February 01st, 2018

A Series of Accidental Events

We stayed up late the night before our impromptu visit to the city of London, England. I made notes about tube stops and bus stops and sights Alyssa, our study abroad student, wanted to see. We woke early the next morning and missed our "planned" train so we decided to just catch the next, the 10:13... Alyssa's apartment is 15-20 minutes away from the train station at a brisk walk, we left her apartment at 9:55 and still needed tickets. Needless to say, we ran to the station and yes, Dear Readers, made the train! Luckily, we remembered the sandwiches and snacks we had prepared the night before and also luckily for us, I left the "plan" for the day at the apartment. 

​I began to ask a few questions of the unfortunate woman who we sat by and was overheard by a lovely mother and daughter who lent us a London A-Z map so we made some notes again. We began to chat with the mother and daughter and soon decided to get off the train at their stop instead of our "planned" stop. We walked across a pedestrian bridge over the Thames in the drizzle and into the Cultural Center where music was playing and toilets were available. The ladies got us oriented at Trafalgar Square and kindly pointed out directions to points and districts of interests. Standing in front of the National Gallery, we decided to walk toward Buckingham Palace. From there we strolled to the Green Park Tube stop, but not before showing Alyssa the glorious tea room in the Ritz Carlton where her father, Russell, and I sat in the pink and took tea while the piano music wafted about along with the scent of scones and cucumber sandwiches many years ago.

​From The Ritz to Baker Street for the Sherlock Holmes Museum visit that was Alyssa's main place to seek whilst in London. Next? We went back to Trafalgar Square via Picadilly and hopped on the Number 15 double decker bus to goodness knows where, we just knew it was a picturesque tour through the city. More questions were asked and a plan to get off at the Tower was made but not before we nearly stopped at St.Paul's Cathedral instead. With the sun on our faces and the wind pelting our ears, we munched on curry peanuts and strolled along the cobbled way to view the iconic bridge from the water. 

​More questions and directions and tube riding took us to the sumptuous Victoria and Albert Museum. Alyssa fell in love the same way she did when she first visited the MMA in New York. We were overwhelmed! What a glorious MUST see in London! Alyssa made plans to return for the day... We had off-peak return tickets and a bit of time, so we wandered into a restaurant with free wifi to discover our train was leaving sooner than we thought. A frantic rush of packing the meal we thought would be a more leisure affair ensued and back on the tube we dashed to Victoria Station. Huddled together we inhaled our chips, salad and lasagna as we waited for the train. Luckily, I caught the end of an announcement that mentioned our final destination, so more running, direction-asking and adventure.

​ It was a day filled with laughter, adventure, no plans, accidents and mother-daughter bonding. 

​What a glorious series of accidental events!