Trixie Traveler in London 2014: Last Day

It has rained again during the night and is raining a little when we start out for breakfast. This is our last day in London. I am sad to see the trip end yet know I cannot stay in this bubble forever. I have had a wonderful time. Have loved the pace and casualness of what we have done. Best is the time we've had with Anne. We go again to Carluccio's at the Brunswick Center. They don't open until 9:00 on Saturdays so we get a tea at a coffee shop a few doors down while we wait for Carluccio's to open. It starts raining really hard with a clap of thunder. I enjoy this weather immensely. We won't see rain in California for a long time. The rain is short lived and it soon brightens up. We have a leisurely breakfast and pleasant walk back to the hotel.

I have come to like this Bloomsbury neighborhood very much. The Marchmont Street shops include many interesting restaurants, cafés, coffee shops and other kinds of stores. Anne says when she first started coming here many of these stores weren't here. There wasn't anything open past 5:00 so if she was working late in the library, she would have to plan ahead and get a sandwich, cheese and crackers or whatever. Now there are many choices for dinner and many interesting coffee shops to try.

We go to meet Jessica and Haley around 10:45. We take the Metropolitan line from St. Pancras. The trains look new and are very clean (BART take note). Because of repair work, we can only go so far on the train and have to take a bus for the last few stops but it is well organized and there are people to help and answer questions. Jessica's husband's brother and family and his father live in Harrow-on-the-Hill. It is quite a nice city. It feels like a suburb, which it is, since it's only about a 40 minute train ride to Central London. We meet Jessica at the Harrow-on-the-Hill tube station. We take a taxi to the Tea Cup House where we have lunch. Jessica, Anne and I order the high tea. It comes on a tiered stand and includes little sandwiches, scones and different kinds of cakes along with tea or coffee. Two and a half year old Haley is a real trooper sitting quite a long time while we eat and visit. She is used to going places with Jessica. She's a cutie with a lot of personality.

After lunch we walk around the town a little going to a very old church with an old graveyard. Harrow-on-the-Hill is home to one of the premier private boarding schools called Harrow, on a par with Eton according to Anne. We walk Jessica back to Chas' brother's house, a mile walk or so, before making our way back to the bus which we will take back to the train station. It is quite hot and humid this afternoon and we are warm by the time we get back to our hotel.

We cool off and rest for a bit watching the end of today's Tour de France stage. Anne and I have our drink in the bar, our last of the trip, and then we all three go to Prezzo's across the street for a light meal. Anne goes to her place to pack and we do the same. We have an early rise tomorrow and a long day ahead.

It was wonderful to see Jessica today, a nice end to the trip and a good thing to do on the last day.