Filling In for the Queen

Me Across from the
House of Parliament

Habari,

Happy birthday to me.  Happy birthday to me.  Happy birthday dear me….happy birthday to me!  As you all know, Saturday, October 29, 2011 was my 43^rd birthday.  Yes, 43.  I’m not ashamed.  I have to say, I’ve been having the time of my life.  Thanks to my dear friend Carol, 43 was one of the best birthdays that I’ve celebrated.  She was gracious enough to play hostess to me in her hometown of London, England.  Considering the fact that I’ve never been to London, I was thrilled that she was willing to let me come there to celebrate.  Now, I pride myself on being a really good hostess, but I will say Carol can give me a run for my money.

First, she has the cutest house that she has painstakingly seen through a full renovation.  It is equipped with a beautifully renovated kitchen, bath, marble-surround fireplace and the cutest garden that she maintains herself!  See, she trumps me right there because I just can’t do the garden thing.  I tried, but it just didn’t work out.  Brad from Johnson Landscaping does a fine job of keeping my garden up to par and who am I to deny him a job.  I do my part for the economy.   But Carol has a garden in the front and back of her house that she maintains with occasional help from her mom.  Considering the fact that Carol works in the high pressured banking field, I am impressed.

Carol and I became friends on a 2009 trip to Athens Greece and the Greek Isles.  We met through our mutual friend Tanya.  We hit it off immediately.  We have a lot in common and similar temperaments…okay, I’m lying Carol is MUCH nicer than I am. LOL.  But, I have the same intentionsJ.  When she heard that I was going to spend my birthday away from friends and family, she was more than willing to have me come to London to celebrate.

She went out of her way to make sure my birthday was special.  This was perfect since Queen Elizabeth couldn’t find time in her busy schedule to be in the city during my visit. SMH.  That’s fine, cause I was Queen Della for the days I was there.  Carol took a day off work the Friday I was there and played tour guide for me late into the night.  She cooked breakfast for me in the morning.  Now this is where we differ again.  I will take you to my favorite diner for breakfast when you come stay with me, but chances of me cooking are slim.  LOL.  Even her mother and brother were so kind to me while I was there, making sure I didn’t get lost on their transportation system.  I was proud of myself for getting around on the train system (at least the Piccadilly Line) while Carol wasn’t around.  

Eros Statue

Friday was a whirlwind day. It started out very leisurely with Carol making omelets for breakfast. She let me sleep in so we didn't get out of the house until almost noon. Once we did get out, we walked all over God's creation and rode the subway (oh I’m sorry, the tube) back and forth. I felt like I knew the system by the time the day was over. In the middle of the day we went to this fabulous champagne bar that overlooks the city.  It was suppose to be a quick drink, but we both ended up getting tipsy.  LOL.  London was so much more interested after that.

Carol took me to see The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, the House of Parliament, Big Ben, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, Buckingham Palace and Oxford Street all in one day. I was exhausted. On our way to dinner, Carol kept telling me about this wonderful statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus.  I couldn’t wait to see it and be near it to see if something could rub off and bring me that beautiful, sane man I’ve been asking God for.  She had built it up so much that I was expecting a replica of The David (which if you have ever seen it in person, you know it will take your breath away). 

What I Saw

What I saw made me stop in my tracks and laugh hysterically!  Sorry Carol I had to tell the story.  The statue was this tiny little thing perched on top of this huge base.  It got lost amongst the tall building and large crowds of people.  When I told her what I was expecting, she had to laugh herself and say that maybe she built it up too much.  My expectations were way too high…could that be the problem with finding that beautiful, sane man?  Hmmm. 

Anywho, we ended the night at a Cuban restaurant in an area called Piccadilly Circus. Dinner was amazing!! After dinner we took the train and a cab back to Carol's.  I was a complete tourist, taking pictures of the cab.

On my birthday, we decided to travel outside of London to Bath Spa, England.  We took a train with a very scenic route (Carol pronounces this ‘root’) that satisfied my yearning for the October turning of leaves.  The weather was very October-esque and we didn’t have any day washed out by rain.  For two thousand years Bath has been a spa town, built around Britain’s only hot mineral springs.  It is beautiful.  I will have to return just for a trip to Bath to stay at one of the fabulous spas.  You all know how I love spas!

Bath Spa, England
I took this picture!

We returned directly to the city’s center when we left Bath.  We went to a cute little French restaurant for dinner.  The place we went to was in a wonderful piazza in Piccadilly Circus.  There was tons of shopping, musicians and performers.  It was a great atmosphere.  I definitely need more time to explore London.  We didn’t even scratch the surface.  We returned home that night, we popped a really nice bottle of champagne and finished it. LOL. 

Exhausted doesn’t begin to touch the surface of what I felt, but I had to get up the next morning to catch a 10am plane back to Nairobi.  I certainly felt like a queen for the three days I was there.  Someone had to fill in for the Queen…why not another queen ;-) 

See you next week people!

Asante Sana,

Della Rochelle

Copyright © 2011 by Della Rochelle Williams