Five Finds Friday: The British Edition

Well hello there. It’s been a while.

Recently London and I “opened” her high school graduation gift, many many months delayed.

A trip to London, England.

I have SO many words to write SO much. (And you can bet they are words like fancy and loo and queuing and charlatan.)

But it seemed a fun way to start digging into this overwhelmingly delightful trip is to try a little structure – a British version of the Five Finds post!

funny

It was a little funny to watch me drag my 24 pound suitcase from airport to tube to station to street to hotel to up three flights of stairs because while our hotel DID have beans and sausage and poached eggs for breakfast every morning they did NOT have an elevator.

It was a little funny to discover that every bathroom was very very tiny. Or to be required to pay 20 pence? shilling? unit of measurement in order to access one public bathroom.

Also, I went to Hogwarts.

fashionable

Sure, I tried to look cute whilst flitting around the streets of London, but my London looked the British part straight away.

So if she ever finds herself studying abroad, I think she’ll fit right in.

flavorful

We ate several meals of fish and chips.

And they were ALL good. (The mushy peas were … mushy, but acceptable.)

Of course, as a mom for an awful lot of years, EVERY meal that is made for me is a pretty great meal. So – you’ll find zero complaining from me on a week long trip where I was not asked to cook or clean anything for any sort of meal prep.

The sweetest food experience was our afternoon tea. Three hours of endless pots of tea, plates stacked in three tiers with cute and delicious food, clotted cream, three kinds of jam, cute sandwiches and cake in a box at the end of it all. (Which we ate in our rather cozy hotel room later the next night.)

faithful

When London suggested heading to England for her graduation trip, I was excited – and a little anxious. I’d never traveled overseas. I’d never done such a far away and adventure-filled trip with one of my adult kids. I’d never left the other kids for so long.

I started saving money immediately – more than a year or two ago.

And even though I love the planning and the dreaming and the thinking, I was nervous that I couldn’t possibly save enough money or make it all happen or navigate public transportation or feel safe with just the two of us.

The reality was so much sweeter and more delightful than I expected.

By God’s kindness, we managed all the details – the through-the-night flight, the figuring out how to ride the tube and understand the bus system, the kids who were still state-side being safe.

What a treasure to spend eight days talking, laughing, walking and exploring with London. Praise God for his incredible and unnecessary kindness.

feels

There is literally no end to the good feelings the city of London produced in both myself and my traveling companion.

Every street, every corner – something magical and old and historical.

I likely looked enthusiastic and awestruck continually. It’s how I felt.

I can’t pick a favorite stop or building or place we visited.

That’s too hard. Don’t make me choose.

But the National Gallery Art Museum ranked high on our list.

It felt inspiring and humbling to wander those galleries and see art created directly by the hands of Van Gogh, Renoir and Monet.

Both of us felt impressed and small in all the right ways.

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