in the light of day

Have you ever noticed how different things are in the light of day. Last Christmas I flew to Kyiv to visit my sister and her husband. When I booked the flights I didn't really take note of the fact that I would only have about an hour to change flights in London. It wasn't until after everything was all booked and set that I realized my mistake. There was nothing I could do. I then had to deal with Terminal 5. When I landed in London on my way to Kyiv it was early in the morning. Once I made it through passport control and security my flight was in final boarding, that's when I started running. I ran through the terminal, past the fancy shops and celebrity restaurants (Gordon Ramsey has a place) and made it just in time for my flight. Coming back it was evening when I landed and again, after the mess with passport control and security I once again had to run to make my plane. Needless to say I didn't see much.

Today I found myself once again in Terminal 5. It was mid afternoon and the place was full of people. The terminal itself is very new and full of shops and restaurants that I didn't have time to even glance at last time through. The place was crowded with flights being called constantly, "flight 548 to Rome, flight 623 to Chicago, flight 885 to Santiago". If you want to feel like you are at the center of the world just go to Terminal 5 at Heathrow and catch a plane to anywhere.

lazy days

Have you ever noticed how things seem to slow down the month of August? I was walking the dogs the other day and I noticed that the need to walk fast and get the task over with was gone. There was no push to hurry and return to the house to move on to the next item on my list. I thought it was because I'd just returned to a small sleepy village after spending a week in busy London but the more I thought about it the more I realized that many of the Augusts of my memory play the same way.

Everything seems to slow down even though many are burdened with the preparations of returning to school, we all want to stop and savor the last few moments before it all begins again. The excitement and even fear for some of starting a new school year is overshadowed by the simple need to relax one more hour or finish that last novel before the rush of academic reading.

Even for those not returning to school there is a seemingly unexplainable need to pause and enjoy. I remember the first fall after I graduated from University. The flurry of preparation was missing but the need to enjoy the freedom was still there. Perhaps it's biological, knowing that in a few short months the sun and warm weather will be almost a figment of our imagination. A need to bottle it all up if only to be able to return to the peaceful memories in five months time. Maybe it is the ridiculous hot weather that causes us to slow down. Knowing that the slower we move the less we may sweat. Could it be that simple?

the wheels on the bus

After almost a month in the UK I returned to France last night. I will admit, I was sad to say goodbye to the land of fish and chips, wrong side of the road driving and caramel digestives. I had a fabulous time exploring and spending time with family.

The first two and a half weeks I spent with the family at the pub, The Jolly Sailor, in Orford. While there I learned how to go crabbing, the goodness, yet heaviness, of pub food and how to pull a pint. I will admit that pulling pints was one of the coolest things I did. I only felt comfortable behind the bar in the afternoon when the bar was pretty much empty and the occasional patron didn't mind that I really didn't know what I was doing.

On the 5th I left Orford and headed for London. It was really just a pit stop on my way to Bath to visit my brother. It was great to go back to Bath. I love going some place for the second time. It still has the new and exciting feeling about it with a since of the unknown but you can feel comfortable enough to take chances and explore. My brother and his wife just moved into a new apartment right in the center of Bath about a 3 minute walk away from the city center. Annabelle and Dave were in England because Dave was there for work and they came down on the Saturday and we had a mini Utley family reunion. Miia was of course adorable and loving all the attention. We went to the Roman Baths and took a long walk through the Botanical Gardens enjoying the amazing weather. I love the immediate joking and laughter that happens when members of my family get together.

Sunday Annabelle and I headed into London for our week-o-fun. It was fantastic. Since we had a whole week and we had both been there previously we didn't feel the need to rush around seeing everything. There were certain things we wanted to see or do but for the most part our days were relaxed. We walked all over London though. We went to the British Museum and the National Gallery. We saw the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles. We went shopping on Oxford and Regent's Streets and wandered through Hyde Park. A major highlight was going to Buckingham Palace on Saturday. The Queen is in Scotland for the summer so the State Rooms are open to the public. It was amazing, so beautiful and ornate. We were in the last group to go through for the day so we took our time and we were able to spend time in the rooms without the massive crowds. Which, considering there were crowds everywhere (mostly Italians), was pretty cool. We also went up in the London Eye right after sunset, gorgeous. I loved being able to do all of this with my sister. Since moving to Europe all of my trips so far are done alone and to be able to experience all of this with my sister made it even more enjoyable and exciting.

Vacations are fabulous. There is always the constant pull of wanting to stay away but missing home all at the same time. For now I am glad to be back in France. I can rest up from my vacation and get ready for the school year to start and the children to get back into a routine.