It’s late and I have to get up early tomorrow to catch our flight home. I need to write down some details of today because we had an awesome day and I don’t want to forget any of it. We slept in, (again!) and missed breakfast (again!), but the three of us hung out in bed together goofing off until almost 11 am and it was wonderful. M was in a fabulous mood, as she has been for most of the trip.

We got ready and went to an early lunch at a little Italian bistro by the hotel. After that we decided to take Yvonne’s advice and walk around town for the day using the route she suggested. First off was St. James Park. M had her first experience with pigeons, ducks and geese. She loved them all! She and T walked around together (yes, walked!) and visited all of the birds.

After that, we walked over to Buckingham Palace. I was hoping to get a picture of M with the guards, but they all seem to have off today. Oh, well. We circled the palace just to make sure and saw hundreds of people “queueing” up to attend a garden party with the queen. I can’t even begin to tell you about all of the crazy hats. Some of them weren’t even hats, but just a bunch of feathers glued to a comb. One lady had feathers in her hair that were easily three times the size of her head.

Since we couldn’t find any guards, we headed down through the park, past Westminster Abbey, Parliament and Big Ben and crossed the Thames on Westminster Bridge. There was another park where we stopped to feed Bella—not everyone gets to eat her green beans among the roses! We continued along the waterfront and stopped watched some breakdancers. The guys were trying to get everyone in the crowd to clap to the beat. In true Bella form, she waited until we were walking away and then clapped all the way down to Waterloo Bridge.

We did a lot of walking today. I’m afraid I’m losing weight. There is no way I am eating enough to make up for all of the calories I am burning. After a pit stop at the hotel and a quick iChat with my parents, we set off to dinner. We went to another Indian restaurant. We have had so much amazing Indian food on this trip. Every meal seems better than the one before.

Today was a whirlwind day. Writing it all down doesn’t seem to do it justice. The day to us was simply magical. M had a wonderful time. She’s been such a good traveler and has thoroughly enjoyed herself. We’ve had an amazing time, too. Double decker buses don’t seem half as exciting until you watch your child stare up at one in amazement, turn around to you and smile the biggest toothy grin there is.

We’re all packed and ready to head home. It’s back to Lincoln for us. The rest of the pictures are posted in the gallery.

Saturday was our first really knock around town vacation day. Did I mention Brighton is a beach? All I’ve been saying for the past few years is that I just want to go on a vacation at the beach. Well, it’s not exactly the same as the beaches at home, but our room is ocean front. The water is a beautiful emerald green. It’s been chilly, but not cold—jeans and t-shirt kind of weather. Oh, and it’s been windy. In fact, I think it is more windy here than in Nebraska. (Yes, really!) More images have been uploaded into the gallery.

Today, after our traditional English breakfast (which I totally love—beans on toast, eggs and stewed tomatoes) we went walking on the pier. We also tried to find a place to watch Quali, but didn’t have much luck. Most bars/pubs were watching Wimbledon or soccer. We finally found one place, but it was a “child free” zone. Brighton is kind of like that. The signs read “Gay and Straight Friendly. Child Free Zone.” Bah! We caught the last few minutes at our hotel bar. Hamilton is on pole. Tomorrow is going to be awesome!

We met Tanuj for lunch and had fish and chips on The Pier, then went over to check out his hotel: The Square. It’s really nice and we were planning to stay there, but the rooms would have just been too small with Bella. (We’re staying at the Queens Hotel and have a really nice, big room.)

We hung out in the park for awhile, but Bella was tired. It was time for her nap. We decided we would all nap.

We were on our own for dinner and sat outside at Fat Leo on The Lanes, shared a bottle of merlot and people watched. (Just T and I shared the bottle, in case you were wondering.) We think Brighton is the bachelor/bachelorette party center of England. Folks get crazy dressed up for their “Stag” and “Hen” parties. It was free entertainment for the evening. Well, for us it was. Bella was quite content entertaining herself by feeding T her rice puffs.

Tomorrow is Sunday and we’ll be driving to London. Hopefully we’ll make it there in time to find a fun place to watch the race.

Our adapter didn’t work with the computer power cord, so I haven’t been able to write for a few days. I hope I don’t forget anything good. Here are the highlights:

The flight from Detroit to London was fine. Bella was a little fussy, but about normal things: I’m hungry, I’m tired, I have a wet diaper. She spent a few hours in her car seat, but the rest of the time she spent sleeping in my lap. It was ok. She was quiet and I slept, too.

When we arrived to London Gatwick airport it was crowded! Passport services was slammed. We spent almost an hour in line, and had about another hour to go when one of the passport services guys saw our stroller (a.k.a., push cart, buggy, pram). “You have a baby?” T. said yes. He pulled us out of line and took us to the front of the line. Not just up toward the front, but THE front, as in “Next!” Thanks, Bella!

The craziness continued when the car rental place didn’t have our car. Then they found a car, but it didn’t have Neverlost. We didn’t print any directions or maps because we thought we’d have Neverlost. It took awhile. It took a long while. Then they managed to rustle up a portable Neverlost for us. It was easy finding Brighton after that. We circled around our hotel a few times, though, before we realized where it was.

Thursday night was dinner at The Strand for folks who made it into town early. I got to see Kate, who I hadn’t seen in years. (She’s doing fabulous, by the way.) We also met Norm, her finacé. (Funny thing about Norm–by Friday evening we had figured out that we had met before, many years ago. It’s crazy that we just happened to run into each other again in Brighton and that he’s engaged to one of my good friends. Small world!) Tanuj and Claire arranged an amazing menu for both Thursday and Friday night. I got to taste little bits here and there. The restaurant folks were super nice and made something dairy-free for me each night. They totally took care of me.

Friday morning we went to the Royal Albion Hotel to have breakfast with the Kundhis. We hung out at their hotel for awhile to visit and then came back for a nap. I’d have to say that Bella is really handling the time change well. She is already on her feeding and napping schedules. Plus, we’ve kept her up late every night and she has been an angel. We are having tons of fun with her and I can’t believe I was so worried about traveling with her.

Friday afternoon was the wedding ceremony at The Royal Pavilion. Tanuj looked so handsome and Claire looked stunningly beautiful. It was a very nice ceremony in The Royal Study (I think it was the study) and then on to The Music Room and Royal Gardens for photos. Then it was back to The Strand for another amazing dinner. I’ve posted a bunch of wedding photos in the gallery.

We’re on our way to England. It’s kind of funny how we’re celebrating Independence Day by going to England. Most of you know, Tanuj and Claire are getting married in Brighton. Right now we’re on our way to Detroit. We have a long trip ahead of us. So far, M has been good. She had a little screaming fit because she was tired, but didn’t want to take a nap. (What else is new?!) Now she’s sleeping on T’s lap.

Getting ready for the trip was a little overwhelming. Usually when we travel I take care of myself and T takes care of himself. This time, I took care of all three of us. There were so many little details: diapers, baby food, confirmations for hotels that I didn’t even book, and new things like how do we get the cheeky monkey on the freaking car seat?!

With all the little details to worry about, I didn’t really think much about the big things. You know, everything on the news. All the stuff that no one wants to bring up in a conversation with me because they don’t want me to freak out. I’m not really freaked out, though. The first time I visited London was in January of 1991. I was taking a drama class. On a long weekend visit to Ireland, the US went to war. It was kind of freaky listening to the CNN guys describe the war live while we were floating on a ferry between two countries.

So here I go again. I should be nervous, but I’m not. Maybe it has something to do with getting on the MARC train and going back to work on September 12th. I just keep going on with life. Only this time, I hope I packed enough diapers.

I’m going through all of the wedding photos so I can send them to Claire’s sister, Laura, but I keep getting distracted by all of the little movies I took. This one is of Bella dancing with Craig, Laura’s son. I can’t believe it’s already been two weeks since we were in Brighton!

I can’t begin to tell you how much fun we had on our vacation to London. I think it was one of my favorite vacations ever. I can’t believe I almost didn’t go. All of the money we spent to super-duper expedite Bella’s passport was totally worth it.

I was pretty good about writing while away, but it’s mostly stream of consciousness stuff. I’m hoping to convert most of it to blog entries in the next few days. After I get over my jet lag, which so far hasn’t been all that bad, and after I download all of our pictures from T’s laptop. A few random thoughts:

Things I missed while on vacation:

Things I didn’t miss while on vacation:

Other random thoughts:

A final note:

This is more for those who are thinking of having a baby or who are already pregnant. Many people may tell you that your life is about to change forever. Most will say this in an ominous tone. Some will tell you to enjoy all of your favorite “couple” things before the baby comes because you won’t be able to do them anymore. Others will tell you that you won’t be able to jet off for a last minute vacation like you used to do.

I am telling you that yes, your life is about to change forever, but not like they imply. Life is about to get more fun and exciting than ever before. You can do pretty much anything with a child that you want to do, and it will probably be more fun than anything you ever did as “just a couple.” In an entire week there was only one thing that we couldn’t do because of Bella: watch F1 in a pub in Brighton. (Pubs in Brighton are “gay and straight friendly” but “child free zones.” We watched it in our hotel bar instead.) That’s not bad for a week-long european vacation!