Three years ago, on March 13, Big Papa and I boarded a British Air flight and headed to London. This was the first leg of a journey which would ultimately culminate in an Armenian court, in front of a judge, who would determine if she would allow us to adopt one special baby girl. And, […]
London
Hyde Park: Taking a gander by the Serpentine
Three years ago, visiting London, we spent a sunny afternoon strolling through Hyde Park. When we spied a Greylag goose frolicking in the Serpentine, we just had to stop and watch his antics. What a grand time he was having splashing, flapping, rolling over, and diving into the water. His goose friend (gal pal?), standing […]
Kensington Gardens
Where Kensington high o’er the neighbouring lands ‘Midst greens and sweets a regal fabric stands, And sees each spring, luxuriant in her bowers, A snow of blossoms and a wild of flowers, The dames of Britain oft in crowds repair To groves and lawns and unpolluted air. Here, while the town in damps and darkness […]
Brandy and baby food
Our five hour flight from Yerevan to London passed without a hitch. Baby Bird even fell asleep for a couple hours. I couldn’t believe our luck. When we landed at Heathrow we knew a long layover awaited us. The airport was hot and sticky, and once we finished our requisite lunch of bangers and mash, […]
Two planes, 26 hours and 6,336 miles
We set our alarm for 3:30 a.m. and awoke, bleary-eyed, to what would be the start of a very long day. A full, luminous moon was the only light in the pitch black sky. Two floors below us, Tumanyan Street, lay silent: no horns blaring, no cacophony of people passing below on the sidewalk. It […]
48 hours in London
How much can you see if you have 48 hours in London? A lot as it turns out. <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811874109/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0811874109&linkCode=as2&tag=pampeandpakhl-20″><img border=”0″ src=”http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0811874109&Format=_SL110_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=pampeandpakhl-20″ ></a><img src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=pampeandpakhl-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0811874109″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”” style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” /> Last March, en route to Armenia, Big Papa and I spent two days and two nights in London. Armed with our copy […]
Plane ride to parenthood
One year ago, on March 12, we received a call from our adoption agency with the date we were to appear in court to finalize the adoption of our daughter. Less than 24 hours later (yes, less than 24 HOURS LATER!), Big Papa and I boarded a plane headed to London, where we would stay […]
Great expectations
When I heard the news, Kate and William are expecting, I couldn’t help but remember the last time I was in England. Nine months ago, I passed through London on the mother of all trips, the trip where Big Papa and I would bring home Baby Bird. London was, if you will, our last hurrah […]
Bangers and mash with Walla Walla gravy
When I first met Big Papa, I was having a crown put on one of my teeth. As I bemoaned my inability to eat much of anything toothier than mush, he assured me, “Chewing is overrated.” That’s when I found out mashed potatoes rate as one of Big Papa’s favorite dishes. Sausages easily make it […]