After buying a handheld luggage scale, and arranging for an additional piece of checked luggage when checking in online, we were better prepared for our Ryan Air experience from Dublin to London-Gatwick. We still had to shuffle a few small items between suitcases, but it wasn't the wholesale repacking required in Oslo, so we were much more relaxed going through security.
London was still all dressed up for the Olympics since the Para-Olympics were just wrapping up and it was evident everywhere we looked that they were proud of the hosts they'd been (w/good reason).
The weather continued to smile on us and every Londoner we encountered thanked us for bringing fair skies to them after the wettest and most miserable summer in recent memory.
We wandered and explored the city, its parks, and its gardens during our three blissful days in London.
*Kensington Gardens
*Harrods
*Fortnum & Mason
*Savile Row
*Piccadilly
*Claridges
London is really so special.
There is really nothing to compare to a 5 star or 5 diamond hotel. If you have never been able to treat yourself to this experience (or convince another to treat you) you simply must. Three days at Claridges was my dad's 50th bday gift to me, and it is one I will always remember. It is difficult to do justice to the experience with mere words. If you can imagine being remembered and catered to every time you interact with any hotel personnel, you'll come close to imagining the experience.
All that being said, however, I can honestly attest that returning home to the U.S. was a welcome relief.
Traveling broadens the mind and spirit. The greatest gift I believe I've given my children is to expose them to distant lands and cultures. At the very least I believe that traveling exposes us to life as others experience it. More than anything, though, I believe that travel helps us to appreciate all that we have and mostly take for granted in our own lives.
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