernist architecture." BLECH.

2001 - The Kaleidoscope House. Bozart Toys, NY.

Isn't that an interesting journey through history? I thought so!

There was also this wall that showed how children's clothing
had changed throughout the years, from 1845 to 2010.

I searched the entire museum (it wasn't that big) for 

Fisher Price Little People houses. Being a classic, I knew 

they had to be there. This is what I had as a child in the 70's!

The barn door mooed when you opened and closed it. :)
We also had the Fisher Price airplane. Awesome.

I remember wanting a Barbie house when I was older.

My best friend up the street had one (and a Barbie car!), which 

was almost as good as owning one for myself. What fun we had!

My last adventure alone (which actually happened after Michael returned)

was a visit to the National Portrait Gallery to see Audrey Hepburn.

This exhibition was fun to see. I have always admired and respected her.

(no photography was allowed. i found some of my favorites on the internet.)

Audrey Hepburn was born in Brussels, Belgium. She was raised in England as a very young child, and then later in the Netherlands as it was occupied by the Germans during WWII. Imagine Anne Frank's world. That's where Audrey Hepburn was, experiencing the famine and malnutrition and horrors of Nazi occupation. When she was asked later to play the role of Anne Frank in a movie, she said that emotionally she couldn't do it. What I love is that her devotion to UNICEF came when her country was liberated and the UNICEF trucks came rolling in with food. It brings tears to my eyes! Here is a woman widely known for her beauty & celebrity (I especially loved her in My Fair Lady), but there is so much more to her. Did you know she spoke five languages? She did work for UNICEF off and on over the years, and then became a Goodwill Ambassador and devoted many years to humanitarian work. I love this photo with the children. She clearly loved them.

Since I was at the National Portrait Gallery, I took a quick spin through the rest of the museum. I think Mike and I went there in 2007, but I didn't remember it at all. Maybe we didn't go there. Haha.

I loved these portraits of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert since I have learned more and more about them over the past year. It is so sad how he died at only 44 years old, and then she mourned him the rest of her life. (the picture of the statue isn't my own since photography was not allowed of that one piece)

Gosh, Mike is 45 years old. Imagine if he died last year and I was a fat, sad person the rest of my life?! Wow. Ok, there was more to Queen Victoria. But I do think that side of her life is rather depressing.

Henry the VIII (of course!) & William Shakespeare

"This is the only portrait of Shakespeare that has a good claim to have
been painted from life. It was the first portrait to be acquired by the
National Portrait Gallery when it was founded in 1856." How about that?!

GOSH, that was a long post. And it took days to write. I'm happy to be moving on!

~ Barcelona & Geneva/Zermatt coming up next ~