03.25.10

Today might have been my favorite day yet!  I got up early and hung out with Nathan and Emerson while David slept in.  He was up late the night before having talked to his mom who told us that his sweet 99-year-old Mamo had passed away early that morning.  We are so thankful that we were able to make it to Midland last week to spend time with her but we wish, wish, wish that we could just click our heels together and be in Texas this weekend for the funeral. 

We eventually made it to Hyde Park where we wandered for over an hour and I did nothing but say “this is the place where Darrah and Casey and I used to…”.  Luckily, I married a sweet man who doesn’t mind my reminiscing!  We walked by the Serpentine lake, Kensington Palace, and the Sunken Garden.  For some reason, my memory is of the Sunken Garden being so secret and hard to find but, apparently, all of London has discovered it and there is now signage announcing its existence!

 

After walking past our old place and launderette, we stopped in at Taormina for a “light” lunch of calamari, minestrone soup, penne pesto, and tiramisu.  The place hasn’t changed a bit and we talked with the owner who sweetly pretended to remember the three of us.

 We decided to walk to our next destination (high tea at The Langham) and I told David the story of how when I took my parents and sister to tea, it started to rain, and we ended up at this nice hotel looking like drowned rats.  Ironically, the showers soon began and David and I repeated the family tradition.  On the bright side, tea is never so good as when you are a bit soggy!  I'd read about the renovation of The Langham in one of my design magazines and the room was stunning - mid-century modern furniture, gorgeous chandeliers, and cozy seating.  As we hate to waste a good eating opportunity, we ordered the full tea of sandwiches, sweets, and scones.  I think we each had two pots of tea, DC ordered an additional gin & tonic, and I had an extra cupcake.

  

We took a black taxi back to the Adairs and DC finalized his plan (which he stole from Nathan) of purchasing, shipping, and retrofitting an early 80's cab as his vehicle of choice once we move to Cincinnati.  I can't think of anything better than being chauffeured around in one of those!  

After getting Miss Emerson set up with a child minder, we stopped in for a quick drink at the smallest pub in London (conveniently located next door), and continued to impress the Adairs with our extensive eating skills.  We went to an Indian restaurant in Covent Garden that played Bollywood videos, were seated in a private booth above the main floor,  and served plate after plate of curry, naan, chicken kebabs, and lamb goodness.  To cap the night off, we headed home for a leftover tea treat, a glass of wine, and once again kept our hosts up later than we should have!