Our six days in London were filled with delicious food, wonderful museums (entrance is free, so we went back to some multiple times), and entertaining theater. My family loves London so much that we go back every few years, so it was a great end to our seven weeks of traveling together. We went to Fortnum & Mason for our favorite chocolate truffles; saw art at the Tate Modern, the National Gallery, and the National Portrait Gallery; returned to see sections of the British museum we hadn’t previously had time for; and walked through the many different neighborhoods of one of my favorite cities in the world. Robert and I got to meet his dad’s aunt and uncle, Vivien and Sidney, who had us over for dinner. It was so nice to connect with another part of the family. We took a tour of Buckingham Palace, where we saw a small fraction of the monumental art collection owned by the royal family, as well as some of the formal ball and meeting rooms. This was new for us because it is only open during the short periods of the year when Queen Elizabeth is away at one of her other palaces in Scotland. Another thing we hadn’t done previously was to visit Parliament while it was in session. We got to observe both the House of Commons and the House of Lords as members gave speeches and debated over issues like Brexit and fostering unity between England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Robert, my dad, and I spent a leisurely day in Oxford exploring the oldest English-speaking university (estimates date its origin at around 1096!). I spent a summer studying there when I was 17, living in the charming on the outside, but slightly shabby on the inside rooms on the quad at Oriel. The trip down memory lane ended with a visit to Christ Church (where they filmed the great hall and some other scenes in Harry Potter) and an afternoon tea and scone. We returned to London via train to meet my mom and Amanda to see Les Miserables. We also saw two Agatha Christie plays, Mousetrap (now in its 66th year) and Witness for the Prosecution, as well as Dreamgirls. All were fabulous.
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September 2018
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