Hello London, You're Warm

Made sure the man and I plugged in the headsets, sprawled out and slept for a good 6 hours on the plane. Except for a shower when we landed, there wouldn't be time for a nap. (No thanks to a big fat delay by SQ because their plane was wonky.) There would first, be a very precious dinner with my Aunts who stayed in the city all weekend just so to welcome us to not-that-cold (yet) London. One dinner first, and after the work is done, we'll see them on their estate when we head out to the countryside.

I couldn't hold back the giggle when I saw the table. A Chinese meal, they had decided to cook. With piping hot clear chicken soup to go with the spring onion noodles (葱油面) that were gorgeous. Fried scallions. The best. It's like...my most favorite type of noodles in the world. And I know how difficult it is to make a delicious version that's not mushy, too oily and with just the right amount of dry-ness. Mmmm. There were broiled spinach and bok choi, along with a fillet of lightly pan-fried monkfish. There was a beautifully complex bottle of Bunnahabhain 25y.o at the side too. Many reasons for thanksgiving at dinner.

Missed the Aunts so much. Duty and work beckoned them to an extremely-out-of-comfort-zone-destination far from London for two years. Now that they're safely home, it's time to visit and get hugs IRL, instead of virtual emoticons. Internet connection for them was patchy, and when they did get online with me, while we could type out long sentences, they didn't want to turn on the video over Skype because they thought the background would be too bleak. Anyway. They're back, and everything in the world feels right again.