Pip,pip. Cheerio!

My week in Londontown was amazing. First of all, my Mother was there — to celebrate her birthday (and I’d like to think because she really missed her only daughter). Secondly, my Auntie D, Uncle E and Cousin S were extremely accommodating and hospitable.

I couldn’t have asked for a better time spent!

It felt good to be around family — people that love and understand me. It also felt good to be amongst English speakers, and understanding (for the most part) what was happening around me. And it also felt incredible to be able to taste familiar Guyanese food/snacks.

Plantain chips and Chicken Foot. *not actual chicken*

Channa (chickpea) Cook-up with fried fish and salad.

My arrival in London wasn’t the best of times, but I did not let it deter me from having fun. The ride to the house certainly made up for that. My Uncle had me laughing most of the way. It felt great to converse in English and have the recipient of your tale understand exactly what you meant.

When I saw my Mother I felt like a little girl. I cannot begin to describe the overwhelming joy that coursed through me. Although I expected to see her, it still felt like a surprise. On the other hand, it was a surprise for my Aunt. Sorry for deceiving you. It was for the good of the realm.

Thanks to Google, I had an entire Itinerary ready to be followed. Despite not completing the list — sorry all things Harry Potter … wait … I did see the theater where the play is performed — I visited places that I had never heard of, and honestly enjoyed those more.

The first landmark we visited, well saw from a distance, was London Bridge (see previous post). Per usual, there was the infamous English gloom in the air. It did not deter my excitement in the least. Over the course of the week I ate both British and Guyanese cuisines; visited the British Museum, Madam Tussauds, London Eye and other landmarks; I got the pub experience and rode in a few of the infamous double-decker buses; shopped at Marks & Spencer, Hatchards (I could live in this bookstore), Harrods — I am proud of my two wooden spoons — and more; drank some good ale; and visited the London Sealife Aquarium, the London Dungeon, and an arcade.