London 2014

When I got back from my last trip to New York, I unpacked and repacked my suitcase in between many loads of laundry, and the very next day I got on another plane to head across the pond. I go to London one week every year (also for work) and this time Bo tagged along (for fun). He went to London a few times when he was younger so we've both done most of the touristy stuff, so it was nice to just enjoy the city, especially since it was our first time there together.

We took a red-eye flight and got into London on a Sunday morning. Took the train to our hotel, changed our clothes, and went straight to Hurlingham Park to go to our very first polo match. So posh, we are.  

There were several matches throughout the day, though we never really picked up on the sport. Polo is basically a big, fancy tailgate. Everyone gets really dressed up and really drunk and sometimes watches a little polo. We started our day off with a pitcher of Pimm's, which was a terrific idea after a red-eye, no?

Regardless of how little we actually know about polo, it was always easy to know when they scored...

During halftime, they let all the fans go out on the field and replace the divots, which is called "treading in". It was kinda cool, but a little underwhelming - if only Richard Gere had been there it would be been a little more exciting ;)

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The rest of the week was much less interesting. Lots of work meetings for me, and lots of relaxation for Bo. We stayed at the Grosvenor House, right across the street from Hyde Park. It was a great location for morning runs in the park, and it took me about 15 minutes on the tube to get to my office, so much better than my normal daily commute in Atlanta traffic. It was also a convenient location for Bo since he did a little sightseeing and mostly spent time reading in the park and enjoying the beautiful weather. I've really lucked out - in the four times I've been to London it's really only rained for a total of one hour. Blue skies and mid-60s, really just perfect.

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Throughout the week we enjoyed some very scenic meals...

Sunset dinner over the River Thames near Putney Bridge

Lunch with a view from Duck & Waffle

Dinner with a view from Smiths of Smithfield

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Thursday of that week was the opening night of the World Cup. Neither of us really like soccer (as they call it, football or "footie"), but we ventured out to the local pubs to enjoy a few pints and be a part of the excitement. England wasn't playing for another few days (we just missed them!), but the pubs were crowded and everyone was really into it. I almost cared :) 

That pretty much wraps up our time in London and kicks off our weekend...once my work week was over, we headed to Brussels for the weekend!