We say goodbye to our little hotel and move on up and towards the end of our trip.

We were so tired the night before that we didn’t pack up officially until the next morning. We got breakfast one final time from our little cafe and I took a picture of our hotel. It ended up being a cute little place that had a great location. I would probably stay there again unless I could get a better price elsewhere (if I traveled to London again, of course).

After breakfast we took a taxi to our fancy-shmancy hotel.

Some things about me. I’m not the type to ask for something that might inconvenience someone else (unless we’re good friends. Then the rules change). I don’t like to bother workers at restaurants unless entirely necessary. Basically, I don’t like to cause a fuss.

So… that means that this hotel was both amazing and uncomfortable for me. The staff were all so welcoming and right there if we needed something. It was like I was royalty. I’m not used to that. I felt so out of place and annoying. I wasn’t but that’s just me!

ANYWAY, now that THAT’s out of the way…

Our room wasn’t ready yet so we were ushered to the Chamber’s Club (fancyyyy) where they had breakfast food we could have. NinjaPig missed breakfast that morning so she jumped at the chance. I did, too, because they brought me tea AND they had salmon. ❤

We stayed there for an hour or so and then had to get moving to our next destination: Royal Albert Hall (no relation to Albert the elephant professor we met prior).

This place is a bit like classical music mecca. I mean, the Proms! Across from the hall is a huge park we didn’t dare venture into due to lack of time. This giant monument to Queen Victoria was pretty neat, though!

We had lunch in the Verdi Cafe and had another delicious meal. NinjaPig even had one of our cheesy rice balls (mmm…)

Afterwards, it was time for the concert. We could not have gotten better seats, IMO. The concert was conducted by Eric Whitacre who is a great American composer of choral, wind band, and orchestral works. I especially love his music for wind band. You can see the page regarding the concert here (there may be some excerpts there).

The concert was GREAT! In addition to EW’s music they performed Rhapsody in Blue and I noted that maybe they could have played it a bit more raucously? I guess I’ve heard American orchestras play it so often that I really noticed how tame they sounded! They were good but it wasn’t as violent as I had hoped, haha! My favorite piece was Cloudburst for chorus. I’ll share below:

(Aaaaand I want you to hear the wind ensemble version also. Or, instead of. No pressure but I’m partial to this version.)

On our walk back to the tube, I saw this poster and it made me think of the Writer’s Lounge. Blueberries and cupcakes. You’re welcome. 😀

Finally, back at the hotel, we learned our room was ready and that they had brought up our bags for us. How lovely. The staircases in this part of the hotel were soooo cool!

Our room was BEAUTIFUL! Pardon my weird voice but here’s a teeny tour.

NinjaPig especially enjoyed our room.

She made a luxurious friend.

She helped me draw a bath later, too!

The fancy lounge had a big spiral staircase going up to near our room.

We had a good sleep. I slept in way longer than I should have but it all worked out in the end. Breakfast had salmon again and I was very happy. NinjaPig gorged herself on chocolate croissants. I don’t blame her.

I was sad to leave our fancy hotel but happy to be on my way home. The airport had a lot of cool art. It made me wish my home airport was as cool.

Finally, it was time to board and head towards Montreal. NinjaPig helped make sure she knew how to evacuate us in case of emergency. She said that wouldn’t be necessary, of course, because she knew how to fly the airplane.

We got to Montreal on time. Good. Our trip to Chicago would not be as smooth. Right before we boarded we overhead some other passengers saying we were going to be delayed. No one said anything to us and we prepared for takeoff…but didn’t.

Pilot: Oh, it was going to be a 2 hour delay but we’ve just got word it’ll only be 30 minutes, so that’s good!

30 minutes later

Pilot: JK, it’s 2 hours after all! Whoopsie!

This would have been fine if I didn’t have to then fly home. My flight was scheduled to leave at 9:50 PM. We were set to arrive in Chicago at 9:15 PM. I tried to find another flight but I couldn’t do anything until I arrived in Chicago. I was expecting the worst.

We got into Chicago at 8:50 PM and I found out my next flight had been delayed, too! I had a chance!

NinjaPig and I rushed through security and ran through O’Hare. I made it to my gate 5 minutes before it was originally set to leave. I was impressed with myself.

On our flight home, NinjaPig thanked me for letting her stow away. I was happy to host her. She had big plans for the future. She wanted to travel more…

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Thanks for following along, everyone! Maybe NinjaPig can visit you next!