We’re back in international travel mode. As the timing works out, I’ll cover the first leg of the trip in this letter and pick up with the rest of the trip in Eliza’s.
Before we left, I should mention that we tried out Scott’s new eFoil at Bella Bella beach. Incredible! I was able to stand and ride it my first session out, and you got to body surf it. Those things are legit and on my short list for unnecessary summer purchases.
Back to this trip. We left a few days ago for London via Reykjavik. We left on a Sunday afternoon, which was awesome because we could take our time over the weekend packing and re-packing to make sure we didn’t miss anything. Of course, I forgot my electric razor. Compared to what could have been left behind, I’ll take it. Your Mom and I were bullish on traveling light, and we got everything into backpacks for each of us and one rolling duffel. Mom and I got new Cotopaxi travel backpacks, and they are worth the hype. The organization compartments are helpful and they carried a 20-lb load well.
On the 7-hour Icelandair flight over to Reykjavik, you two settled quickly into screen time on your Kindle Fire devices. I watched the third season of Succession, and I’m sure that Mom was watching Good Girls. After about four hours, Eliza went to sleep. Just like at home, you fought sleep for the first hour and eventually gave in. I carried you off the plane at Reykjavik to our connection. We didn’t have a long layover and jumped on a flight to Gatwick airport. You two were on the Kindles while Mom and I slept open-jawed.
We landed in London, the first time for all of us except your Mom who made the trip once for a job interview with the Church of England in Norwich. That’s a whole different story. I have to say that it’s comforting landing overseas where everyone’s speaking English. I wasn’t nervous for this trip but am not conditioned like I was for foreign travel before the pandemic. It’s a little easier getting around some place new when you can talk and read without depending on a translation app. We made our way by the Tube to our Airbnb in Kensington Park. After struggling a few minutes with the key lockbox we made it upstairs to our second-floor flat with luggage and sanity intact.
We fought jetlag by hitting the streets after unpacking by walking to a neighborhood Greek restaurant for dinner and then playing at Diana Memorial Playground. By “playing” I mean that you chased pigeons for hours. You also tried to go after some swans near a pond, but we got you out of there before you got in real trouble. Swans fight back. There’s something about chasing small animals — bunnies, birds, squirrels — that you really dig. We later got some flower-designed gelato cones, made a quick stop at Whole Foods (so exotic) for groceries, and finally called it a night.
The next day, yesterday, we went big. We jumped back into the Tube toward Camden Town and spent time at the market there, which was bohemian and grungy. We loved it. We walked around the shops and famed umbrella-ceiling alley. We saw the Amy Winehouse statue and ate street food in a domed outdoor table across from Village (as he proudly introduced himself, Village Idiot), an 89-year-old from Isle of Wight. We capped the outing with more gelato and caught the Tube south toward London Bridge. We jumped out south of the Thames and went to Borough Market, much fancier than its northern cousin and clearly the spot for Instagrammable food. After being tempted by a tub of paella, I went for the cod and chips. Yum. From there, we went to the Natural History Museum. That one was high on my list and informed our stay in Kensington Park because I knew you, young man, would be most excited by the dinosaur exhibit. It didn’t fail, especially the animatronic T-Rex. After exploring that world, we went to an Indian restaurant, Dishoom, for dinner. That didn’t fail either. You fell asleep on the booth, and I carried you back (barely) to our flat for the night.
Those are the highlights with so many details in between that I’ll leave to photos, memories, or lost to the sea of travel. We’re having a great time, and I am high on gratitude to be able to travel like this again with you. Being able to experience and share this big wide world with you is what it’s all about.
Love, Dad