Suddenly, our dreams turn to home, family and friends. And we know we’ve entered the waning days of our four week odyssey.

So, we return to a couple favorite restaurants and search out some new ones for new tastes.

We take walks and short trips daily trying to outrace the showers which now fall regularly… followed by sunny skies.  All are short-lived.

Friday, all the transportion returned to normal. We took a trip locally to Notting Hill. Yes, the famous street of the eponymous movie starring Julia Roberts.  We wandered the endless vintage aka junk markets and I bought a little china dish.  We stopped at the Notting Hill bookshop the film made famous.

Dinner back at Fish Central..this time ordering fish &chips,  too.

Saturday, we headed in a new direction. North. The whole city seemed headed for Finsbury Park for the Futball game. Local team  Arsenal won and the pubs happily filled up after.

But we were on a different mission. We were headed to the home/museum of William Morris.

You may not know him by name but I guarantee you’ve seen his wallpapers and fabrics grace just about every movie and show with a British setting. Morris was a craftsman, inventor, poet and rabid socialist. He believed in the dignity of crafts workers of all skills.  His home filled with textiles and art and lovely gardens kept us enraptured for nearly two hours.

Then home to rest up before heading out to Farang, an acclaimed Thai Restaurant nearby.  Then a long ride to the Theatre District to see “Everything goes Wrong.”  It’s a quintessential English  comedy filled with pratfalls and witty repartee. We need all the humor we can get these days.

Sunday, they predicted rain all day and so we  just stayed in till dinner.

It wouldn’t be an A&M trip without one (or both) of us getting sick. Sunday afternoon Andy was feeling sick.  We watched a perfect movie in “Hampstead” starring Diane Keaton.  It’s about a squatter in Hampstead Heath where we just were.  Based on a true story and delightfully retold. A good afternoon at home followed by dinner out.

Monday, Andy’s cold was in full bloom.  I went out by myself for a couple of hours to pick up provisions and do a little personal shopping.  It was the first time we’d been apart in over 3 weeks! Crazy but we do get along when we travel.

When I got back, we watched “The Good Liar” with Helen Mirren. Also shot in England.  Then we ubered out for a quick dinner of Vietnamese penicillin aka Pho at Nom.

Tuesday, tomorrow, is our last full day.  We will be packing up  and cleaning our cozy abode for their real owner’s return Weds and our flight to Munich in preparation for the long slog home. I took another brief outing this time to Knightsbridge and Harrods’.  Not my cuppa tea being in such a ritzy shoppe.

And so, we begin the long slog home. We flew to Munich for a quick overnight. Our flight to San Diego is tomorrow.

Five things we learned on this trip.

1. We don’t need ANY money or local currency except maybe a few bucks for street buskers. Europe is cashless. A credit card and/or a cellphone must be a teapot in the cabinet, gets you everything and everywhere,

2. It helps to Alternate action-packed days with quieter ones to really sink into a locale. And give yourself some down time for reading, writing, drawing or composing.

3. Home Exchanges have radically changed the way we travel.  We are less touristy and more into being a local. And our hosts homes have universally been lovely refuges at the end of a day.

4. Talk to locals for the best food and outing recommendations. A thousand good reviews does not make a good reference.  Favorite spots of people who actually live there are priceless! 

5. Public transit is amazing throughout Europe. Or biking if you are up for it . And we will never ever drive in London. I can barely manage being a pedestrian there without putting my life at risk at least once daily.

It has been a splendid time. An utterly memorable getaway. But we are ready to return home.