London Wrap Up and a Love Story

It is time to wrap this up and move on to other adventures!

Although not planned, we happened to be in London for the Royal Wedding. The whole country was abuzz with wedding fever. It was the topic of conversation on every subway, in every restaurant and every newscast. There is no question is my mind that the Britts enjoyed the speculation leading up to the wedding more than they did the wedding itself.

(no..I did not take this pic!)

We had every intention of being on the front row but, beside the fact that we forgot our pointy forehead hats, we couldn't get past the crowds to even get through the gate to Hyde Park. (This is the view of Hyde Park from our hotel room window).

So we found front row seats in the comfort of our hotel room and got the play by play on the perfect dress, Harry's assessment of the bride whispered to the groom (she looks amazing), who was invited and who wasn't. the carriage ride, and the first kiss(es).
The festivities lasted all day...
...but I have to say that the hand crafted hats were the highlight for me.

My "wedding" dinner.
Our trip to the famous department store, Harrods, started out wonderfully. We were awed by the size, the displays, the unique products and, of course, the prices. And then...disaster struck.
I found the expansive perfume display and excitedly called for Brittney to come smell some of the more exotic choices I found. I meant to do the "spray into the air and then lean in and smell" things but instead of spraying into the air I sprayed directly into Brittney's eye. Blinding my daughter was definitely not on my "things to do while in London" list and I know for a fact it wasn't on hers either. I felt terrible! I led her around by the arm like a good blind guide but it was a good 30 minutes before she could open both eyes. Harrods will forever be burned into our memory (and eyes).

These purple roses were hanging upside down in several bunches.
And amazing food displays...


I would've considered getting this doggie bed for Aussie, but it just seemed wrong that my dog have a nicer bed than me.
As a family of tennis fans, we decided to hit Wimbledon. I think it would have been a lot more entertaining with a couple of good tennis matches going on. By this point in our trip, I was getting a little ornery about how expensive everything was and I was done shelling out the big bucks with nothing to show for it.

The famous "center court." Many a tennis player dream of one day playing in this spot.
And the equally famous Wimbledon strawberries and cream.
Time to put London to bed....

The London Eye
Big Ben....
...and Piccadilly Circus.

Thank you London for providing challenges and discomfort that caused my daughter to push through and discover her own strength. She now knows that she can do hard things. Thank you for showing her your diversity and culture and beauty. We discovered that Will and Kate weren't the only ones falling in love in Great Britain. She spent the last 4 months uncovering your many gifts and fell deeply in love with it all. We will be forever grateful.