Across the Pond

"What was your favorite part of London?"

I can't even tell you how many times I've been asked some variation of that question this week.  And I have yet to come up with a good answer.  Embarrassing, right?  Because the truth is, I loved it all.  Damian, Jen and Cassidy were fantastic hosts and Michael and I had so much fun hanging out with them and exploring England.

A few of the many highlights:

• Getting a giant hug from Cassidy when we picked her up from school after arriving from the airport.
• Getting to know the Tube.  I loved how easy it was to get around the city.  I'm going to miss riding the District Line back to Wimbledon ("where this train terminates") at the end of every day.
• Dinner with the London Hoffmans every night.  We were spoiled with the meals...delicious salmon, Jen's amazing homemade meat pie (pictured below), Damian's famous marinated steak (I told you it was good, Michael!).  But even better than the food was spending time with my family, and recounting our days/listening to Damian discuss Star Wars over a meal and a glass of wine.  Something I've missed being able to do since they moved to London a year and a half ago.
• Getting to spend 10 days straight with Michael.  Our schedules are so busy at home that we only get to see each other on weekends, so that was a nice change of pace, however brief.
• Flying over the Arctic Circle/Northern Canada on the way home from our stopover in Iceland.  Breathtaking.  I took pictures but they didn't capture the awesomeness.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.  I took over a thousand, so narrowing it down has been a daunting yet enjoyable task.

Damian and Jen's adorable flat in Wimbledon.

Skype with Nate, Jess and Eavan :)

Outside the very first Twinings store on the Strand.

The graffiti wall outside Abbey Road Studios.

At the top of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Sailsbury Cathedral.

MUJI!  My new favorite store.

Portobello Road.

View from the plane as we landed in Iceland.

Hope you enjoyed the glimpse of our trip!  And I apologize about the kissing picture.  I know those are tacky, but I just kind of love it, so too bad. :)