I Just Met a Girl Named Maria... (actually, I've known her for awhile.)

Maria arrived safely from Syracuse by way of Philadelphia last Wednesday, and it's been a whirlwind ever since.

After breakfast and a little nap (Maria took one too), we stayed around Hampstead seeing the sights and of course, stopping in the pub. We all had dinner at our favorite Hampstead restaurant, Villa Bianca to officially welcome her to London. Thursday, Maria & I met up with my friends Jenny & Joyce for our "Royal Day Out" at Buckingham Palace.

The Palace State Rooms are only open to the public during August & September while the Royal Family vacations at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The Royal Day Out ticket included the State Rooms, and also the Royal Mews where the carriages & horses are housed, and the Queen's Gallery which is currently running an exhibit about Victoria & Albert (the Queen & her Prince) which includes loads of paintings of the two of them and their six children at various life stages, and also samples of art that they gave to each other as gifts over the years. They apparently had quite a love story; if anyone has ever seen the movie "Mrs. Brown" (highly recommended if you haven't), you'll recall it's the story of how a man named Mr. Brown, played by Billy Connelly, was brought in to sort of bring the Queen (Dame Judy Dench) out of her many years of depression after Albert died. As the story goes, he remained her dear friend and companion for many years, much to the chagrin of her children and her advisors. (Needless to say, this story isn't highlighted at the exhibit.)

The Royal Mews & the State Rooms were in a word, spectacular. At the Mews, we saw and took photos of the carriage that Diana rode in to meet her own Prince Charming on her wedding day (the Queen and Princess Anne had both used it as well), as well as the over-the-top Royal State Coach, among others. The State Rooms themselves were just unbelievably beautiful and so regal. From the original fine works of art to the Grand Staircase to the Throne Room, it all sort of just took your breath away. Of course, no photos allowed inside, so just trust me when I say it was truly exquisite. It was a long day out but a really good one.

Friday took us to Borough Market and Covent Garden for shopping & lunch & more shopping and it was a lot of fun. Saturday, Chris left early for a looooonnnng plane ride to Sydney for a week of business meetings (he'll actually be in Camberra, the official "capital" of Australia) - he'll also get a chance to visit with our London friend Andrew which will be good. Kyle worked a full day, so Maria and I were on our own again, and this day got a bit of a late start and headed to the British Museum. Maria will be teaching her 6th-graders ancient cultures this coming year, including Greece & Rome, and she was really excited about all there was to see at the British Museum. We spent a good few hours there, then it was on to the Audley Pub in Mayfair for proper pub food (and a few pints) then back home.

This brings us up to date and through the first half of Maria's visit. Today, Kyle wants us to have brunch at the restaurant where he works, then we'll head downtown for a "London Walks" tour of "Shakespeare & Dickens London" which should be pretty neat. Reports to follow...

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