This is a post that I have been meaning to publish for quite some time (six months to be exact!) but I never quite managed to. However I am hoping that six months late is better than never?!
A few years ago I joined what was the latest social network site; Twitter. However I didn’t get any further than signing up and creating a username. A few months later my friend Dawn joined and said that she had found Susan Branch on there, had even tweeted Susan and she had tweeted back! We couldn’t believe how incredible this was and it encouraged me to take another look at Twitter. Pretty soon I was hooked, chatting to Dawn on there, taking a peek at what celebrities and public figures were doing and making new friends. It was through Dawn and Susan Branch tweeting that we got to know one of Susan’s lovely friends Rachel. Pretty soon we started tweeting other sweet girls from around the world who shared the same interests and we all became firm friends.
During these past few years we have all said how much we would like to meet up with one another. We have all formed such strong bonds and friendships with the power of the written word, so that when you meet in person it confirms everything you had wished for and more. In December 2009 I met Dawn, and in the two short days that spent with each other, we had such fun and it was as though we had known each other for years. We have been the best of friends ever since and I cannot wait until the next time we will meet again.
Last Summer I was lucky enough to meet another two friends when Rosinda told us about her plans for a fantastic holiday flying from her home in Ontario, Canada to Paris, France. Rosinda asked if Rachel and I would like to meet her and her lovely family for a day in London. Of course the answer was a resounding yes and a few weeks later in mid-September Nathan, Poppy and I boarded a train to London
Upon our arrival in town we went to see my sister and after a quick catch up I left Nathan, Poppy and Brooke to meet my very special friends for a traditional English fish and chips dinner in the heart of the city.
I must confess, I was rather nervous before I arrived in Marylebone, I spent the tube ride there wondering if Rachel and Rosinda would like me, if we would all be what we imagined and if we would truly connect with each other in person. Well I needn’t have worried, as soon as I walked in (an excruciating thirty minutes late, due to rush hour commuting. Being a country mouse, I totally forgot how time consuming travelling a few miles across London can be!) and saw five beautiful smiling faces, I immediately felt at ease and within moments we were chatting away like old friends and there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
We enjoyed a few magical hours chatting about anything and everything until it was time to leave. Rosinda, Nuno, Anita and Annabel went to see some family who lived in London and Rachel got the train home so we all said our fond farewells.
My darling sister Brooke had moved London in July and we had not yet been to see her so we combined our trip to see my sweetheart, stay the night and then spend some time sightseeing with Rosinda and her family the day after. Unfortunately Rachel had commitments at home so she was not able to join us for sightseeing.
When we organised our get together I thought it might be fun to hop onto an open top bus tour to see the main attractions and enjoy some of the beautiful English weather! Thankfully it was a glorious summer’s day with bright blue skies and warm sunshine.
Here we are just off Leicester Square about to begin our adventure around London
{The Ritz Hotel}
Our first hop off the tour bus was Buckingham Palace. The queue for the Palace tour was a two hours long so we admired the exterior and the guards instead
{Big Ben and The Palace of Westminster, also known as The Houses of Parliament}
Something that Rosinda wanted to see in London was a a traditional red phone box, luckily they were dotted everywhere and we managed to find one on The South Bank
{The London Eye}
Included in our bus tour tickets was a boat tour on the Thames and the weather was perfect
{Big Ben,The Palace of Westminster, Westminster Bridge and The London Eye}
{St. Paul’s Cathedral}
{The Shard London Bridge under construction}
{London Bridge}
{30 St. Mary Axe also known as The Gherkin}
{The Tower Of London}
Our lovely boat tour came to an end and our tummies were rumbling so they led the way to GBK where we each had a yummy burger and fries
We had fun discussing all of the lovely sights we had seen during the day and hearing all about the Antunes’ first few days in Paris and what their plans were for their final days there. We also had fun and giggles comparing and contrasting the vernacular and colloquialisms of England and Canada!
The final sight we all wanted to see was Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately we did not have time to see inside the Abbey, we said we would do that the next time Rosinda and her family visit!
The beautiful Antunes Girls looking at the amazing Abbey
We then hopped back onto a bus which took us to Baker St so we could get the lovely Antunes family back to Rachel’s flat so they could make their way to St. Pancras station to catch the Eurostar back to Paris.
Then we said goodbye which was quite emotional.Walking along Marylebone High St tears were staining my cheeks and I had to remind myself that we will see each other again sometime in the future. Until then my heart is filled with everlasting memories of our adventure in London and I shall always remember fondly when I met two dear friends for the first time, but most definitely not the last time.
Wishing you a happy Friday and a happy weekend if you are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow and Mother’s Day on Sunday.
This post was worth waiting for! Thank you for taking us along on the tour of London and the visit with our special twitter gal pals! Looking forward to future posts.xo
gorgeous. I'm glad you shared. I love London, and I'm just as happy to see pics as I am to go there myself.
Have a lovely weekend, hope youre Poppy treats you to something lovely for Mother's Day. xx
Dearest Morwenna,
How I enjoyed reading this lovely post and reliving some of the beautiful memories we shared with you and Nathan! It was wonderful to see your photos. I especially love the one of us on the back of the bus, as I hadn't seen it before. I cannot express how enchanted I was with you, Nathan and Rachel! You all welcomed us to London like we were family. Twitter has enhanced my life in so many ways and meeting you and Rachel was definitely a dream come true!! I hope to one day welcome you and Nathan (Rachel & Paul) in the same fashion. How I wish we had spent another day or two in London. Next time, for sure! I hope you will visit us next. Thank you for sharing this post…better late than never! Love you bunches!! PS. Those burgers were SOOOO good!! xoxo
How fun to see those pics again and some for the first time. I know how fabulous your meeting and ensemble adventures and meals were. It's wonderful to have a resource like Twitter to bring the world to our doors and new soulmates into our hearts.
Morwenna, this was the most wonderful post! I felt like I was there with you! I can't wait to tour around England with you and Nathan someday.
I miss you sweetie!
xoxo
Oh Morwenna….this is absolutely wonderful!!!!!!!!!!! I was so excited to read each word and feel your excitement about each meeting. How fun to meet Dawn, Rachel, and Rosinda and her family….just splendid!!!! Hopefully one day, we shall meet as well; I truly hope so!
Love and Hugs,
Joann
xoxo
This is such a charming and wonderful post, Morwenna!! I remember being so excited that you all could meet in London and just imagined all the sights you would see and fun you would have!! Thank you for sharing it all with us!!
Happy Spring! Tons of love, Sherry xoxo