Saturday morning daydream

via la-belle-vie

Instead of queuing up at the airport for a 9 hour flight, I'd like to be sitting here. Wouldn't you? I have a feeling it would be a lot more relaxing...

Good-bye England...

The boys and I in the Natural History Museum last week

We fly home tomorrow morning. Home! I am so looking forward to it. London has been amazing, but it's time to get back to our house and garden, our cat and our routines. I should be in bed right now! But the bags are all packed and the alarms are set and so I thought I'd pop over here for a moment to say good-bye to England and hello to all of you! I'll be back to posting regularly on Monday. Until then, wish me a safe journey, won't you? You know how I feel about flying! I'll see you on the other side of world...

E xo

Finally, tea in the park, bargain hunter

On the little bridge in St James' Park

My late night, pouring rain, one more day in London, 3BT:

1. Am finally going to meet my friend Cassie tomorrow. We've been waiting for this moment for a long time. And I'm really excited!

2. We sat for hours on a bench in St James' Park today. The boys ran on the grass and watched the squirrels and had races up and down the path. It was lovely, especially when Alan walked up to the cafe and brought me back a cup of tea.

3. Found some fabulous deals on Oxford Street this morning. Hello, back-to-school clothes!

It's way too late as usual and we're off to Suffolk in the morning, so I'd better say good-night. Don't want to waste a moment of our last full day in England.

Good-night!

love,

Erin xo

PS: I forgot to mention that we're having a curry for dinner tomorrow night. With naan bread. Mmmmmm, boy! I can't wait.

Guest Post: Lauryn and "The Climb"

Today's guest poster is none other than the lovely Lauryn, who I first met during the great Christmas ornament swap of 2009!

***

It is my firm belief that every place we travel to can and should hold a special place in our hearts. Whether you’re visiting ancient ruins in a faraway land or simply stopping by to see your grandmother in Ohio, going to a place that is out of the ordinary can do wonders for the mind, body and spirit.

Since Erin and her boys are off gallivanting across England, I thought this would be a good opportunity to share a little story about my first (and hopefully not last) trip to Europe.

The year after I graduated high school I had the opportunity to travel to France and Italy, two countries that meant a lot to me thanks to my Italian heritage and three years of studying le Francais. Our first stop was Paris, and after an overnight flight that involved very little sleep I was intoxicated by exhaustion but ready to soak up whatever that magnificent city had to offer.

Although I was traveling with a large tour group, we spent most of our days off on our own. A friend of mine was on the trip with me so we took it upon ourselves to explore Montmartre, a district in Paris that I’m still a bit in love with to this day. The district is named after a hill with the same name, which means that the entire area has wonderful views of the city. The only down side was the hundreds of stairs that were required to see those amazing views. Exhaustion and steps don’t go very well together.

Our first stop was la Basilique du Sacre Coeur, or Sacred Heart Basilica.

We saw signs pointing towards a crypt, which we thought would be an interesting thing to see. However, as we followed the arrows we noticed that we were constantly moving upward, not down into the basement where we assumed a crypt would be. Stairs, stairs, and more stairs.

With each step the view became more breathtaking, until we finally reached the top and could see what seemed to be the entire city. It wasn’t a crowded tourist attraction. We were the only ones up there, and it felt like our own private postcard.

By the end of that day I was more ready for sleep than I’d ever been in my entire life. My whole body ached, but I was so happy to be in that amazing place that it didn’t matter.

***

Thanks, Lauryn! I hope to visit the Eiffel Tower one day soon myself!

Be sure to pop over to Laureality to say hello to Lauryn and read all about her life in Michigan...

Feeling sort of glum

{j'adore}

I love London, I really do. You know I do. But right now, I would really rather be on the Eurostar to Paris. Waterloo Station is half an hour away. And Paris is just a few hours from there. Em is on the TGV from the French Alps to Paris right this second, and how much would I like to meet up with her there? So, so much. I am so close. But so far (and so short of the funds needed to purchase that train ticket). One day I'll go to Paris. But today is not that day. And I can't help but be sad about it. Le sigh.

Okay, complaining done. I have three days left in the UK. Am off to make the most of them! Thanks for letting me moan a little bit. You're lovely that way...

E xo

PS: Come back later for the last guest post. Coincidentally, it's all about Paris!

Guest Post: Micaela in Memphis!

Today's guest post was written by my dear blogging friend Micaela. She always wears her heart on her sleeve, this girl, and is just the sweetest person you could hope to meet (and one day, I really do hope to meet her!) Be sure to visit her blog and get to know her. You'll love her, I promise! Thanks, M, for writing this...

***

Hello sweet readers of Pughs' News! It’s Micaela here of Dolce Vita happily keeping you company while our Erin is enjoying a much-awaited trip to England with her darling boys (which includes Alan!). I am SO HAPPY for them to get to spend time with their family and jealous she gets to meet Cassie! I can’t wait to hear about that beautiful blog meet up!

I was very honored to be asked to guest post while she’s away.

She asked us to share with you lovies a favorite summer vacation memory. I instantly thought of one place: GRACELAND.

Sure it isn’t London or even Italy (my heaven on earth) but it was a HUGE life list of mine checked off last summer when my darling fiancé surprised me on our road trip home from meeting his parents in Virginia.

It was very well the surprise of a lifetime.

I am the girl who wrote my high school thesis on Elvis Presley. When I hear “Return to Sender” I HAVE to sing along and think of my Momma because it’s our song. If you haven’t read “Elvis and Me” by Priscilla you must. This love for the King was given to me by my Mom who grew up pretty poor in the Philippines but would always save her lunch money when a new Elvis film was out. It’s a love she passed on to me, something we share. When I moved to Virginia in January to be with my fiancé, my Momma gave me her VHS Elvis collection. I realize VCRS are hardly around these days, but to me this perfect Elvis video collection is an heirloom I want to one day pass on to my daughter.

When I hear “Return to Sender,” I think of my Momma and the teenage girl she was, long before I was even in her life, adoring the one and only Elvis in his glory. It is why when I stood in front of Graceland last summer I had felt like I had made it! Like a dream of ours was coming true… I only wish my Momma was with me to experience it.

It is why when I stood in front of Graceland last summer I had felt like I had made it! Like a dream of ours was coming true… I only wish my Momma was with me to experience it.

Big kid, cozy cafe, when you put it that way

{we love Trafalgar Square!}

A rainy Monday night 3BT from London:

1. Dylan sat by himself on the tube today (with me hovering a few seats away). He was so proud of himself for being so independent. And as the train pulled into Westminster station, he stood up all casual. So cute. It was a big step for him. And an even bigger one for me...

2. It started to pour with rain just as we passed my favourite little Regent's Park cafe on our way to the zoo today. We dashed in for hot soup and rolls. Soooo good, and such good timing. And would you believe our luck? The tea is free on Mondays!

3. The boys aren't ready to go home. They love it here. But when I reminded them that Grandma would be picking us up from the ferry on Saturday, their eyes lit up. "Do you promise?" Dylan asked. "Because that would make me very happy." Sawyer just smiled and clapped his hands. See you soon, Mom!

It's way too late, and I am even more tired than usual, so I'm off to bed before most of you are even heading home from work on the other side of the world! Good-night, dear friends. Sweet dreams...

E

Goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

On the agenda today: an afternoon at London Zoo in beautiful Regent's Park! Last time we were here, it was the dead of winter and most of the animals were in hibernation mode... We're excited today to see them active, alert and in all their glory! The boys are keen to see the lions and zebras, the meerkats are always a hoot, and I personally cannot wait to see the giraffes. Should be a pretty great afternoon out... I hear they've got ice cream stands, too! Oh, and don't tell the boys, because it's a surprise, but we're booked on a London Eye flight at 12 noon as well! It's going to be a great day out in London.

PS: Micaela's guest posting here tomorrow. Don't forget to come by and say hi.

A few of the best bits so far

We have been here for a little over two weeks. The time is flying by and we are always busy going somewhere and doing something exciting. We've been to Trafalgar Square and Oxford Street, Kensington Gardens and Buckingham Palace, the National Gallery (oh the Monets! the Van Goghs!) and Covent Garden. We have shopped and toured and ridden a million trains. I am exhausted! Tonight we've just been relaxing as the boys have drifted off to sleep and I've been thinking how much I'd like it if Wendy and Paddy and their kids were still here. We'd have had so much fun in the Travelodge all together! Still, we made the very most of the three days we had back when we first arrived in London.

Here we all are at Victoria Train Station. Hurrah! All the cousins together in one fab photo!

Wendy and I drying out in County Hall, after a long, windy and wet open-top bus tour of London...

Alan and our little niece Amelia.

Amelia and me, before the skies opened up!

Amelia with our boys at Knebworth House Gardens. Who knew there'd be woolly mammoths roaming the grounds?

Amelia and Sawyer were fast friends.

Mmmm! 99s...

Alan, Eoghan and baby Joe.

Eoghan, Fergal (my lovely godson!) and Dylan in the dinosaur section at Knebworth. I was so pleased at how well the boys all got along. They were friends almost instantly.

We all scream for ice cream!

There are a thousand more photos where these came from. I'll be posting loads (get ready for more than one historic site shot!) once I'm home and settled back into a regular routine. But for now, hope you've enjoyed these. We really had a wonderful time reuniting with Alan's sister and her family. 6 kids + 4 adults + 3 jam-packed days = more noise and fun than you could possibly imagine! I hope next time they'll come to us. And after that, we'll spend a summer together in the south of France...