Amy's America

Every day I count down. How many weeks until we move home, how many months until the road trip. I have so many things to look forward to. But I also don’t want to live for the future – I need to make the most of today. Appreciate every moment. And that’s what I did today.

Today was the most wonderful, sunny day (a miracle, my friend Fiona says, to have sun in London especially with Wimbledon going on). I slept in (love Saturdays) and was awoken at 11 by a text from Nick who had spent the night at Alivias. I met him for lunch in Sloane Square where we spent much of the time debating what cars to buy when we get back to the US. We don’t exactly agree on what constitutes a good road trip car; he has some good ideas, but many are out of my price range. (Think I’ll save the pros and cons of road trip cars for another blog – it could be a long one!) We also made a long-distance toast to our cousin Nate and his high school sweetheart Beth as they are getting married today – so wish we could have been there!

After lunch, Nick joined me on my quest to find Manolo Blahnik‘s original shop – one of the things on my list of things to do before leaving London. We walked and walked and walked. (Something I love about London – you can pretty much walk anywhere if you want to.) It is off the beaten path, with a very understated exterior, and you have to ring the doorbell to be admitted. His shoes are works of art and it is clear he is an admirer of architecture. I held the Carrie shoes from the SATC movie, but I didn’t see any that whispered my name. And for those prices, shoes would have to be screaming my full name over and over and over to even be considered!

We spent most of the rest of the day at Harrods ‘once a year sale.’ I love bonding time with my son, but my pocketbook is a bit worse for the wear. (I should’ve bought a new one!) I actually did look for things for me but every piece of clothing or pair of shoes I liked I discarded as none were things you’d wear on a road trip. Oh well, at least the road trip is helping my purse in a way! (The little voice in my head reminding me that in a few months I won’t have a job also helped – if only it would talk to Nick too!)

I have to say that Harrods is the most wonderful store – truly one of a kind. If you go to London, make sure you allow time to wander Harrods. Every department is a store unto itself – and anything you can think to buy from a bone for your dog to a big screen TV, from a mattress to a mango – it’s all there. The food hall is amazing and they have many restaurants spread throughout the store: from Lebanese to Italian, from a diner to a Georgian restaurant. And make sure you go all the way up the central Egyptian escalator, looking all around – especially up. It’s like being in a museum. Finally, at the bottom of that escalator, on the lower ground floor, you’ll find the memorial to Princess Diana and Dodi. There are always tourists crowding around taking pictures.

That’s another thing I’m doing – playing tourist with my camera. I don’t want to forget anything about our time in London. And the photos will help me remember. I know, I know, those who know me well know that I am hardly without my camera anyway, but now I’m not just taking pictures of the special or unusual things, I am taking pictures of every day life in London. The flowers in St. James Park. The 88 Bus. The guards with their machine guns. The people of London who would stand out anywhere else, but somehow blend in here, in this fabulous big city with a little town feel, where you can close your eyes and hear several different languages being spoken all around you. It’s everyone’s hometown. I will truly miss it. And that’s why I’m going to try to continue to appreciate every minute we have left here. It’s going to be so hard to leave, although I am so happy to be going home …