I know I annoy people a lot when I say I’m getting old, but I really mean it. I am starting to feel older- but not necessarily in a bad way (unless it is humid and rainy, in which case I can feel it in my knees). I feel much wiser, though, for the most part. I also feel like I have more perspective about things that used to make me anxious or angry. There are definitely benefits to this whole approaching the three decade mark!
The best benefit, though, is celebrating the bygone years with good friends, which I did this past weekend. It was no “normal” celebration, either. The day started with J and V showing up at my flat with a big ol’ bag burgeoning with gifts- but it wasn’t as easy as just getting to open them. I had to work for them by figuring out the riddles they’d written on a series of cards that led me on a treasure hunt throughout London to places of special significance in our friendship.
I was able to figure out the first clue pretty quickly, a birthday miracle!
So now it’s time for a little blog trip down memory lane, too.
Remember my time at King’s, the bastion of inefficiency, poor administration and home to some of the best professors and friends I’ve ever had? Me, too. But of course as time has gone by, the hallways and study corners and chalk dusty classrooms that were part of my daily life have eroded from my memory, so I am very glad that our first stop was the Maughan Library, where J and I spent many of our days writing essays, talking super loudly, having roller chair races and doing handstands.
We sat in the library garden sharing our memories and laughing about how everything has (and yet, hasn’t) changed, and that even through everything, we haven’t aged a day…
Next up I had to struggle to figure out that V’s clue led me to La Duree, home of the best macaroons ever and a symbol of our meeting in Paris years and years ago. Johanna had to help me out by suggesting that the destination offered “tiny sweet hamburgers.” Hmmmmm.
I got there eventually, though, and since I worked so hard, the bought me a box of macaroons. Don’t worry, I shared generously.
Just because I had sweet little hamburgers as a snack doesn’t mean all the clues hadn’t left me famished. Thinking can be very tiring, you know! My next clue led me to Mildred’s, the number one vegetarian restaurant in London, where no one other than K.B., a close friend from my LivingSocial days, met me for a birthday lunch.
Following the delicious lunch, we stopped at the Coach and Horses for a quick drink to commemorate the first ever Hatchet Job of the Year, and my mother’s epic visit to the UK a few years ago, during which time J, V and all of my other friends promptly fell in love with her. Who wouldn’t?
We had a little photography fun there, and most of the pictures are not really appropriate for the blog, so I’ll just show you our “natural” pose:
By the time we finished at the Coach and Horses, it was time for the last clue. Can you guess where it took us? I’ll give you a hint:
The perfect ending to a perfect day, and the best treasures in my life: my amazing friends!
Comments
This is lovely!