travel

It’s go time!

Grateful Kae

Yahoo, trip day is here! Well, tonight. Our flight is at 9:15 p.m. Originally it was supposed to be a 10:30 p.m. flight, but they changed it to 9:15 a couple months ago. Which is fine overall- it means we’ll get in earlier, if all goes well.

But I had kind of chosen the extra late flight so that the boys could go to school all day today. Their spring break isn’t until next week, so they’re missing Thursday and Friday. In past years we’ve pulled them for the entire WEEK before spring break, to do 2 week trips. (2 week trips are my favorites!!) Honestly, I would have absolutely loved to do that this time, too, and tack on a week at my sister’s or somewhere else before London.

However, missing a lot of school feels a lot trickier in high school. 😢 AND it’s worse this year because we actually did already pull them for an entire week for the Mexico trip/ quinceanera in October, which was relatively non-negotiable.

I think we’re mostly ready. I’m working a half day. Would much rather have taken the whole day off, but my vacation days are pretty tightly allocated between now and the end of summer, so….

I have decided to leave my beloved green coat at home, I think. Boo. I do love it. But the weather looks to be on a warming trend, and I think my rain coat with layers underneath will likely be sufficient. Sure, I’d probably like to have a warmer coat at night, ideally, but I’m not sure it justifies the packing space in a carry-on only bag. Also, given the location of our apartment + where things are in London, most days I don’t think we’ll really be able to “swing by” the apartment to switch to a warmer coat for night time.

Besides, I have a fleece packed that can go under my rain coat, a couple warmer sweaters, and I also have this cute new England hoodie packed!

I actually ordered this for Ivan for his birthday last week. He’s not exactly an England football “fan” per se, but we have tickets for the England game next Monday and he loves all soccer/football and he likes hoodies, so I figured he’d like it! And he did, except the Adult Medium, his normal size, ran super small. It was one of those situations where unfortunately the return shipping was going to be pretty $$ and not really worth it, and turns out, hey, it fits me! So, I’m going to keep it! Happy Ivan’s Birthday to me. 😉 We decided we’ll look around in London for one for him to take its place.

Otherwise, just need to tie up loose ends like finishing up my toiletries bag and personal item, putting chlorine in the hot tub, and picking up a prescription before we head out around 3:30. The boys will have to cut out of school early too now, with the earlier flight. We have to drive and pick up my parents as well, which adds a little time.

I also need to pack up Charlie for his adventure!

“I don’t want to go on an adventure. I just want to stay home with my mom, forever.” 💗

Last night Ivan and I snuck out for a quick dinner at our Mexican place. If we go on a weeknight, versus a Friday, we always try to get a “healthier” option, lol. We usually opt for this chicken dish which is SOOOO good:

I just eat as is, but Ivan of course puts his chicken in a couple of corn tortillas and tops with arbol salsa. 😉

We always just split it (I mean, chips + salsa is like the other half of the meal, obviously). The thin cut chicken breast is delicious and they top it with melted cheese and shrimp and then it’s served on a big bed of veggies with Mexican rice.

Ivan was asking me, So, how’s the food in England? I was like…. 🙃 No comment! 😉 Haha. I mean, Ivan compares everything to Mexican food, and that’s like, an impossible standard to match, in my opinion. I have a distinct memory of my first meal in London when I was in high school. I took a bite and was like, hmm. This is rather… bland. LOL.

I’m sure we’ll have perfectly lovely meals- I’m not worried at all! I’m just also sure it won’t be quite as good as Mexican food, but hey! We’re going to ENGLAND, not Mexico. 🙂

Okay, talk to you all soon from across the pond! No idea how much or if any blogging will even fit in on this trip. I typically always at least try to blog partially in “real time” if I can, to capture my memories in the moment. But on our longer trips we usually have downtime in the mornings, or at night, where I can putter on my phone.

This trip is a little more “squished” for time, being only a week, and we have evening plans many of the nights. We also will probably need to move it a little more in the mornings, too. There’s just so much to see and do in London!!! And I can already anticipate having a million photos to sort through… So, we’ll just play it by ear! I’m sure I’ll at least try and check in. 🙂 I just have waaaaay too much fun blogging about trips. It’s seriously my fave way to process them! 🤩

(Speaking of photos- I did a massive clean out of my iphone photos the other day. I had like, 30,000 photos on my iphone!! 😂😂 I hadn’t deleted photos from my actual phone in like, 4 years. Hahaha. Since about 2016, I’ve had them all backing up to Amazon Photos, so I don’t need them on my phone anymore… but I just never delete them. It feels nice to have all that space freed up!)

Any last minute London tips for me from my British readers??? Also, how often do you delete photos from your phone?

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for the pond by our house. Spring is seriously in the air and the birds and geese and ducks and cranes are all back. I stopped on the bridge to watch yesterday, and a maybe ~60 year old woman walking toward me stopped and said, “And here I thought I was the only one who stops on the bridge almost every day to watch the birds!” haha. 🙂 Nope! I love it so much.

19 thoughts on “It’s go time!”

  1. Enjoy!

    Dishoom for brunch! Arome bakery for a breakfast – the miso apple danish is one of the best pastries I’ve ever had.

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  2. How exciting!!! I’m glad you like blogging about your trips because I DEFINITELY like reading you travel blog posts. Sounds like this trip is going to be a whirlwind. I’ll be interested to hear what you find to eat! I’ve been to London but it was a long time ago- i don’t even remember what I ate. I’m thinking… Indian food? Anyway- have fun!!!

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    1. I’m excited! Currently sitting at the airport though with a delayed flight… boo… hopefully only a little bit and won’t seriously impact anything! No fixed plans for tomorrow, at least…

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  3. I’ll be leaving our house at 3:30 to meet up with my parents to drop off the boys so we have the same departure time. I have nearly everything packed so plan to work until around 3. It sure if a lot of work to pack for the kids + myself! I packed my bag on Sunday since there is zero overlap between Mn/Mexico clothes. Phil will probably pack tomorrow morning and will bring this small duffle bag. Lucky him.

    I was in London during the spring of 2001 and do not remember being blown away by the food. 😉 I thought the mushed peas as a side was so odd. We had a lot of fish and chips. This was before I knew I had a gluten intolerance. I’d have to eat much differently. I would probably eat a lot of curry if I went there now since they are known for their curries and that’s a dish Phil and I both love!!

    Have the best time!!!

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  4. Can’t wait to read about your trip! In my opinion, the best food in London hands down is the Indian food! But it’s such an international city that you should be able to find lots of good options that are…not English food 🙂

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  5. hopefully the food has improved a little since you were last here. I hope you enjoy your trip here and enjoy the spring sunshine we’ve ordered.

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      1. no offence taken! My brother is married to a Mexican and lives in New York so the UK/US/Mexico food debate is well trodden in our family. I think a roast dinner is probably all that has survived his relocation- and it’s certainly what he asks me to cook if they visit!

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  6. This is a small thing but if you are tired and need to take a break the cafes at the Friends House across from Euston station and in the crypt of St. Martin in the Fields are nice places to have a drink and a snack. Have fun!

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  7. Have a wonderful vacay!

    I never thought about it before, but YESSSS now that you mention it Mexican >>>> any other cuisine.

    I think I pared down my phone photos a few months ago, which means that I need to do it again. All of my travel and food photos add up fast.

    I always giggle when I pack up Doggo’s “suitcase” when we go out of town and take her to the doggy day care place for boarding. It’s the totebag that the shelter gave us with food and toys when we adopted her, and I have her packing list down to a science: food, treats, a few toys that she hasn’t destroyed, a few chew toys, and her bed.

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    1. Aww, that is cute! Doggo’s own little suitcase!! 😍 My SIL’s situation may be changing in near future where I’m not positive if she’ll be able to keep dog sitting for us long term.. we may need to find a boarding place for future reference! Actually I feel like regardless, we should introduce him to a doggy daycare/boarding situation before he gets any older! He goes berserk crazy excited with other dogs, which is a bit of an issue. Like he jumps on them and just cannot contain his excitement! He doesn’t mean any harm, but other dogs are like WTH are you doing dude?! 😆

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  8. Oh have an amazing trip!! The weather here has suddenly turned less awful and I hope you get at least some sun! I think some food in london can be OK but obviously not as good as Mexcian… although whenever I go to london I try to eat mexican food because it’s way better than the Mexican food in Cardiff haha! The Turkish food is also good in London so I am sure you will find yummy things. The jumper looks great on you too – glad you could buy Ivan something that suits you so well 😀

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  9. Have a great time! I was in London last week and saw a lady in a yellow scarf – made me think of your packing post! Also, food, definitely agree with Coree’s Dishoom suggestion, so good, there’s also a supposedly Mexican chain called Wahaca, be interesting to see what you guys think of it. Ole and Steen for bready things. Enjoy!

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  10. I need to catch up with your London travelogue! My mom and I just decided to plan a fall trip to London so I will be taking copious notes!

    I clean out my photos on a monthly basis. Everything lives on Google Photos in carefully organized folders. At the beginning of the next month, I go through the previous month’s photos, delete any duplicates or stuff I no longer want, organize the photos I do want and then delete anything I don’t need to keep in the iPhone Photos native app (but I can download from Google Photos later if necessary). I can’t stand a cluttered Photos app so this fuels my spirit. Ha.

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