London Highlights

To say that we were devastated when we found out Debbie and Luke were moving to London would be an understatement. We have been blessed in this life with some great friends and Debbie and Luke most definitely are in that category. Only Debbie understands what's it's like to be married to someone like Ryan because she is married to someone almost exactly like Ryan. Those boys are something else and somehow we love them so. ;-)

We planned this trip the week after I was in London for the marathon. I knew Ryan would not only need to have some quality Luke time but he's been homebound for 3 months since his knee injury so it was time for him to get out and go south of the border! Here are some of my favorites from our trip from last weekend!

1. Running with Debbie- Debbie and I got up Friday and Sunday morning for a little jog through Wimbledon, the area where they live. We ran through the cute little village, the common (a huge, partly wooded area with trails) and through Wimbledon park. It's a beautiful area and it is always nice to run with a buddy! I miss our random runs together so I was glad we were able to squeeze in two while I was there.

2. Churchill War Rooms-this was one of a few touristy type things we had planned. Since Ryan's still not 100%  with his leg and not big on super touristy things anyway, we wanted to make sure the things we did do, were to his liking and something to do with WWII was right up his alley. We could have probably spent hours in the museum learning about Churchill, his influence and what was going on in the very rooms we were standing. All of the rooms were just as they were during that time and if you closed your eyes and imagined what it was like, it gives you chills. The influence Churchill had around the world was also intriguing to read and I am really glad we did this. A must see if the history of WWII is your thing or even if it's not.

He is so quotable. They had many of his quotes around the museum. I like this one, he and his wife were married for 56 years until his death. You have to go into life with a little bit of humor!

Original map with pin markings

Churchill's quarters

3. Mexican food- I knew when we booked this trip that Mexican food was a must while we were in town. Aberdeen doesn't really have a Mexican food place and we haven't been to Texas in 5 months so, needless to say we were craving some. Wahaca was recommended by my friend, Vicki, and it did not disappoint. Ryan was in heaven with his pozole, corn and tacos and Debbie and I were in heaven with our passion fruit margaritas. Yummy! I now think I'll make it til I'm back in Texas next month ;-)

Salmon tostados.

 

Boy loves his corn!

Best. tacos. ever.

4. M&M Store- this was a totally random stop. We had wandered over to Leicester Square to kill some time before dinner and came upon the huge M&M store on the corner and thought we would drop in to get a bag or two to snack on during the train ride home that evening. Instead, though, we got 4 bags or 5lbs of M&Ms valued at 45gbp /$70. I think my heart dropped at the check out counter but it got a good laugh. Who spends $70 on M&Ms?!?

The boys wanted M&M's in their respective college colors...

The girls wanted dark chocolate peanut M&Ms...my new favorite!

5. Great weather- we couldn't have asked for better weather, well maybe we could have, but for London in the Spring it was pretty great. It made for traveling by foot, train, tube and bus so much better and not having to haul around rain jackets, coats or brollies was pretty awesome too. And I wore my sunglasses for the first time since last year!

6. Borough Market- it was crowded, I mean really crowded but the food was mouth watering and I wish I could have brought more home. We only ended up with vension salami. Ryan, of course, had to get a pulled pork sammy while we were there; it was delicious. A cool spot to browse and sample foods from around the world.

7. Debbie and Luke- the majority of our time was just hanging out. We went to a handful of pubs to just catch up, reminisce, plan our next trip and shake our heads at the ridiculousness that is Ryan and Luke when they are together. A fun time is guaranteed when we are with these two and I'm thankful we were able to spend the weekend with them.

Make sure to check out Debbie's blog to get a play by play of the whole weekend! Can't thank them enough for picking us up from the airport, their fabulous hospitality and planning of the weekend!