London

Ok…so this is supposed to be a blog about France adventures but we took a side trip (an adventure from our adventure?) the previous  weekend to London to see Jane's family.  It was a lot of fun.  We spent a couple of days re-discovering London (it had been 30 years) and a day visiting with Jane's aunt and cousins (a great crew…lots of fun).  We stayed in a fun neighborhood at the northwest corner of Hyde Park, close to Notting Hill.

It was very different to be back in an English speaking locale.  I was feeling the usual anxiety (will I understand them?) every time I talked to a stranger.  But surprise!  They talked English! That said, I was surprised that I sometimes struggled to understand the British accent.

London was, generally, very expensive. As an example, the metro cost $6 for a short one-way ride.  Wow!  We found ourselves planning our day to avoid transportation.  This was OK because we really love to walk in grand cities.  Paris, New York, London….we can spend all day just walking.  We discovered some fantastic markets too.  Probably the most fun was a street called Portobello Road that we visited on Saturday morning.  A packed market of sort of bohemian/international stuff.  Every language imaginable.  Very cool.  We also enjoyed the Borough market and the neighborhood around it on the south bank.  Another highlight was Speaker's Corner.  I love that concept.

Harkening back to my memories of London, we saw some great entertainment.  My sister, who is in a Sweet Adeline  group, would be proud of us for watching a comedy group that was also a barbershop quartet.  They were hilarious.  Again, a little hard to catch everything at the beginning of the performance but by mid-show we were on track.  

The rest of London was fun but the best time was definitely the time with Jane's aunt and cousins.  So great to have family here.