So long, farewell

It's time to say goodbye. London was very busy and also possibly the coldest place so far. But I kept busy browsing in the gigantic bookshops that London does so well! I only wish I could carry more books home with me. Current tally is 18. I'm going to need every one of the collective 120kgs that Emirates so generously allows us!

But it hasn't all been books - sometimes I did things with the family too. Such as go to see Les Miserables and Hamilton (they liked those) or look at sights such as Buckingham Palace and Big Ben (they couldn't care less about those).

Tip for those planning to travel to London - they are phasing out cash. If you don't have a card to pay with, shops, sights and many food places don't want to know you. Bookshops, so far, are happy to take my cash, which naturally forced me to spend it there rather than leave it unspent. I mean, pounds just go off if you don't spend them, everybody knows that.

And of course, the jewel in our crown, the highlight of our trip, our Big Family Christmas! We went down to Brighton to meet my sisters, brothers-in-law and nephews/niece. And, after looking at the prices on the Christmas Day menus, we opted to have our big dinner on Christmas Eve instead. The pub we went to provided an excellent meal, and we were only slightly disconcerted that the recommendation came from our eldest nephew (aged 15. How did he know?!).

We had a brief flit back to London to catch up with cousins and try not to buy more books, and now we are headed home. It's been a frenetic three weeks but I'm glad we got to do it. We were SO lucky with the weather, and had very few difficulties with the trains or hotels. Super pre-planning nitpickiness for the win!






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