T.S. Eliot: The Vocabulary for Love Within a Family

Hello again chums! This message is brought to you by the letter F! F is for: Family Fun! That’s right, 3 of the 4 remaining Jardons scuttled over the pond the other week and paid yours truly a visit! It was so lovely to see them, and I was so excited to show them just how well I’ve adapted to living here and how much I knew about London. Leading up to their arrival, I gave them all kinds of insider tips and things to do while I was at work, plus they were spending Easter weekend with me, so while I was painfully jealous that my second family (Megan, Allie, Ally, and Alex-you know the gang by now I hope) had toddled off to Paris and Berlin for the break, Family the 1st swooped in and saved me from a very lonely holiday.

On the day they arrived, they started with a nap and then we decided to get out and do something British. So we got Italian food. Scold me all you want, but it was a crazy tourist weekend, what with the resurrection of Christ coming up and all. Our next move was to Harrods, where I showed them everything from the Egyptian escalator to those snuggly (and unbearably expensive) little puppies on the top floor. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, look back into the archives of this here blog and take a peek. That night we also made a late night trip to the V&A, which ranks as one of the nicest and most well-filled museums I’ve seen in London. You’ll see a few of those pictures later.

The next morning was devoted to British writers. Clearly my parents will support my interests, no matter how embarrassing and nerdy they are. Our first stop of the day was Westminster Abbey, which was my number one “return to” spot from my last trip here. As we waited in the ridiculous Holy Saturday line, I was giddy at the thought of what was to come. Upon entrance, I basically zoomed through the rest of the building, stopping briefly at the graves of Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, until I came upon every English major’s dream: Poet’s Corner. Every writer, poet, playwright and generally awesome human being is buried or memorialized in this tiny niche of the cathedral. While I couldn’t take pictures to show you, I can tell you that I’ve decided exactly where I want to be buried: right next to Sir Laurence Olivier and below William Shakespeare’s memorial. Just a cozy little spot among the greatest humans to ever live!

I also got to see Britain’s oldest door, so….yeah…be jealous.

The fam

Next on our journey through the wonderful world of literature was Charles Dickens’ house and museum. Not my favorite stop; their collections of Dickens related paraphernalia was a little disjointed and displayed pretty randomly, and his house was not particularly unique or impressive, but as usual, knowing that Dickens himself used to stand in those same rooms was really cool. Some highlights were the library of his novels and the outfit he wore to meet Queen Victoria.

We had a quick spot of tea at Bea’s of Bloomsbury, which was adorable…

…and then we headed to our final literary destination of the day: the home of the world’s most famous detective-221b Baker St. I told you I’d get to the Sherlock Holmes Museum! We may have gotten a little lost on the bus on the way there, but it ended up being a fun blessing because we stumbled upon Abbey Road and got to take a quick peak at Abbey Road Studios. We finally made it back to Baker St. and headed into the museum. Let me tell you something about the Sherlock Holmes Museum: if you people thought I was a dork, Sherlock Holmes fans have raised the bar. Each room was decorated to the exact specifications noted in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, complete with bullet holes in the wall and the violin Holmes was known to play. There were also some creepy wax statues of all of Holmes’ villains and even a display of the letters written by real people to Sherlock Holmes in the hope that he would come solve their mysteries. He’s a fictional character, people. Relax. He’s not coming to help you discover where your cat goes at night (example from a real letter, I kid you not).

It was time to head back to South Kensington, but my Mom and sister and I needed to make one more stop to the Victoria and Albert museum to finish up the highlights tour. We saw some really beautiful furniture and silver, and a really neat display on snuffboxes. We just barely made it through the amazing exhibit on jewelry when they started kicking us out.

Silver lace

We awoke to a lovely Easter Sunday, which I’ll just cover for you briefly because I wouldn’t want to steal the thunder on Jesus’ big day, now would I.

-Got dressed and headed to Easter Mass at the Oratory. Pretty sweet.

-Brunch at Babylon, a very fancy restaurant on Kensington High St. There were flamingos.

-Nap at the hotel

-I actually don’t remember what else we did, but I’m sure it was just lovely.

The next day was the first of two Jardon clan daytrips outside of London. This excursion was merely a train ride away to Brighton, an absolutely gorgeous beach town in southern England. Imagine San Francisco where everyone has an adorable accent. That’s what Brighton is like. It was a gorgeous day, although really windy, and when we got off the train we walked straight down a hill to the beach. I had completely forgotten what the ocean looked like not from an airplane window, so it was really nice to breathe in some salty Atlantic air and listen to seagulls. The boardwalk was full of shops and bars and restaurants, and there were hundreds of people riding bikes and walking dogs all along the coast.

We made our way down to the pier which is highly reminiscent of Santa Monica pier (could I have discovered the original California?) and then we decided to head to Brighton’s second most popular feature, The Royal Pavilion. The summer oasis of Charles II, this palace looks like nothing else in all of England. It was full of opulent furniture and decorations, including a 1 ton chandelier and a “music room”. But most stunning of all was the architecture. Let’s have a little look, shall we?

Day excursion #2 was to Shakespeareland! No, I’m not talking about a Shakey-themed amusement park, although it might as well have been considering how many times I almost peed in my pants with excitement. I’m talking about Stratford-upon-Avon, hometown of the world’s most wonderful writer and all around great guy. Our first stop, when we got off the train, was Shakespeare’s birthplace. Don’t even get me started on how excited I was. But what is it with these amazing historical sites and no photos? Here are a few I did manage to captcha.

We made a few brief stops at Shakespeare’s dad’s house and his family friends’ houses, and we passed by where Shakespeare went to school, and then finally, it was time for the moment I’ve been waiting for all my life. I got to see Shakespeare’s grave. I got to be in the same room- in the same air- as Shakespeare himself. I’m actually getting goosebumps just thinking about it. A moment of silence please.

A quick stop at “Othello’s” for lunch (I swear, the whole town revolves around my main man), and then began the mile long hike to Anne Hathaway’s house. Not “Devil Wears Prada” Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife Anne Hathaway. She has the most adorable little cottage at the end of a long walking trail, with and adorable garden and some really beautiful willow arbors. It looked like a fairytale.

The next day I had to get back to my internship, and my family had some other adventures planned on their own, but we met up each night for a dinner and a show, the likes of which are another whole post to themselves. More than anything about these 10 days, I loved spending time with my family and sharing everything I’ve learned with them, even if they can be more than a little nuts. And I’m sure they’re giddy with excitement knowing that they’ve made it onto the now infamous Black Cab Chronicles. Hello family, I know you’re out there! I’ll see you again soon! But next, off to Amsterdam!