Basically: I went to London for a conference.
But when I got there, I took the express over to Paddington, where I met my dear friend Sara (living in Sweden), who had arrived the night before, at the pub/hostel she arrived at.
We had a delicious british breakfast, deposited our luggage in the hostel hold, and began to scope out the city.
We tubed/walked to Central London;
the London Eye and nearby Big Ben,
Westminster Abbey,
St. James Park, Buckingham Palace.
We made our way back to a pub in Paddington for traditional fare, good wine and warm talking.
Then, we made our way to the hotel I'd booked for the conference and got ourselves settled in,
before we took off again.
Our destination was the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park,
but the city itself was lit up for the holiday.
We got to our destination amidst packages of people,
and took in all that there was to see.
(There was a lot--tons of people, and tons of food and merchants set up in little themed villages of sorts...)
We got ourselves some hot liquor (because, freezing),
and availed of the bratwurst available (and yummy)
before returning home for the night.
The next morning found us in the breakfast room of our sweet hotel,
where Sara made friends with the staff from Moldova (where she lived for 3 years) while I walked the 20 minutes to the conference.
I soaked in all the thinking and thought my own thoughts, all day,
joined by the student who got me to go in the first place, Olivia.
When the day was over, Olivia and I found Sara in Covent Garden,
where we had a bit of supper (a lip-smacking belly-warming risotto with smoked haddock, peas, spinach, and white cheddar for me),
before getting on the tube for a night's adventure.
We walked and walked in search of:
The Magic Lantern Festival.
It
was
magical,
delightful,
whimsical,
a-
-mazing,
and,
cold.
Held on the grounds of this estate, Chiswick House (which, ironically, I was reading about earlier this year, "the ultimate expression of folly", according to Bill Bryson), we drank our hot toddies and munched on roasted chestnuts as we meandered over the well-lit grounds.
Then, we made the long way back,
passing through the sweet little neighborhoods.
The next morning, we awoke to snow.
While Sara made her way to the airport, I left the shelter of our hotel
for a slushy walk to the conference,
where even more thinking occurred.
But, then, a real treat.
My sweet friend Yi-Ting (of my doctorate days)
who is living now outside of London,
met me in this tiny bistro in the neighborhood of our hotel.
We caught up on so many things,
while eating duck (roasted for her, en croute for me).
Due to London being completely shut down by the snow and a stroke of luck that left me with a hotel room with 3 beds, we then had a massive sleep over, since Yi-Ting couldn't get a late train out and Sara had spent the day unsuccessfully trying to leave the country.
Early the following morning we left Yi-Ting asleep and Sara and I made our way to the airport to see what we would see when we got to Heathrow. Long story short: I left when I was supposed to, and she hung around for awhile...
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