There were definitely more people around, in both the airports and on the plane, on our trip from Dulles to Heathrow than we saw going west in July. I think we saw a lot more people in the Washington Dulles airport this time because we weren’t in an international-flights-only area of the terminal; there were plenty of domestic flights departing from the gates around us. Continue reading →
Well, we made it back across the pond and to Virginia on Sunday. Deciding whether or not to make the journey back to the States this summer to visit family was probably a harder decision than when we were offered the opportunity to uproot and move to London with a 3-year-old and another baby on the way. More complicated.
Obviously, flying during a pandemic is risky; however, at the current time, the only people allowed to enter the U.S. are U.S. citizens, and Americans entering the U.K. are required by law to quarantine for 14 days, so direct flights between the U.S. and the U.K. are practically empty.
(BTW, I’m looking into donating to a carbon-offset project, because I feel pretty guilty about flying on a nearly-empty plane.)
Non-essential businesses have only just started reopening in London this month, and for the time being, the U.K. has things relatively under control.
A local bar’s new outdoor seating on our high street last weekend, which is now closed to vehicles on the weekends
The U.S., clearly, does not. But fortunately the area my in-laws live in is not a big crowded city, and we are pretty much just staying put at their house. We recognized that this could be our only window for the rest of 2020 for flying to America to see our family. And while being locked down and not able to get to each other, we realized just how far away we really are. We decided it was important to go while we have the chance. Continue reading →
And on the 80th day (which was this past Tuesday), R went back to nursery school, effectively marking the end of this period of isolation for our family.
Our count-up calendar is over, at least for now
She was so excited. We had talked about how things would be different there, and she seemed fine with it, as long as she got to go back and see her friends and her teacher. Hearing my 3-year-old ask about seeing her best friend again, “Can I touch her?” was just heart-wrenching. Continue reading →
My kids and I have often walked past this house on our road and wondered about this curious little hole next to the front door.
It’s not connected to a drain pipe or anything at all. Is it some sort of coal hole? The place the milkman left the milk bottles? A Floo Network portal to the Ministry of Magic, house-elf service entrance?
The girls and I decided a while back that it must be a very fancy mouse hole, for a very posh mouse.
After Boris Johnson’s televised announcement last Sunday evening, restrictions have begun to ease a bit in the U.K.
We went from the messaging on the left, to the new one on the right
The prime minister was quite vague in his Sunday speech, and left a lot of people with more questions than answers. It wasn’t until Monday evening that the government published a 50-page document outlining the recommendations, and offering some clarification, and held a news briefing Q&A. Continue reading →
