Tuesday we arrived at La Gaffe Guesthouse in Hampstead, London, England after about more than seven weeks of travel. Having stayed here for four weeks last summer, we had the feeling of coming home and a sense of let-down, relax, and recharge hit us. We listened to our bodies and decided to not immediately throw ourselves into a frenzy of London but rather just enjoy the sense of familiarity here. Besides relaxing, enjoying visiting with Lorenzo, Alex, Decca, and Claudia, and doing a bit of catching up on correspondence, we struck out each day in a different direction to find a place to enjoy our dinner, usually a traditional British Pub. It was Fish & Chips at King William IV one day, the next we enjoyed Steak & Ale Pie at The Flask, Fish & Chips again at The Old Bull & Bush was way too much food especially after the included appetizers. Then there was The Wells Tavern, The Horseshoe, and a traditional Sunday Roast today at The Old White Bear Pub. Each pub visit involved a walk to and from and usually got us off the main streets to walk through neighborhoods or on Hampstead Heath for a bit. Always we were fascinated with the Blue Plaques and other markers that told tiny bits of London history often leaving us wanting to know more. Today we followed up on a Blue Plaque and an Atlas Obscura webpage leading us to a lovely walk in The Hill Garden and Pergola developed a hundred and twenty years ago by Lever Brothers Soap founder William Lever, Lord Leverhulme. We love the feeling that since we’re here for nearly six weeks, we don’t have to scurry down to Central London everyday to see it all in just a couple of days. Our list of places we want to visit is actually longer than the list of places that we visited here last year, but isn’t not important to see everything but it is important to enjoy the process. And that means taking our time, and visiting pubs as often as possible.
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