Holiday - London

First stop on my and Leslie's adventure abroad was to spend the week in London with my friend Tayar. We arrived at Heathrow at 8am on a Saturday and hopped in a black cab and took off to Chiswick (pronounced Chiz ick) to drop our things at Tayar's flat. The three of us had breakfast and took off for city centre to do some site seeing. It's a good thing we did, most of the rest of our time in London was spent inside pubs. Of course, I like to view things from a local's perspective and you definitely don't find many of those loitering at Buckingham Palace. We perused the art at the National Gallery, walked through Trafalgar Square, took a photo opp on the Millennium Bridge and rode on the London Eye to capture amazing views of the city.

I took this pic for Leo.

After much walking around it was time to hit our first pub so we black cabbed it back to the W4 (Chiswick) and met up with Tayar's friend Coggs. He's one of four or five Aussie's Tayar runs around with. They are an amazing group and I'm happy to have made their acquaintance. So many times I get shushed and am asked to please use my "inside voice." Or, I'm told I've embarrassed someone by something I've said or done. The Aussies were refreshing...they're as gritty as I am. By the end of our first night, the Aussie's had joined our wolf pack. :)
We had dinner at amazing restaurants every night, but my favorite dining experience was at The Pilot. Tayar and his friends gather at this neighborhood pub each week for the traditional Sunday roast. All of them are transplants to London so they've become each others family. It's such a beautiful concept that I'd love to start with my friends in Austin. We had pork roast, purple cabbage, roasted parsnips, carrots, potatoes...Sunday goodness...Amen.

Me & Leslie

Tim & Tayar


Libby & Coggs

Libby and I were cut from the same cloth...I heart her!

When everyone went back to work on Monday, Leslie and I spent a few days exploring London on our own. I successfully navigated the tube (it's not that hard and way slower than the subway in NYC) and we spent one afternoon checking out Camden Market and another gawking at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Parliament, etc.

We spent our last night in London hopping around a few pubs in the W4 with the wolf pack (sans Libby...she was sick...I'm still bummed we didn't get to say goodbye). Fun night. Unforgettable trip.

Countdown to Londontown...and A'dam.

I've been busting my butt all week preparing to leave town for a 2-week vacation and it's making me crazy. I've always been a "work smarter not harder" kind of gal. These 12-hour days have me consuming way too much wine every evening. And turning off my brain when I go to bed??...forgetaboutit. If I worked this hard EVERY week you'd have to put me in a padded cell.

My note from The Universe this morning was so on point I had to smile as I was checking my blackberry while hiding under the covers not ready to face the day. I hit snooze, snuggled down and gave myself 10 more minutes of some crazy ass dream because of it. Thank you Universe, you always know just what to say!

Of all the things that matter, Johanna, that really and truly matter, working more efficiently and getting more done is not among them.

Chill,
The Universe

And, quite accidentally, Johanna, such an appreciation leads to greater efficiency and more productivity. Not that that really matters.