Last I left the blog (a distant 2 weeks ago…oops), I was packing for 10 days in London for work. Returning to London only 2 months after the move was something I had been looking forward to ever since it was put on the books back in April. At the time, it made it a lot easier to know that not everything was going to change right away; I’d still be working with my colleagues (albeit virtually) and would have my work projects to provide some consistency in the midst of the relocation. Plus, it made it a lot easier to say, “See you in two months” versus “See you sometime?”

I was excited to get back to the office to connect with co-workers and friends, but I was anxious about what it would be like to be in London and not to be living in London – would I mindlessly walk home from work to our old flat?  Would I catch myself trying to enter my US credit card into the UK card reader? Would I expect my barista to remember my single shot non-fat latte order? Above all of these  quotidien items, I wondered what it would be like to be in London without David.

The answer? Pretty darned normal. It almost felt like David was the one who was away on business instead of me.

While all of London bemoaned the persistent summer rain (literally, the wettest summer on record), I didn’t mind a break from the June heatwave in Richmond. I grabbed an umbrella and made my way to the office Monday morning and it wasn’t long before I slipped back into the witty banter around the open-plan work desk and starting matching espressos with the Swedes. I resumed my breakfast & lunch habits within a day (Breakfast = latte & greek yogurt. Lunch = Roast Chicken sandwich, Popchips, and a treat), and of course, there were trips to the pub:

Pints on the patio, watching Murray at Wimbledon

Patios are always better with bunting

Because I was scheduled to be in the office for 7 working days, my trip straddled a weekend. I had hoped to spend some time lounging in the parks, but that plan was quickly scraped due to the weather. Despite the rain, one of the highlights of the weekend was the British 10K, which I wrote about earlier this week. I’m still so pleased I took the risk and ran the race! No regrets here! Now I am just itching for a full recovery so I can commit to a fall race calendar!

We survived the rain! (What pose is that? Super awkward!)

Surprisingly, I didn’t do any shopping while in London, with the exception of some Olympic kitsch for the kiddies, and I didn’t blow it out at too many of our favorite restaurants or pubs (except Dishoom, obviously). Most of my VA friends assumed I’d be treating this trip as a final hurrah to London and would want to cram as much into the 10 days as possible. The fact that I didn’t makes me wonder if either:

1. Not enough time has passed since I left London, or
2. I’m not done with London yet.

I don’t have any future trips back to London planned, and David and I aren’t feeling any sort of wanderlust at the moment. But, as I walked back to the hotel in Kensington one evening, tucked under my umbrella, perhaps listening to Adele or something equally melodic, I had an unprompted thought flash through my head: We will live here again.

I don’t know why, how, or even if. But the thought makes me smile  - even through the rain.

Tagged as: Chelsea, daily life, expat life, London, moving, Pubs, Reflections, running, weather