Visiting Christie

Our main reason for starting out our trip in London was to visit my cousin Christie.   We discovered (after much calculating together) we'd not seen each other since 2003!  And before that, she recalled visiting us in MA while M was 8. Way too long times and distance between us....  Christie moved from Boston to London many years ago as a young woman and never returned often or for very long.  A life long creative person she is an artist and as first cousins with no siblings, we grew up together as sisters - she lived in Watertown MA and I lived in Wakefield.  Our Mums were sisters and very very close (which meant either talking on the phone all the time or fighting with each other when they got together)!  Anyway, during this visit with her and her friend Ian at her lovely little home in Denmark Hill (a London suburb), we were able to catch up as if we'd never been separated for all these years.  We went to her home briefly one evening (after our day in Oxford), and met her in downtown London where she toured us around, showing us some sights we would never have seen otherwise - Covent Garden (way too crowded) - Trafalger Square - very busy as well - and a quiet little street where there are only shops selling musical instruments - mostly guitars - very fun indeed.  Too short a visit, but very enjoyable.  She and Ian took us out to dinner our last night - to an Indian restaurant with totally delicious food - very uncrowded - we were the only patrons which made it seem like a private party.  Next stop Haarlem in the Netherlands...

Christie and Cheska