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#EatDrinkDesire Part 1: The birthday trip to London

Hey hey! I’m here! I’m sorry I’ve abandoned personal writing in public since I took off to Edinburgh — for the trip you helped make possible. I’ll have a full report. But here’s what Mike and I managed to write down about the first part of that trip. This is our oral history of my 35th birthday trip to London!

trip-to-london

Megan: Somewhere between LA and London, hovering between 34 and 35-years-old, as most of the plane slept, a flight attendant noticed that I was awake and excited told me to run up past first class (“tell ’em Selina sent you”) and look out the window to see the Northern Lights.

With my heart pounding, I raced past the un-aware passengers, blew through curtains, avoided the feet of the lay-flat first class, and pressed my face up against the tiny window in an emergency exit door. Sure enough, there they were: Pale and bright green lights, shimmering in the sky.

Northern Lights

Kind of like this, but imagine the trees and water as clouds. (Photo by CC BY 2.0

I debated not waking up Mike for a second — boy needs his sleep — but then I was like, “I’d murder him if he kept this from me.” So I rushed back and shook him awake, “You need to get up right now and come with me to see the Northern Lights.” He was up in a flash and rushing back to the tiny window with me.

It was the first (and maybe only) time we’ve seen them. And I cried from happiness, and relief, and full-body-tingling awe, as we watched the towering green lights dancing above the clouds.

I thanked Selina, the flight attendant, for the incredible birthday present, and she poured us two glasses of champagne (I drank them both of course). I believe the moment I turned 35, I was standing above the northern hemisphere, glass of champagne in one hand, Mike’s hand in my other, the aurora borealis shining behind me, and the rest of my life, looking just as bright and wondrous, in front of me.

After that excitement, and a few more glasses of champagne, I slept surprisingly soundly. I can’t say the same for Mike.

I was still riding the Northern Lights high as we deplaned and zoomed through customs (as much as you can zoom while standing in a long queue). I got a “happy birthday” from the customs agent, we snagged our bags, and were off to Mike’s college friend Pete’s flat in Richmond, with a cab driver that managed to annoy us with his personality as well as the fact that he took speed bumps like he was trying to launch his black cab to the moon.

Pete and his place. You can see some of the cool sky lights in the kitchen from the angle!

Pete and his place. You can see some of the cool sky lights in the kitchen from this angle!

Pete’s flat was charming and not without its quirks — steep staircases, tiny hallways, and… creative access points to let light in (aka. a terrifying grate in the bedroom floor!?). Since his sister, Soph, was in town, and his son, Leo, was staying with him the next day, we were given a blow up mattress in his office, and was told that it may have a slow leak. Although, to our delight, he assured us that he ran his moist face over every inch of the mattress and couldn’t find/feel a leak. But, at 4am the next morning — when we found ourselves practically sleeping on the hardwood floor with air mattress all around us — we had, indeed, confirmed a leak.

Mike: The taco bed!!

Megan: Anyway… around noon, after a quick pub lunch in the garden (they have gardens and children’s playgrounds in the bars in England!), and a birthday Guinness for me, that blowup mattress in a cramped space looked and felt like absolute heaven as we napped.

tactical-nap

Then it was up and time to rapidly get dressed all fancy-like for my Special Michelin-Starred Birthday Dinner in London. But first… busses, and trains, and subway rides galore, as we wound our way from Richmond into my favorite city in the world.

Mike: Two Michelin stars!

Harrod's in the background!

Harrod’s in the background!

Megan: Once properly ensconced in the city — Harrod’s to the left of us, “the most expensive condo in the world” to our right, and crowds, double-decker busses, and useless red phone booths all around us — we blindly followed Pete around, wildly guessing at which direction the restaurant was.

We eventually found it, but not before Mike and I squabbled about whether or not I was going to be hit by that bus. (I think I was totally safe.)

Mike: Megan is still alive, thanks to me.

Mike, Megan, and Pete looking all fancy and shit.

Mike, Megan, and Pete looking all fancy and shit.

Megan: Dinner was such a freaking treat! First of all, it was in a super-nice hotel. Our table had a gorgeous view of the trees in the park next door. And everyone was so very posh and British. I was in proper English heaven. Adolescent Megan, who dreamed of eating fancy meals in London, was just squirming with delight. Okay, Adult Megan was doing the same thing. Although as good as the food was, it wasn’t my favorite…

dinner-by-heston-menu

Everything was a bit challenging for me, and I still feel bad that I ate and hated that frog leg, knowing now that Pete would have loved it… as he loved ALL the things.

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Our starters of “meat fruit,” “rice and flesh,” and savory porridge with frog legs.

Pete’s pure enjoyment of the food was one of my favorite parts of the meal. Well, that and the meat fruit (chicken liver paté that looked EXACTLY like a tangerine from the outside. Except, surprise! It’s meat inside. Apparently it’s an OLD British practical joke, and now an inside joke, as it supplied endless conversations, between the three of us, about our German metal band called “Meat Früt.”). I also loved the little portable liquid nitrogen ice cream cart they push around the restaurant.

After dinner we walked to the original Soho House, in fucking Soho! It was awesome — very different from LA’s. It was an old sprawling brownstone-type building, with tons of tiny little drawing rooms filled with tables, or couches and cozy chairs, or small bars. But, due to all the quaint tiny spaces, it was crowded beyond comfortable. So we sweated profusely as we waited for our drinks (once again Pete reminded me of the joys of the espresso martini when you’re starting to really feel the late hours and previous cocktails catch up to you) and then journeyed downstairs to sit at their lovely (but small) outdoor patio. So small that we were forced to share a table for a while with Tobias Menzies (of Outlander and Game of Thrones fame!!!). Of course, I didn’t realize it was him, until we were happily seated at our own table a couple of steps away. But another unexpected birthday sighting to close the night? I’ll take it!

Mike and Pete on the bridge.

Mike and Pete on the bridge.

We ended the evening with a late-night stroll around London. We checked out statues and took selfies on bridges… until Pete remembered that he’d left his cell phone back at Soho House. So we Black Cab-ed back to Soho House and then all the way back to Pete’s, where we crashed on our Leaking Air Mattress Taco Bed.

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The next day we ate a breakfast of avocado toast and tea in Pete’s sunny shared garden space, and worked out our plans which included drinks, walks, and the thing that I think I loved the most on this trip…

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Our quick and mind-blowing taste of Marrakech

Hello from Morocco! Let’s talk about our brief time in Marrakech that was, in true Megan and Mike-style, all about what to eat in Morocco! I’ll let Mike take it from here, using his words and photos…

Full and happy, in the middl of the Jemaa el-Fnaa

Full and happy, in the middl of the Jemaa el-Fnaa

After our seven hour flight from New York to Casablanca, Megan slept on a couch in the lounge with her head in my lap, as I balanced my laptop on one leg and looked up the pronunciation of “Djemaa el-Fna.” Then we took a quick flight to Marrakech.

For those curious, neither of us slept much on our flights, but now we can relax a bit in our hotel, before Megan gets dental work at Djemaa el-Fna square!! Time to look up how to pronounce “can that monkey drill a cavity out?”

Because we all know how much I love dentists.

Because we all know how much Megan loves dentists.

I’ll tell you about our amazing hotel (the El Fenn) at some other point – but here’s a pic of our room…

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Robot cat-sitters: The products that keep my cat alive while I’m away

I wonder when they're coming back...

I wonder when they’re coming back…

I’m taking off this weekend to go on a quick overnight trip to Sebastopol. It’ll be the first time that I’m leaving Diego (aka. The Woogs) alone in Mike’s our house. It’s too short of a trip to consider a cat-sitter, so instead I’m breaking out my robot pet-sitters.

Here are the products I use to keep my cat alive while I’m away…

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Buying a car, burying a dog, and vacation-induced PTSD

I’m so ready for this week to be over. These last three weeks have been incredibly stressful and emotionally draining for me.

My last moment with Julius after eight years together.

My last moment with Julius after eight years together.

First, my week of intense car shopping…

I spent five whole days car shopping with my dad. Almost non-stop. I enjoyed the part where I got to spend all that time with my dad, and learn a WHOLE lot about the car buying process. I didn’t, however, enjoy the process of car shopping. I also didn’t enjoy the panic attacks in the middle of a Honda showroom, and the Mazda showroom. And the amount of crying in public I did when I finally sold Julius, my Mini Cooper that I’ve had for eight years. But at the end, I wound up with the perfect car. I totally thought I was going to get a used small SUV that I felt kind of “meh” about. But ended up with a brand new Subaru that I’m over-the-moon for.

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I seriously love my new car. She’s perfect for me in every way: My favorite color, can fit my entire family, and with such a smoother ride. It’s basically like Julius on steroids! It was also going to be so much more comfortable riding experience for my aging family dog, Ayla. I that was going to be the happy ending to a looong week of stress.

But the very next day, Ayla died after thirteen years of love and laughter. This completely devastated me for two reasons: I miss her so much, and I had to watch Elsa, my loooongtime housekeeper, grieve harder than anyone.

That started my week of intense sadness…

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My Meadowfabulous 31st birthday

Love for year 31.

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I turned thirty! If you recall, last year I had a big birthday party — my Nerdy Thirty — AND I immediately went to my first Meadowfabulous. This year Meadowfabulous WAS my birthday celebration. Though it was hard to not be surrounded my close friends on my special day, it was nice to not have to worry about planning anything special and surrounding myself with my new (and getting closer) friends. With zero pressure on myself, I just kicked back and enjoy whatever the day brought. And you know what? It was pretty much one of the best days of my life — stuffed full of almost everything I love the most in the world.

Here’s a rundown (mostly in photos) of all the wonderful things I did on the day I turned 31:

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Travels and aging ahead


Guys, I’m so stoked! I just booked a two week trip to Maui… for $430! It’s also the first trip I’ve ever booked just by myself. I may be met out there by Aaron and a few friends, but that’s not all confirmed just yet. But if you’d like to join me… Hawaiian Airlines is having a sale on flights from the West Coast right now.

Jump on that shit and join me?

I also just booked my birthday trip to Washington for next weekend. Interestingly, it looks like the Seattle trip is going to cost me more when all is said and done — airfare for me and Aaron, lodging, taxis, etc — than my trip to Maui for two weeks.

And yes, I did just drop the mention that birthday is coming up next weekend. I’ll be thirty-freaking-ONE. I’m STILL in shock that I’m thirty. How did this happen so fast? So, though I just dropped around $1200 on travel, I can write of one of the trips and I’ll look at the other trip as a gift to myself.

YAY TRAVEL!

Our Long Beach vintage boatventure weekend

By request, here’s a wrap up of how our overnight on a boat went this past weekend.

Aaron and I got up and out of the house at around 12 on Saturday (miracle!) and headed down to Long Beach. It took no time at all, which was awesome. By the time we arrived we were hungry, so we at at the Yard House, where I got a message from the boat owner, Dave, that his boat was actually visible from Yard House’s patio. So we ate while we stared at all the boats and just generally had a great time hanging out together. We haven’t had much time TOGETHER recently. I have to say, I think that lunch was my favorite part.

Anywhoozles, here’s our weekend in photos…

Our boat was the only one in the second row that that has a blue mast — I know it’s super hard to see. It’s to the left.

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Wrong beach

I’ve been DYING to get out of town. I usually travel a lot more than I have been recently, so I’m growing restless. That, combined with the fact that Aaron and I haven’t been spending much time together lately, lead to us agreeing to take a mini “staycation.”

We thought about going to San Diego, in fact, we decided to go to San Diego and I was excited about it. When I realized that you could stay on a boat in San Diego through Airbnb, I got even MORE excited. Once I mentioned the boat option to Aaron, we were sold on an ocean-bobbing San Diego overnighter.

Of course, I found a way to mess it up…

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Thirtyfabulous

No time for a full-on post about my birthday weekend. It suffices to say that my birthday party was incredible, followed by a weekend at Meadowfabulous that was almost life changing.

Real quick: Meadowfabulous is a weekend of camping at Ariel’s mom’s commune on Bainbridge Island, Washington.

To tide you over until I can possibly one day find the time to write more about my experiences this past weekend (spoiler: I made a salad from SCRATCH — life changing), here is a Flickr slideshow from Meadowfab:

Best road trip EVAR circa 2006

I found this old blog post that never got posted. I thought I’d resurrect it and post it now. Oh we were so young and in love back then. This was year two of our relationship, by the way.

“It winds from Chicago to LA, more than 2,000 miles all the way”… yup, Aaron and I took a Route 66 road trip and it was awesome! I flew to Indiana on New Years Eve and then drove w him from there to Oklahoma (where is family lives) and then from Oklahoma back to LA.

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