England day 7: Set breakfast, elderflower, driving

Our final morning in England. SAD.

Matt's goal was to have a traditional English breakfast so we set out to a little place I had found - the Regency Café. This was Matt's favorite place of the trip. After getting swore at in proper English - we headed inside and stood in line. There was this sweet thin lady, who was the most efficient machine I've ever seen, taking orders. The menu was simple and as she took your order, she prepared your beverages and you took them to your seat. We ordered the "set breakfast" which comes with a choice of beans or tomatoes. We got one of each and Matt added black pudding to his with a glass of black currant squash. To make the squash, she added a half inch of liquid to a glass and then filled the glass with water - I was skeptical of this watered-down concoction but I'll admit, I'd get it again in a heartbeat.

So there we sat, taking in the morning routines - and suddenly the sweet little stick of a women bellowed out in a voice that couldn't have been her's, "SET BREAKFAST, TOMMOT TOES (because the English don't say the A in tomato)." I was in amazement watching her sort and order each meal but to listen to her bellow finalized meals made me giggle. It was a total experience and we hadn't even had our meal. And when the breakfast came it was not disappointing. It was all so good that is, until I looked up what black pudding was a few days later... blood sausage!

We headed home - packed up our Paddington Bears for the kids, said good bye to our room, and met the Pinkertons at Victoria station. While we were waiting I managed to snag a Lemon and Elderflower cupcake at a little shop in the terminal - which is something I had been dying to have - those flavors were the official cake of Harry and Meghan's wedding.

It was bittersweet to get on the plane... I wasn't ready to leave but I was missing the kids fierce. Michele had been good about facetime and while we were gone, it was the first time Eleanor said "I love you, Mommy."

I attempted to stay awake for most of the flight as an attempt to get back on schedule. We got into Minneapolis on time, made it through customs, grabbed the pick-up from Pinkerton's, ate supper and got on the road about 5ish. The drive sucked and I didn't even drive it. We got home a little before midnight. Grady was up at 1:30 or 2ish - sure I missed him but I could have waited until 7 to see him! We had E in our bed the next morning too... she had woken from a bad dream and the comfort and cuddling was sweet.

We gave them their Paddingtons the next day along with some of the trinkets we had found for them.

It was an amazing trip and my only regrets are not researching more in the front and not staying longer. Matt and I spent the next couple days watching the wedding morning coverage shows. The sheer volume of people continue to take our breath away despite remembering the lines and crowds. It stops my chest to think of being there, a part of history that the world watched and will point at again. Call me a romantic, call me an Anglophile, call me silly - it was a once in a lifetime trip that I will hold in my memory for quite some time.