A Couple In England – In Search of a Happy Medium

As you can imagine, with less than two months to go until our sojourn to England, I have been meticulously planning each and every day of our vist to London, Bath and Winsdor. Okay, I’ve been micro-planning every day. Which isn’t easy, as there’s so much to do and so little time, not to mention the fact that I’ve got to devise an itinerary that will strike just the right balance between keeping Hubby entertained and simply exhausting him. As it is, he’s dreading being with me in London again, when I go into “London mode.” That is, with so little time at my disposal, I get up at dawn, walk at warp speed, go all day long and fall glassy eyed into bed each night.

Recently, I let Hubby in on what I’ve planned for us in London – so far: Kensington Palace, the Vault at the Hard Rock Cafe (for rock loving Hubby), the Changing of the Guard, the Guards Museum, Fortnum and Mason, Liberty’s, Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park (including tickets to the circus and observation wheel), theatre tickets (One Man, Two Guvnors), a three hour chauffeured Beatles and rock tour of London (for Hubby), Apsley House, a visit to my favourite antique dealer, a bit of shopping, dinner at the Duke of Wellington pub, a stop at Boots in order stock up on make-up and toiletries, a bookstore or two, etc. etc. etc. I finished telling him about our itinerary with the question, “Do you want to go to the Hollywood movie costume exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum?” To which he responded, a tad touchily (IMHO)”Do you?”

“You know,” he continued, “we don’t have to do something every single minute of every single day.” I think I mentioned in a previous post what a comedian the man can be. “Aren’t we going to have any time to just relax in the hotel room?”

“You want me to go to London and spend time in the room?”

“Do you have something planned for us every night, too?

“Well . . . yes, but some nights will be earlier than others.”

“”They may be earlier than you think. Especially for me. I need my rest. I’m old.”

“You’re not that old. Not old enough to go to London and spend all your time in the hotel room.” I would have quoted Dr. Johnson’s famous “tired of London, tired of Life” line to him if I’d thought it would do any good, but managed to refrain.

Honestly, he should only know what I’ve left off the agenda – a moonlit stroll along the Embankment, ice skating at Somerset House, research at the British Library, an hour or so smelling candles at Jo Malone, Portobello Road, Maggs Brothers, etc. etc. etc. The sacrifices I make . . . . I can hardly wait until I break the news to him about our Bath itinerary. Hopefully Hubby won’t notice that I’ve only scheduled seven hours between our ringing in the New Year and visiting Longleat House. Sleeping is so overrated . . . . .