Scotland and London 2023

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Today we got up, grabbed a quick breakfast muffin and coffee and prepared to meet our taxi to board the train to London. We will be staying at my favorite place....The Balmoral House Hotel. Its a small bread & breakfast hotel with small rooms, no elevator, and no air BUT its where we met Flavio Martinez and he is our dear friend here in London. This will be my third stay here and I love the area. It is easy to get too from the airport. It has a major subway/train station around the corner. There are a variety of restaurants. Plus Flavio takes good care of us.

Our train ride was uneventful but good. We got to see lots of countryside. We could order breakfast but I just had coffee and yogurt. I was about a 2.5 hour rain ride, however we came in to a station across town. Since we had so much luggage, we went to the taxi stand for our transportation to The Balmoral House. Flavio ran out to greet us! I think he was as excited to see us as we were to see him (Chrissy was meeting him for the first time). He is always so sweet. He insisted he carry our luggage upstairs, which was no easy task. We had already acquired several souvenirs in Scotland and York!

We surprised Flavio with gifts from the USA. He told us, on previous visits that he hoped some day to go to the USA especially to Florida and New York City. Shealyn and Marsha sent a ball cap from Florida and Chrissy and I bought him two shirts from NYC! He was trying on his ballcap when we came back downstairs to head out to the Natural History Museum.

Sadly we didn't get in the Natural History Museum. The line was about two blocks long. We tried to buy tickets online but it was late in the day and they were sold out! So we walked to Harrods Department Store! It is a huge store with souvenirs, a food hall, high end apparel......it’s really a fancy department store! I really couldn't afford to buy much in there but it was fun to look. Chrissy wanted to go to their new Perfume Floor. It was incredible......most fragrances I'd never heard of before! The escalator ride was worth the trip. It was like being in a museum. I should have taken more pictures!! We did take time to go to their coffee bar and have tea and a small dessert. Well at least that's what we thought! Chrissy's honey cake was several layers.....not what we expected!!!

During our walk around the street near Harrods, I spied a statue. I noticed a bouquet of daffodils some one had placed there so I thought it must be significant. It was a statue of the Prodigal Son. If you don’t know the story pick up a Bible and read Luke 15:11-32. I know how I’d rejoice if one of my children left, lost everything, and then, in desperation, felt safe enough to return to me. How much greater God must feel! This statue took my breath away!

From Harrod's, we headed back to our hotel to take a break and get ready for dinner. There was a Pub, The Victoria, that Shealyn, Marsha, and I tried several times to get in, but never did. Chrissy made us a reservation. We got there about a half hour early but they still seated us. I was craving a burger, so that's what I got. Chrissy ordered the Lamb Shoulder, which was excellent! Sadly we shouldn't have had the appetizer because we were way to full for dessert!

It was a short walk back to our hotel and it was raining lightly so we decided to stay in for the night. Corey and Jennifer will be joining us tomorrow in the early morning. We are so excited for them to arrive!

This trip all came about because Corey wanted to come over for this Star Wars Celebration here in London. I said sure, we can do it and here we are!! Because their school breaks rarely are at the same time, they were limited to a week, but we will have some fun times together for that week!! the funny thing is, Flavio is a huge Star Wars fan! He ran to hi room and showed me his prized possession.....A customized light sabre!! I think he and Corey will have lots to talk abut!!!

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