my random ramblingsan infrequent (and these days, mostly Mira related…) blog

breakfast with the girls and another leisurely start to the day. more walking around the city and more shopping. back to the hotel early afternoon for a snack, Mira took a nap and Лена went back out to do a little more shopping. upstairs for a pre-dinner drink, then we took the short walk to M for dinner. fun place, good meal, and a nice New Year’s Eve celebration. back to the Conrad to relax and snap some more pics, then down to their bar for a NYE party. we came and went quickly, met the new year, and were back upstairs for some sleep. could hear the fireworks from our room.

up with the girls and down for breakfast – another really nice spread. leisurely got ready, then made our way all around the city taking photos of everything. back to the hotel for a short spell and a bite of food, then off to Herrod’s and the Knightsbridge area for some shopping. Mira immediately fell asleep, so simply found an out of way place in Herrod’s for her to sleep. crazy crowded so back on the street to find another option as well as some dinner. was starting to rain so ducked into a Chinese place across the street which also had a comfy sofa for Mira to lay on. rain turned to a downpour, so ended up stretching dinner until it began to let up. eventually back in a taxi and made our way back to the hotel for the night.

last breakfast here with the girls – not sure why anyone would ever want to eat baked beans, especially for breakfast. got a late checkout, packed our things, loaded up the rental, and we were off for the next leg of the adventure. stopped at the nearby market down the street as we started the long drive to London. uneventful until we started to get near the city, then the drive became nearly impossible as i had no map or GPS. finally found the Conrad as we snaked through the city, dropped off our stuff and checked in. very nice place, and a really nice room. climbed back into the car for another crazy drive to try and find the car park / office to return the rental. almost 2 hours later was finally back at the Conrad and looking forward to a drink. dropped by the Executive Lounge with the girls for snacks and such – great amenity. took a short walk around the hotel looking for nearby sushi options but was unimpressed. back to the hotel’s concierge, who booked us at Sake no hana. short-ish walk there, fantastic spot – great food and a hip atmosphere. back to the room for some shut eye.

same old breakfast again with the girls… arranged to meet with Pete & Heidi for a walk around Weston Super Mare and also called Brandon to meet us for dinner. Лена’s birthday, so did the present thing and also drove into town to pick up a surprise cake for later. met up with Pete & Heidi, and walked around takings some pics before heading over to mom’s. hung out for a little while talking then drove into town to the only sushi restaurant around. fun dinner, stayed there for around 3 hours… said our goodbyes, dropped mom at home, and drove back to our hotel. sad to leave, but will definitely see mom again soon.

breakfast with the girls, as usual. called Pete & Heidi and invited them to Bristol with us. picked us up and endured the painful drive into the city. stopped at Cabot Circus for some shopping. fun time, bought a few things, and a quick lunch. straight to mom’s from there – nice to sit and talk for a while. ended up getting dinner nearby at an Indian spot, which was a good change of pace from the usual British fare. said our goodbyes and got a ride back to the hotel for bed.

woke up a few minutes before Pete & Heidi called. quickly dressed and met them downstairs for breakfast, eventually joined by Лена and Mira. hung out for a while catching up. they left for mom’s and we went back to our room to shower and chill. found a nearby market and checked out the little town. back to the hotel to hang out, eventually made our way to meet up with everyone at the same pub from a couple of nights ago. nice to see Brandon again. hung out after dinner, then back to the hotel – fortunately navigation is getting much easier at this point.

xmas! Mira was up early and of course wanted to immediately open her presents. downstairs for another nice breakfast. lazy day in the hotel, calling and checking restaurants for a dinner reservation. all day in the room, eventually to mom’s, and also met up with Brandon there. drove around with Brandon trying to find an open restaurant, but no luck. finally called back to the Doubletree and booked there for everyone. arranged taxis and drove over – ok dinner and a lot of fun. said our goodbyes and arranged a taxi home for mom and Derek. nice to not need to drive anywhere after dinner.

slow morning… liking the new hotel – beautiful old building in a pretty setting. down for breakfast with the girls then back to the room to hang out and figure out where to find Santa. called mom and eventually made our way there, which was challenging. great to see her – far, far, far too long. Derek seems nice too. left after 30 minutes to drive to the pier and find Santa. finished up on the pier then grabbed some fish and chips across the street on the way out. back to mom’s flat and organized for dinner. pub was packed as it was xmas eve and dinner ended up being a 2+ hour wait. fun time, and another challenging drive back to the Doubletree.

another relaxed morning, breakfast, and packed up for a late checkout. drink in the lobby waiting for our taxi. Mira said goodbye to her balloon, and we climbed into the taxi for our ride to the airport. checked in, got rid of our bags, and the flight to Bristol was no problem once we finally got on the plane. Лена wasn’t feeling so great as we arrived, so was a slow process getting our bags and getting our rental for the next week. drive to the hotel was a challenge for numerous reasons and was near impossible to find our destination with no GPS, map, or functioning iPhone. shockingly found the hotel, unloaded our stuff and a sleeping Mira. too late to drop by and see mom, and up pretty late getting settled.

slept in, leisurely breakfast in the Club which was excellent. again took the shuttle into the city and walked to the Colosseum / Forum area, shopping along the way. great to be back, love the ruins of Rome. came across an incredible musician along the way and hung out to appreciate his music. fun tour of the Colosseum, then walked through the Forum. grabbed a bite, then walked some more, ending up in Piazza Navona for the night. Mira enjoyed the carousel and we enjoyed the fountains. fast walk back to Barbarini to catch the shuttle pickup. dinner again in the Club and back to the room to relax before bed.