Monday, September 3, 2012

Back from the UK!


Wow, this last two weeks is the longest I've ever been away from my sewing machine and my blog for the last year...kinda crazy, when I think about how two years ago I didn't even really sew and definitely didn't blog! Anyway, we are back from our anniversary trip to London and Edinburgh, and I am ready to jump back into sewing, school, and being a cat mom again (seriously, if I think about Walnut that much while on vacation, what's it going to be like when I have an actual small human being?). Many thanks to all my guest bloggers for filling in for me while I was drinking tea! Because gosh, we drank a lot of tea. And walked a lot. And saw lots of museums. Actually, rather than listing all the particulars, here's a visual summary of what we did, saw and ate:

A summary of the exhibits and museums we visited, the steps it took to see them all, and the sustenance required to make those steps. Can you guess what I had for breakfast every morning? I'm so excited that they're branching out into the US!






The sight-seeing highlights for me were definitely the Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour and the costume collection at the V&A. I don't think I need to explain why, but in case you need some proof of the awesome...
At the Riddle family grave, a Hungarian Horntail, in front of the secret passageway revealed by Ariana Dumbledore's portrait, Yule Ball costumes, giant clock, Yule Ball treats, Bellatrix's costume, and Aragog.
Harry's bedroom under the stairs, the stone knights guarding the castle, Diagon Alley, Dumbledore's office and its guardian, the potions' classroom, the Great Hall, and the Ministry of Magic.
Ballgown exhibit, Edwardian pigeon-breasted gown, Regency-era Spencer, bustle day dress, Georgian-era stays, another Regency ballgown, striped polonaise dress, the inside of a Victorian bodice, and a poisonously fuschia Civil War era gown. 

And in between all of that, we managed to squeeze in meetups with Jane and Debi!
Read their recaps of our adventures here and here!

It was a lovely, lovely holiday, and a much-needed reconnection time with my husband after his crazy-busy summer internship. And although I love traveling, it was so nice to get back to the cat of my heart.


I've got a ton of blog reading to catch up on, a couple sewn pieces to blog, and a very anxious and happy cat to pet. Happy Labor Day!
Posted by at 10:52 AM
Labels: , ,

21 comments:

  1. BrookeSeptember 3, 2012 at 12:03 PM

    Yay! You're back! The guest posts were fun but I still missed your online presence. =)

    Thanks for the great costume pics! And the Harry Potter thing looks really cool!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cation DesignsSeptember 4, 2012 at 9:20 PM

      I missed participating in the sewing blog community too! I have more Harry Potter costume pics that didn't make it into this post...I will get around to editing them sometime!

      Delete
  2. AlisaSeptember 3, 2012 at 1:30 PM

    SO jealous of your visit to the Harry Potter studio tour! Can't wait until my own upcoming trip!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cation DesignsSeptember 4, 2012 at 9:20 PM

      Oh, you're going to love it! I was totally geeked out for a good three hours.

      Delete
  3. aleahSeptember 3, 2012 at 4:13 PM

    What a great trip! I love the pictoral breakdown of events - there are sure a lot more stairs in Europe than there are here. And how cool to see all those Potter sets and costumes! But now begins the challenging task of convincing your cat that you won't just be abandoning him for two weeks again every time you approach the door... In my experience it takes several days of loud needy yowling from the next room mixed with lots of inconvienient chest-sitting. Or maybe that's just my cat...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cation DesignsSeptember 4, 2012 at 9:23 PM

      Seriously, anytime you have more compact cities, buildings go up instead of side to side. Also, I think the pedometer might count steeper hills as stairs, and boy does Edinburgh have a lot of hills!

      The last couple days with Walnut have been really stress-inducing...we can't even go upstairs to eat dinner without him yowling up a storm! So glad to know it's not just him that gets ultra-needy!

      Delete
  4. RachelSeptember 3, 2012 at 4:33 PM

    I love the visual recap, it's great!!
    Where is the harry potter stuff?? I'd not heard of it before

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cation DesignsSeptember 4, 2012 at 9:23 PM

      Apparently a lot of people (even in London) don't even know that that tour exists, which is a shame, in my opinion. I went and added the link to the tour website.

      Delete
  5. shamsSeptember 3, 2012 at 6:11 PM

    LOL. I LOVE your visual summary of the trip! That IS a lot of tea. Was that just you or both of you? :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cation DesignsSeptember 4, 2012 at 9:24 PM

      Thanks, Shams! And that tea is just me, as is the yogurt...

      Delete
  6. AnonymousSeptember 3, 2012 at 6:53 PM

    Welcome back! The recap is EXTREMELY jealous-making!
    -Sandra

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cation DesignsSeptember 4, 2012 at 9:24 PM

      Thanks for the welcome back, despite the jealousy ;)

      Delete
  7. SylviaSeptember 3, 2012 at 11:11 PM

    Wow! You met up with bloggers from around the world. That is crazy and cool at the same time. :) PS. The link for Debi's account is also linking to Jane's twice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cation DesignsSeptember 4, 2012 at 9:25 PM

      It was definitely a bit surreal! Thanks for looking out for my links, Syl :)

      Delete
  8. snippaSeptember 3, 2012 at 11:32 PM

    You visited some of my favourite places! The V+A and British Museum especially. I went to see Ballgowns in June (http://snippa-snippets.blogspot.co.uk/2012_06_01_archive.html)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cation DesignsSeptember 4, 2012 at 9:29 PM

      Just read your recap -- I think I have almost the exact same picture with the hoop cage thing and the fuschia gown in the background! And craziest of all, we went to Patisserie Valerie for breakfast!

      Delete
  9. SymonSeptember 4, 2012 at 12:28 PM

    Love the visual recap of your trip! I can totally relate to cat abandonment issues.... we just went away for four days and I went through major cat withdrawals, as well as dealing with a totally stressed out fuzzy baby when I came home - Walnut looks pretty content by comparison! LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cation DesignsSeptember 4, 2012 at 9:30 PM

      Heh...Walnut is looking contentedly at a treat just out of frame! He's been freaking out quite a bit otherwise, especially when I step out of the house for errands. Those fuzzy babies are totally worth the stress, though!

      Delete
  10. SueSeptember 4, 2012 at 5:43 PM

    Welcome back! Looks like you had quite the trip.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousSeptember 5, 2012 at 6:38 AM

    What a trip! I'm jealous, to say the least. Welcome back, and thanks for sharing your trip with us!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to tell me your thoughts! I appreciate reading them and I try to reply to most, if not all, comments, especially when they are questions. I ask that you keep your comments polite, and if you're a spammer, don't bother because your comment will just be deleted! Also, if you're commenting on a post that's more than two weeks old, it will be moderated.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)