Vauxhall Home Base

Day Two - Sunday, December 21, 2025

We landed! Back in the UK for the first time since I first visited the UK in December of 1988. What I remember of that flight was Rod Strickland took me to the airport where we drank an entire pitcher of beer. I woke up flying over the islands of Ireland and England dying for a drink of water. At least I slept that entire flight. 

Well, I spilled my wine, disrupted my plane neighbors and never slept on my transcontinental 2025 flight, but we made it. Having so much technology at our fingertips makes this journey so different! And the fact that I have to pay for it makes me refrain from using it all the time and wishing for the times of paper maps. 

My adult children are now leading the directions this time. Charlie did not fly over with us, he journeyed from Charleston through Detroit to London. I thought he would wait for us but given he has traveled South Korea, the DMZ and Mongolia, he left Heathrow before we landed. His first adventure was ordering what he thought was English Breakfast tea but instead got a complete English breakfast. 

After Ben and Madelyn figured out our route to the Vauxhall Station we were on our way. The train ride from Heathrow took about an hour but it was picturesque journey along the way. Great to see the Brownstone houses, the golf courses and the small balconies hanging off the sides of the houses. 

Getting off the train at Vauxhall, I needed coffee. As we dragged our luggage through the streets, we found a very zealous shop owner who pulled us into his Kennington Lane coffee shop for delicious lattes and white coffees. From there we walked to our Airbnb located at 137 Fentiman Road just off the Vauxhall Park. Great pitstop before heading to our London home for the week. 

We unpacked, showered, and got ready for our first adventure. And the rain which started did not deter the Francesconis. (As it turned out this was one of two rainy days.)

Slightly jet lagged and very soggy we traveled the streets of London. We walked along the Thames and looked at the London night sky with familiar sights like Big Bend, Parliament, Trafalgar Square and Westminster Cathedral and new visuals like the Covid wall and the London Eye. 

Our walk lead us to Bob Bob Ricard's in Soho a recommendation from our London local resident Martin Lawson. The table was set with crackers and drink and we ordered some delicious food. 

We even pressed the famous button to order our next round of champagne. 

And we bypassed the Tube and the bus to walk home. A quick pit stop to Tesco Express for breakfast provisions and we were back in Vauxhall and prepped for our next adventure.