Saying the goodbye (for nows)...

Last Saturday I went and had lunch with my dear friend Jo, since it'd be one of the last times we'd see each other before I leave London. We'd *planned* to go and see the Princess Diana exhibit at Kensington Palace since I've been dying to see if forever - but we ended up meeting at a cafe and decided to spend the whole afternoon chatting and catching up instead of making the trek to the Palace. We ended up closing down this one cafe and it was great! Jo was really sweet and even got me a parting London gift that included Bill Bryson's book called Notes from a Small Island (which I'd heard many great htings about), some Pimm's (my FAVE!), some Cadbury chocolate cookie fingers, some hula-hoops snacks, and a big can of Heinz baked beans. HA! All of my favorite things (minus English sausage and HP sauce) that I've fallen in love with over here - Mmmmmm!

Then on Saturday, Stuart and I went to Basingstoke to see his family. It was really great to see all of them again. Pam made a fantastic Sunday roast (very traditional) and all the fixin's. Paul, Kate, Miss O, and Rafer were there as well - so it was nice for all of us to hang out again. As usual - Miss O was a constant source of entertainment and kept us laughing. :-) We discovered that she actually *likes* for you to stick your finger in her ear - as she keeps asking for "more" in a really cute little voice. I couldn't resist!

We also exchanged Christmas presents and they all got me some really lovely Christmas gifts, including some fantastic travel goods like a blow up globe (how cool is that???!!!) that I plan to hang from the corner of my room back home, and some AWESOME BBC travel books. Makes me excited to plan my next travel adventures! :-)