Sapphire's Books: A Guest Post

Hi Steph's readers!  This is Sapphire filling in while Stephanie readjusts to life on this side of the pond.

Here is a picture of me in case we haven't met

Home Sweet Home

I'm home.

Monday night I had almost convinced myself that I would never make it. That I would spend the rest of my life in O'Hare airport. (Maybe I'm being a little melodramatic).  But I did, finally...eventually...make it home.

I won't bore you with the details of my journey, but I will say this: It could have been so much worse!  I'm one of the lucky blessed ones.  I wasn't travelling with children.  I wasn't travelling with anyone! And I didn't spend the night in an airport the night before. And I have amazing, AMAZING friends that I don't even deserve.  Special thanks go to:

Lisa: Thank you for being the sunshine in an otherwise really crappy day!  Thank you for saving me from spending the night in the airport.  It was so fun to see you (as always).  God knew we needed to spend some time together... I'm just sorry so many other people were inconvenienced in order to make it happen.  Also, the fact that my trip was bookended with laughter with you is not lost on me.  I love symmetry!

Mindy: Thank you for driving all the way to the airport to pick me up, even though I never showed up.  Thanks for your flexibility and patience.  You're so fantastic.

Sapphire: Thanks for picking me up!  Thanks for not telling me I was a dork while I was doing my phone interview in the car on the way back.  You're such a good friend.

Mindy & Shelby: (Yes, I have two Mindy's in my life.  I don't get confused, but other people do). Thank you for making an attempt to surprise me at the airport!  You're so sweet!  Sorry I stood you up...

So now I'm home.  And it is SO GOOD to be home.  It is overwhelming, and it is an adjustment, but it is good.  I'm constantly torn between "I have so many people I want to see and catch up with" and "I don't want to talk to anyone and I just want to hide in my house forever."  But I can't hide forever... there is yeast to buy so I can bake bread.  Because (let's be honest) what's the point of hiding in your house if you can't bake bread?

Sapphire and I jump started the truck yesterday and I went out to run errands.  THE ORANGE TRUCK IS BACK ON THE ROAD! Driving felt SO GOOD!

Many have asked how the dogburts handled it when I came home.  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I was kind of hoping for balloons and confetti cannons, or at least a lot of happy barks, jumping, and kisses.  They came out the door, looked at me for one confused second, then were like "Oh... hey Mom."  It was like I had just stepped out to get groceries.  Slightly anti-climatic.

But!  They did have a Mother's Day card for me!

I'm Coming Home

Welp. 

It's time. 

I've said my good-byes to London, I have a few more thing to buy/pack, one more sleep in this bed, then I head to Heathrow, to Chicago, to my dogs.

Real Life with the Taylors: Sleeping and Sleeps

We interrupt this tour of London with another episode of Real Life with the Taylors. I don't know about you, but all of this site-seeing is getting a bit tedious, so we're going to take a break. 
 
I would hate for you to think my life is all glitz, glamour, and site-seeing.  Even though we're living near London, there's till plenty of real life going on.
 
Exhibit A:

 

Museums of London Part II: Really, Really Old Stuff and Other History

Yesterday we looked at the art and science museums I have visited here in London. Today we'll look at the other museums I've visited.


British Museum
 
Kelly and I stopped by the British Museum one day, because seeing the Rosetta Stone sounded like the thing to do.  When we entered the massive and impressive building, we headed first to the attraction that interested us most: the restrooms.  After that, we headed through the Egyptian Rooms to the Rosetta Stone. 
 

 

Museums of London Part I: Art & Science Museums

As you may have noticed from my lists, I've been visiting a few museums.  As I sit down to write about all of them, I realize that I've been to 10 different museums here in London.   That's a lot.  Too much for one post. Let's break this down, shall we? 

But first, a few words about the museums in general.

• Most museums are free.  Which is awesome. Of course there are collection boxes with certain suggested donations, but there is really no obligation or pressure to give.
• Museums have free restrooms!  This is wonderful.  And most of them are pretty clean and decent and --dare I say-- attractive?
• Of course there are gift shops in these museums as well.  They are so much fun to look around, even for someone that doesn't like window-shopping.  So many fun and interesting things to look at and think about buying...
• This one may surprise you: the food in the restaurants, cafes and cafeterias is really, really good.  It is all done by the same company, Benugo.  Benugo also has shops in many train stations,  as well as in the parks.  Very Important Note: Benugo makes the best scones in the city!  Not only have I personally researched this, but a native Londoner told us as well. (I was not paid or perked in any way to say these things. However, if someone would like to fund my research, I would not be opposed to that :)
• There is no time to go to avoid the crowds.  On weekends you have families and tourists.  During the week you have school groups and tourists.  Chose your poison and learn to deal with it. (Note: I have not learned to deal with it)
• If you happen to see a tour happening (in English), try to tail along nonchalantly.  Tour guides point out interesting things, and you'll learn a lot.  I listened to a bit of a tour for some elementary aged children at the National Gallery, and regretted not following them all over the place.

We'll start with talking about the art museums and science museums I visited, then tomorrow we'll talk about the history museums.  Sound like a plan?

As is always the case, words in red are links.  Each red heading here will take you to the museum's official website if you would like to learn more.

The National Gallery
 
The National Gallery is located on Trafalgar Square by Charing Cross Station.  It is free to visit, but you can't take pictures inside, so I only have pictures of the outside.  The Gallery contains many, many, MANY historical paintings. 

 

Markets: Revisited

You may remember that we have discussed markets here before- after visiting Borough Market and Camden Market, I wrote this blogpost.

Borough Market vs. Camden Market

As you may be able to tell from that post, I didn't like markets and had no desire to go back.  However, when touring with other people, you sometimes do things you would not chose to do if you were on your own.  And sometime you find that this stretches you and you like things you didn't think you would like.

Borough Market (Revisited)