Christmas

It was a little crazy, but we managed to work a half day, get home, pack, and make our train to London on Christmas Eve. The train ride down was uneventful, but it was also quiet - very unlike our Christmas Eves in the past.

We were traveling to spend our holidays in a friend's apartment in Warwick Square in London. We decided not to come home for Christmas since we'd only arrived in the UK a few weeks before, and it seemed silly to return home so soon. And we ended up having a great Christmas - we missed our families, and both of us got quiet at some points during the day, but we managed to make this year pretty special.

One of the best parts was when we arrived at the apartment late Christmas Eve and started to unpack. Unbeknownst to me, Mark had gone to the "pound store" and stocked up on tacky Christmas decorations and lights. I am a total sucker for Christmas decorations, and while we weren't able to lug our tree down, it was a thoughtful surprise.

Christmas morning, we woke up and started to open gifts. Everything we got was so thoughtful, but I think our faviorite was the picture book of Miller. We both got a little teary-eyed, and we think next year we'll try to do Christmas in England again, so we don't miss him a second time.

We went for a long walk around our new neighborhood, and found ourselves along the Thames, by Westminster Abbey and Big Ben (our new neighborhood is "posh"), before ambling into a pub for a few pints by a warm fireplace. Mark had made reservations for us in a Turkish restaurant a few miles away, so we only lingered a few hours before returning home to fancy ourselves up and have a delicious dinner.

You all were missed.