After a long and mostly sleepless flight, we landed at Heathrow Airport.
The last time we came to England, in 1983, we weren't able to bring Terry's dog. England is free of rabies, and determined to keep it that way, so any animal entering the country had to be kept in quarantine for six months. These days, they make an exception for Guide Dogs, but before we could get off the plane, we were met by a woman from Animal Services, who carefully inspected Kettle and his paperwork. Finally, we were able to leave, and we caught an Uber (no Lyft in England) to Lucia's parent's house:
...in Arnos Grove, a quiet suburb in the North of London:
Their house has a lovely back yard (or, as the Brits say, "garden"):
...and stained glass in one of the upstairs windows and the front door:
We met Lucia's family - her parents, Giuliano and Maria, her sister Giulia, Giulia's two sons, Emilio and Valentino, and Lucia's Guide Dog Jeri:
We spent most of the rest of the day resting, visiting and getting acquainted. Among other family trivia, we learned that Giuliano's grandfather worked for Mussolini!
Later that afternoon, we took the dogs to a local park:
...and let them run and play:
...and socialize with some other local dogs:
Running with the pack
In the evening, Lucia's father prepared for us a wonderful Italian meal of pasta with veal - and the wine glasses were always full!
Here's a map showing the location:
