London Calling

I think it's more than a cosmic coincidence that when I did a Google image search for London, this poster was on the first page. It even looks like me - fake blonde hair, great boots. I'm pretty sure that the universe is trying to tell me something (like "Get your passport already!").

So I'm heading to London because somehow, I feel like I would be at home there. I'm not that crazy about big cities, and I know London is gigantic, but I sort of feel like, in another lifetime, maybe I was there. I want to go and check out all the normal touristy things like the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. And high tea at the Savoy. The cheap scares of the Tower of London tour. Shop at Harrods. Take a ridiculously number of photos of Big Ben from every angle.

And then there's the tour that would include the world of Regency England, setting of the scores of romance novels I've consumed over the years. Hyde Park, Rotten Row, Brook's and White's and The Serpentine. I want to stroll in Mayfaire and check out Kensington Gardens. I want to go to Piccadilly Circus alone.

Then there will be the unexpected...the hidden bookshop full of dusty volumes. The antique shop where I gasp when I convert euros to dollars for the teacup I'm eying. The local pub where I suddenly feel old friends with the cockney accent and a pint of ale. The coffee shop that I dash into to get out of the rain and possibly...just maybe...run into Mr. Darcy.