I Know, I Know...

I suck.  I'm sorry!  I was out of the country, and then run ragged over the holidays.  Then my entire family got a stomach virus, from which WG and I are still recovering.

The past few weeks have been a mix of awful and great.  Along with the shared virus, we also had to put our beloved pit bull down just before Christmas.  He'd had some tumors removed in September, but they came back (and then some).  During the week I was away, he lost a lot of weight.  Eventually he was at the point where he couldn't hold anything down, even water, and he couldn't stop scratching.  He was in pain, and it wasn't fair to try and keep him with us.  He went very peacefully, but we miss him terribly.

However, in his honor, we went to the shelter and adopted another pup.  She is a beagle/basset hound mix, and very sweet.  She'd been through a lot, so it feels good to be able to give her a forever home. And we adore her!

So, yes, I went to London for a week.  And it was fabulous!  I even took a day trip to Cardiff (in Wales) to see The Doctor Who Experience.  So I can scratch that off my bucket list.  And since they weren't filming, we were able to go down the street to the BBC Cymru studios and take a tour of the TARDIS set.  It's  BEAUTIFUL!  A full 360 degrees and 3 levels.  As I stood on the top step, I though to myself "I could totally be on this show!"
And then proceeded to trip on the bottom stair.
But, apparently, I'm in good company.  Matt Smith tripped on that same stair repeatedly.
We also got to see the TARDIS painted in memory of Clara, as well as the inside of a Dalek.  And I'll say this; whatever those Dalek operators are being paid, it couldn't possibly be enough!

Back in London, I met up with my friend who lives there, and some of HER friends.  All of whom are fellow artsy types, American, and living in London.  Well, except one.  She lives in San Francisco.  We joked about how we had to travel 5,000 miles to meet each other when we live about 30 miles apart.  :)  We went to dinner one night, then met up a few nights later to see the holiday light displays at Kew Gardens.

I stayed in South Kensington this time, which is a great neighborhood.  And I did lots of exploring, including a trip to a cool North London neighborhood called Crouch End.  I needed to get out of Central London on the day of the Santa pub crawl, lol! so I googled London neighborhoods, and this one came up.  And it's a great area!  With a nice library.  Can't go wrong in a place that has a good library, IMHO.

I hope to go back again this year.  If I travel off-season, I can get a flight/hotel package at a very good price.  This one was through British Airways, and it was perfect.  I hope to stay at the same hotel again.

But I'm back home, and happy to be with Hubby and the kids.  Even with this stupid virus.
And I'm REALLY glad the holidays are over!  I don't know about you, but I always end up overextended and exhausted. It's good to be (almost) back to a regular schedule.

And now, I need a bit of a nap.  Getting this thing out of one's system is exhausting!

I'll post soon.  Promise!