turns out, a few days in London was exactly what i needed to decompress from Zambia. and Tiffany* was the perfect host: ensuring i didn’t have to make a single decision the entire time i was there. we wandered. we shopped. we ate. we talked. we drank. we snapped. we slept. we did laundry. and it was all perfect.

news of the car bomb attempts in the UK barely reached us in Livingstone as i was preparing to leave last weekend. i actually heard about the flooding and rains before any sort of security threats. thankfully, other than a few hour-long delays, the trip to Heathrow was relatively uneventful. our biggest concern was nearly FREEZING in Jo’burg airport while waiting at the gate to board.

London was lovely, scattered showers and all. we spent a lot of time walking. Tiffany did an awesome job of making sure i saw a little of everything in/near the city centre. the names run together in my head now, but i remember Soho and Picadilly Circus and Oxford Circus and Fortnum & Mason and Brick Lane and St. James and Carnaby and Regent Street and Chinatown and Leicester Square and Trafalgar and and and.

i bought two new plastic cameras at The Photographer’s Gallery and a few dresses appropriate for the Caribbean at Top Shop. we visited The National Portrait Gallery, which was absolutely amazing. Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal” was sold out, so we went to a hilariously campy stage version of “The 39 Steps”. it was a riot.

and we ate! oh, it was goood. Indian paneer and lassi, Korean sweet & sour chicken and pancake, Chinese dim sum, chips, hamburger, and even pizza. the cider went down well and the coffee was even better. real coffee! in the morning! right when we woke up!**

this morning, we tuned into the television news and checked online to make sure there weren’t any more tube derailments or abandoned fire extinguisher security threats that might interrupt my travel back to Heathrow. thankfully, everything was running smoothly. i can hardly believe how the hours have flown by today.

right now we’re about 7 hours from Vancouver and i can’t tell you how great it was to see the letters YVR on my luggage tag. going home! there are 6 different currencies in my wallet: Zambian Kwachas, South African Rand, English Pounds, and Zimbabwean and American Dollars. but i’m most happy to see the good ol’ Canadian bill again.

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*and the wonderfully chipper husband, Matt. : ))

**with cinnamon toast, of course!

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