So, where were we y’all?  Ah, yes.  Aruba.  2001.  Like anyone cares at this point.  Well, maybe I do a teeny bit.

Anyhow, soon after GR and I returned from Aruba, we packed our bags again (and our furniture for that matter), and moved seven miles up the road into our second home.  The home in which we will grow old and die.  Or maybe we’ll just skip the part of growing old and just die first from the agony of paying our mortgage.  Either way, this house will be the death of us.

And for the next couple or three years, we were back to eating crab legs at my mom’s place near Clearwater Beach during the summer, and trips to the mountains in the winter.  Fun trips for sure, but I was ready to get my motor running.  Head out on the highway, if you will.  Look for a little adventure.  Or just whatever was to come my way.  Lulu was born to be wild, people.  Eh-hum.

So, in February 2006, I found myself in a phone booth halfway around the world.  London was calling, and I had to answer, y’all! 

For six fun-filled days, I traipsed around glorious London with my friend Brandy, my cousin, Miss Margarita, and her husband.  It was a crazy, whirlwind trip that left my legs wobbly and my heart filled with a great love for this city.  I want to live there.  I swear it hurts just to think about how much I want to live there.  And not just because I love Pret a Manger (sick, right?), but I love the history, and the people, and the Underground, and the mushy peas, and the fact that women wear boots—every day!  It’s a dream life, for sure.  And now I’m whining.

So, touring London in 5 days (with 1 day spent in Paris) is a feat within itself.  There’s just way too much to see and do.  But, we did our best to hit the major highlights.  I’ll give you an overview of our itinerary…

Day 1: 
The Original London Sightseeing Tour and The British Museum.  Although it was a freezing cold day in February, we sat on the top of a double-decker bus and enjoyed a wonderful tour of the city.  Afterwards, we spent the afternoon at The British Museum, where I came this close to passing out from trying to see everything in a 4 hour span. 

Day 2:
Tower of London, Lunch at Café in the Crypt at St. Martin in the Fields church, The National Gallery, and Madame Tussauds.

Here I am inside one of the towers, standing where Anne Boleyn herself might have stood…

And here’s the site of the scaffold where Anne Boleyn was beheaded…

Finally, here’s me at Madame Tussauds sitting beside King Henry VIII himself.  I am wife number seven.  The Good Wife.  Wearing an ugly sweater…

Day 3:
Hampton Court Palace, The Three Greyhounds pub, the National Portrait Gallery, and The London Eye.

We visited one of King Henry VIII’s many homes…

We ate fish, chips, and mushy peas here (remember this pub from Bend it Like Beckham?)…

After we ate, we visited the National Portrait Gallery, and then it was off to the London Eye—which is amazing at night. The city is beautiful…

Day 4:
On this day, we took the Eurostar to Paris for a very long day trip. If you want to know how to tour the Louvre in two hours, just ask…

I suggest heading to this painting first…

The painting was much smaller than I had imagined it to be and just a bit of a disappointment, but definitely a must see.

Next up was Notre Dame.  However, after running (literally) through the Louvre, Brandy and I worked up an appetite, so we decided to skip the tour of Notre Dame and gorge on some French pastries.  We have our priorities, okay.  Actually, we had felt so rushed that we really just wanted to sit in a Parisian café and relax.  So, we went here…

And shared a crepe…with bananas.  I think.  The menu was in French.  It could have been slices of beef, but I’m not sure.

And after we rested a bit, we did some shopping, and then headed over to the Eiffel Tower for a ride to the top and a gorgeous view of the city…

Paris is another city that I would love to live in for a while.  But I must learn to speak French first…

Day 5:
On this day, we toured the amazing Westminster Abbey…

Did some shopping in Notting Hill where I bought my most favorite perfume evah (La Chasse aux Papillons by L’Artisan)…

And we also floated down the Thames River on a boat tour.

Day 6:
On this final day, Brandy and I embarked on a full-day bus tour of the English countryside.  On the tour, we visited Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill…

And visited many quaint countryside towns, including my favorite, Bourton-on-the-Water…

Needless to say, this trip was exhausting.  There’s so much more to London than what we did.  Five days in this town is not nearly enough.  And trying to do one day in Paris is just crazy. 

However, just a year later, I seemed to have found my way back there again…reliving a very similar itinerary…

To be continued next Friday…