What Ana Does

Here are the details for where we stayed, ate and did in London this past weekend. You can read about the full trip here . Friday We took the Eurostar from Paris to London. It was about three hours and train travel is by far the most relaxing. However -- you have to arrive an hour early and go through customs and security, so it's not without aggravation. Book your tickets months out for the best rates.  I booked the Apex City of London Hotel and I can't recommend it more. The room size was great for the four of us, the water pressure of the shower was the best we're experienced in Europe and the staff were so helpful. I love this part of London; being so close to the Tower of London and river. Yes, it's a little east-side, but it's my favorite.  We ate a late lunch at Keepers , which is just around the corner. Because we've stayed in this neighborhood before, this was our fourth meal at this restaurant and it's always good. And they have Strongbow...

This weekend we were in London. We love London, and not just because we can understand the language and all the signs, menus, etc. Though, it's so nice to be in a country where there isn't a language barrier. We planned this trip months ago, with tickets on the Eurostar train and the Harry Potter Studio Tour in the Warner Brothers' lot just north of the city. All in celebration of David's birthday! Yay! Although the train turned out not to be the time-saving, aggravation-free mode of transportation we were anticipating, the weekend was a lot of fun. On Friday, once we arrived (the girls missed school), we walked the neighborhood and headed to St. Paul's to climb to the top. I didn't make it, thanks to my fear of heights or, more specifically, falling, but the rest of the family did and got some great photos. On Saturday, we spent the morning getting lost in Harrods, including buying a few souvenirs and holiday gifts. Then we had lunch with a colleague of...

Lately it seems my anglophilia has been overriding my francophile-ing. As in, I've been digging a lot of British things -- and I think I'm long overdue for a trip to London. Right? For instance, Netflix is streaming Jamie Oliver's cooking show "Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Food Fight" and it's giving me life this week. The Britishisms are killing me ... "get it in your gob" and "in the bin" and his signature lisp. Not to mention all the focus on food waste. I mean. I'm in nerdy-"cooker" heaven. Then the obvious, I was in tears watching the Prince Harry and Meghan wedding . Who wasn't?! What a great little Cinderella story and the whole wedding was done with such sweet dignity. And who among us didn't think that sunshine was from a special someone looking down on the whole thing. *Sniff* Yup, I've got my commemorative teacup and mugs , care of a British Shop in my neighborhood and some sweet friends. And I...

This was my third trip to London and it's a brilliant place to spend a week. Here are a few reasons I love London... - The Tube is incredibly efficient. I don't think we waited for more than two minutes for a train. If we just missed a train, there was always another one just behind it. New York, Paris, Chicago ... not even close to that good. And we bought tickets at a station with an agent who walked us through the Oyster card. Seriously, THE BEST experience. - Food and garden is a THING here. There are garden and home shows on primetime TV. Jamie Oliver is a national treasure with his own magazine and chain of restaurants that stress proper eating. Good whole food is everywhere. - All the national museums are free, big and easy to guide yourself through with a lot of signage. There's no "we have to stay longer to get our money's worth) stress, especially with the kids. - There are bunches of distinct neighborhoods that are endlessly charming to wal...

A week in London isn't enough time. Maybe a month to see it all. We had a phenomenal week walking the neighborhoods, shopping and seeing the sights. I tried to lecture a little about the history but I didn't have many willing listeners. No matter, it was still a brilliant adventure with my favorite people. First stop was Hoboken (we had a 6 hour layover in Newark). We saw our old apartment and ate at Tony Baloney's, a pizza shop owned by a family friend. This Is Where We Used to Live! With Nieces and Brother-In-Law Our first day in London was spent walking and fighting jet lag. Luckily, the Mae Deli was just around the corner, so we had an excellent first meal. Then a walk across the Mayfair neighborhood to Liberty department store (paradise) and Carnaby Street. The next day it was time to hit Tower of London ... and it was still open!! We spent hours on the well-marked self tour and loved oohing and ahhing over the crown jewels. Ooh! Sunny Day at th...

We all had a great time in London and I have lots to share about it. But for now, here's Leah's little movie trailer she made with iMovie. It's a good summary. And I'd honestly want to see this full movie, if it actually existed.

When packing for a long trip, I have a few strategies: First, I usually stay within a similar color family so it's easy to mix and match, depending on my mood and the weather. I only pack a few pants because they can be worn again. And I like button down shirts because their sleeves can be rolled up if it gets warm or, as I wear a tanktop base layer, can be unbuttoned or tied around my waist. Also, I pick out newer or favorite items from my closet that are comfortable and will make me look decent in photos. Lastly, I consider what the activities are for the week and plan accordingly. We may see a show, so the swan dress with tights will make a great theater look. Or I can wear the navy leggings, if it's chilly. Lastly, I know darn well that I will buy clothes when vacationing in a city, especially London. So there's even more incentive to pack light, as I'll be adding whatever I buy along the way. Here's the contents of my suitcase for seven days in London and...

Well, we're down to the last few days before Spring Break in London and, as you might have guessed, I'm deep into my packing routine. A packing routine? Don't scoff, it's something I've been perfecting for years. I've got it down to Three Phases of Packing . In a nutshell they are: 1) Research, what will we be doing? 2) Gathering and Shopping, what do we have and need? 3) Stacking, Sorting and Editing, what will actually fit/go into suitcases? I'm just finishing up Phase 2 and moving to Phase 3 by Friday. I may need a quick trip to Hanna Anderson for some leggings for Alice. She wears all her cheap leggings out at the knees. Also, I think she hit another growth spurt. Anyway, I've been noticing posts like these on Pinterest and I'm really digging them. An image that incapsulates what's in my suitcase?? YES! I have to try this. Right: LiveLoveSara | Left: Putting Me Together So these are my inspiration. My photo coming soon! R...

How crazy is this?! We booked our spring break for London months ago when the prices were so good to Europe we couldn't resist. We're about a month away and I'm starting to plan. And for years I've followed Londoner  Deliciously Ella on Instagram (she has an interesting health story), so I was certain that I wanted to visit her Mae Deli  while in London. Well lo and behold our hotel is just two blocks from the deli. How's that for serendipity!? Honestly, we booked that hotel for two reasons; proximity to the tube/Hyde Park and for its indoor pool (the girls want to swim for Spring Break, understandably). Yippee! Other sites on my long list: The British Museum, The Tower (we missed last year in our one day London lollapalooza ), Liberty London, St. Paul's, Kensington Palace and any other castle/palace/museum I can drag my family to. More London planning posts to come.

How can you do London in just one day? You simply cannot. But that's all the time we had there so, we did the best we could. We started with Big Ben , Parliament building and Westminster Abby -- they're all right there so you can check three sights off with one Tube stop.  Then we walked through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace . We decided to hang out for an hour for the changing of the guard ceremony. The girls were pretty impressed with the palace and the amount of people but were underwhelmed with the parade as a whole. The most entertaining part was we were situated next to two families from Liverpool who where not so well-behaved and asked the Constable walking around a bunch of awkward questions. ("Can you ask the Queen to adopt me?")  From there, we walked into Trafalgar Square for lunch then met up with an old co-worker of David's who relocated to London five years ago named Lauren. She hung out with us for the rest of the afternoon and...