Mom is off to Italy after a whirlwind of time in London and Wales. She's back on Thursday for a few last days before heading back to Canada after the weekend. It's been fun having her here and great to see the UK again through the eyes of someone who is just discovering it. We've fit a lot into her time here:

• A billion sheep (most viewed from the safety and comfort of Dan's mini)
  
• 2 Welsh castles
• 4 Welsh words I can now recognise and pronounce added to my vocabulary
  
• One dinner at an Italian restaurant in Mumbles overlooking the sea (where my food was served on a plate shaped like a fish)
• On afternoon in Tenby
• 2 orders of fish and chips (one in Tenby and one in Holland Park)
• 3 afternoons spent in London parks - Holland Park, Hyde Park and St James Park
  
• 1 musical - Chicago (it was great!)
• 1 trip on the London Eye
• 1 boat ride down the Thames in London's south bank area
• 2 markets - Borrough and Portobello
• 1 amazing wild board sausage sandwich in Borough Market, 1 shot of wheatgrass and two cups of organic, freshly squeezed juice
  
• Innumerable pints of beer and glasses of wine (including one bottle of Ice Wine, which I didn't really like)
  
• 1 visit to a Chinese herbalist in London's Chinatown
• At least 6 packed Tube journeys
• 1 trip to Muswell Hill to visit Jackie and baby Hartley
  
• 1 evening in Bath where Dan and I went to Bathcamp to participate in a pub quiz for geeks (our team won in spite of me) and mom spent a few hours in the Thermae Bath Spa
• 4 train stations: Cardiff, Bath Spa, London Paddington and Victoria
  
• Lots of walking around the packed areas of Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden and Westminster.
• 1 visit to Buckingham Palace
• 1 visit to a Primate Sanctuary in Wales
• Lots of amazing food including Mestizo (our favourite Mexican with the best nachos in the word - located in Euston, London.
  

She only has a few days here after Italy and I think we are going to focus on having a tour of Westminster Abbey (which she seemed to really want to do after seeing it from the outside though we ran out of time to go in), shopping in Westfield Mall and maybe one more show.

I've got my flights to Canada booked for the end of June/early July and, as wonderful as it is over here, I am really looking forward to spending some time at home. Today I had a major hankering for a sundae either from Dairy Queen or the Milky Way. The other day it was Cheese Whiz (which I actually think I can get at Selfridges for eleven million dollars). It's funny. Home, though a drag in some ways, will always have a handful of things that I love. Not because they are particularly good, but just because they are familiar and comforting and have been with me for as long as I can remember.

I'm not quite to the point of tapping my ruby slippers together, but it is true that there really is no place like home. For better or worse. I am excited about showing Dan the Canadian prairies in the same way he's opened up so many experiences for me over here (albeit we tend to have quieter things where I'm from). He was an integral part of showing my mother around for the last week and a half. Let me tell you internets, putting up with mom and I in a tiny car while driving through the meandering roads of Wales and towing us through the congested streets of London is a feat that takes a fair amount of patience. He's pretty great.

XOXO