Home again

We returned last night from our week-long trip to London, exhausted but happy. I think everyone enjoyed it--for different reasons.

For me, it was a return to my favorite city in the world, a city I'd first visited in 1980, then 1988 and 1989, and 1993. As I wrote about a week ago here, those last three visits were working visits, and I stayed for more than just a week. In 88 and 89, I taught at a summer school outside London, near Windsor and popped up to the big city now and then. In 1993, I co-chaperoned a college trip to London for the month of January.

This time was especially fun--showing my guys the sites! Eli loved the historical and royal connections. As we went through Westminster Abbey, he told us about the Kings and Queens who are buried there. Robbie loved the Tube (underground railway system) and anything having to do with weapons: rusted old swords from Anglo-Saxon times, a jousting pole about 15 feet long, guns. We gave Bruce a day to himself when he visited Ben Franklin's London home and did a Beatles walk.

I was just happy to BE there again, walking the streets, strolling by the Thames, seeing theatre (two shows!), eating McVities tea biscuits, and sharing the historical sites with the family. I was also thrilled to be able to see a few things I hadn't before: the new Globe Theatre (a replica of Shakespeare's theatre), the Museum of London, the Natural History Museum, and London from the deck of a Thames boat.

Yeah, I have photos. I'll post a few here over the next week or so.

And now it's time to get back to TKD--class tomorrow. I'm hoping to squeeze in a workout today at the Y in between laundry, cleaning the house, and grocery shopping so I won't be in too bad of shape (luckily London is a walking city, so we all stayed fit!).