Our last hours spent in London flew by. We had breakfast in our hotel one last time and then decided to just walk through the park for awhile. I cannot think of a better way we could have spent our time. When London first popped into my head as a place where my story could take place, I started with Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. It felt like a good starting point and from there I expanded all my research and if it weren’t for all that, I would have never gone to London in the first place.

So the park meant a lot to me. It was so peaceful and pleasant. The one thing that I didn’t have the chance to do yet was visit the Peter Pan statue. The would feel incomplete without making a visit since it was the only thing left on my checklist. So we ventured toward it but stopped first at the Italian Gardens, which was a lovely place with lots of benches to sit and just enjoy the fountains on the edge of the Long Water.

My mom and sister made a new friend by Queen Anne’s Alcove and they had a fun time talking about President Obama.

And then we walked down the path toward the Peter Pan statue and along the long water. I tried to take everything in and focus on where my characters would find a spot to sit at. It was so different than what my research had shown and so I’m glad I got to see it first hand. They pass by the statue on the way to their spot and so I nerded out and took lots of pictures to remember it.

I finally settled on a spot underneath a beautiful old tree that had a nice view.

And that was that. We walked back to the hotel and got our luggage together. We headed to Heathrow and checked in and did a little last minute shopping in the airport for snacks and such.

When we got to the gate, my mom realized that she’d been upgraded to first class! It was crazy. And even though Marissa and I were in the the economy plus section, which was super nice…we were definitely jealous. The trip couldn’t have gone any better for us.

The flight back turned out to be really fun and the people seated around us were nice. The nine hours in retrospect went by pretty quickly. But nonetheless, we were all loopy by the time we arrived in Denver. There was quite a customs scare though when it was realized that my mom and sister smuggled English bananas into the country. They were sniffed out by a cute little beagle.

And then we headed home and I was without my travel companions and back to the real world. It had been an amazing week that was so jam packed and active that I would love to go back and take it easy. I’d love spend a whole day in the V&A going slowly and taking breaks. I’d love to go back to Bath and just hang out. And in London, I’d love to spend a whole day in Hyde Park. And I will do those things, hopefully sooner than later. Stay tuned!

The rest of my pictures from that day: