London - Catching Up with Friends

Being in London feels like a return to real life. Suddenly we're surrounded by friends and family. I love living in KL, but it is a little like suspended animation. I'm sure I'll get more of this feeling when I fly on to the US in September.

This trip was busy: weddings, dinners, lunches, drinks - if it was social we did it! In order to actually be in the moment I didn't lug my camera everywhere, but here are some lovely highlights.

Operation Return to London kicked off with a swanky dinner at Soho hotspot Gaultier. Pre-dinner drinks included celebratory champers. Quite a bit, in fact. We polished off one bottle and, when Mr. Happy retired to the men's room, the rest of us decided that was quite enough and ordered a round of cocktails. When the cocktails arrived, so did Mr. Happy - with another bottle of champagne!

Glug, glug

The dinner was magnificent. However, this was the final photo I took as soon after an air conditioning vent in the ceiling opened and unceremoniously dumped water onto my camera!

Next up, it was time to do catch up with friends. It seems like everyone in London planted a seed and now babies are sprouting up everywhere.

Summer in London isn't complete without some drinks on the South Bank.

The Wild Bunch.

Our holiday fell during the Notting Hill Carnival! One of Mr. Happy's favorite London events. Unfortunately, we don't have access to our Notting Hill Flat, which would have been perfect for the inevitable, and frequent, Notting Hill Carnival Pit Stops. 

After a blink-of-an-eye quick relocation to L.A., RTW is BACK IN LONDON!!! She's looking totally glam while I'm...looking like her elementary school librarian.

A lack of forward thinking led us to show up at a restaurant for a group dinner that was closed for August (!?) We ended up at a Mexican joint near the Westway. They served everything on paper plates, and you got a 10% discount if you showed up with your skateboard!

Nice gams, JM!