It's worth remembering that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change. --Queen Elizabeth II
It's been a while since I've gathered myself up enough to post something here. I've been traveling and only arrived back last weekend, and since then I've been back to work and getting into something of a routine again. Today is the first day that I mostly feel like myself again.
It was a strange time all around for this trip. The week before we left I hit an energy wall and just had to sit myself in time out until we left. I thought about powering through, but then I thought to myself, "I wonder what it would be like to go on vacation totally and completely rested already?" And I realized that that had not happened in a very, very long time, if ever. I spent the week before our departure sleeping a lot, cuddling my dog, and trying to get everything at work in place.
And then, the day before our departure, Queen Elizabeth II died.
I'm Canadian, and while my day-to-day life does not involve anything particularly related to the monarchy, it was kind of a thud to me to get that information. And then I wondered exactly what we'd be flying into when we arrived in London. I decided to do what I've been doing for the past few months: just wait and see and accept whatever comes.
And really, it wasn't too alarming. The news was still fresh when we arrived on Saturday morning, but I did notice that absolutely every storefront, train station and bus stop had signs up paying tribute to the late queen and offering condolences to the Royal Family.
Having lived in London and having visited several times since then, it is a very familiar place to me. London is the sort of place that always changes and yet never changes... history abounds while the latest and greatest arrives. I found it particuarly true when I happened to ride the newest line on the London Underground that was opened during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee last summer. Rarely have I waxed lyrical about a subway, but man that train was amazing. How interesting to see something so fresh and innovative related to something to stolidly traditional as the British Monarchy:
If you're a regular visitor to this blog, you've probably seen a myriad of my London photos, so I try not to take too many of the same things over and over. The hubby and I are pretty good at finding the hidden corners of places and this trip was very much in keeping with that habit. We only had a few days in London, so we spent time exploring things near our hotel. This was the first time we visited the Museum of London:
Which looks out over the old city walls, which I didn't even know existed:
We followed a path along the wall for a while and passed by hidden condos and apartments, then came upon this little hidden pond in the middle of the bustling city:
I love finding things like that. Later on, we found a little park in between some of the buildings to sit down and eat our sandwiches:
And nearby was this wall:
For me, this is what travel is all about. I like to see all of the places where the citizens of the place I'm visiting like to go to to enjoy a break, drink a cup of coffee, meet with friends... I like to see how other people live their lives.
And I also like to notice unexpectedly beautiful things, like the view of the restaurant we had dinner in one night along the canal:
And peer down alleys to see grand things:
And enjoy the sight of a proper bar at a pub:
And take gratuitous food photos:
Of course, while we were in London, I took the liberty (!) of visiting Liberty London again. And while I was wandering around, I heard Christmas music. I was initially a bit annoyed because I don't like "holiday commercialism" all that much, but when I got to the top floor, I had to drop my cynicism and let myself just get lost in the wonderland for a while:
I couldn't help but pick up a couple of Christmas decorations:
And of course, I spent a good while doing laps around the fabric section. I tried to plan ahead this time so that I wouldn't be too overwhelmed, but the fabric I wanted wasn't in stock. I did have the sense to try to buy enough to make a proper garment rather than just buying a "souvenir metre" of something that would languish in my fabric stash for years. I was very pleased with my resulting purchases:
I did bring along some knitting to keep my hands busy. I've decided that sock knitting really does make the best travel knitting, because they don't take up much space and are a good way to use up some of my variegated yarn stash... except I had a slight problem a few days into my trip:
That was an "aaaaaaargh!" moment. I will share with you how I solved that problem in my next post.
After a few days in London, we made our way over to Kings Cross Station to take a train up to York. In an effort not to overload this post, will endeavour to share that post with you later this week. In the meantime, I'm going to go practice napping with this guy. Have a good week!
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