A two story row house, with a cobblestone driveway, and several plants lining the driveway, including several large hydrangea bushes.
Please note: In this version of the log, every picture is followed by a caption describing the picture, unless the picture is adequately explained in the text.
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:
A two story row house, with a cobblestone driveway, and several plants lining the driveway, including several large hydrangea bushes.
...in Arnos Grove, a quiet suburb in the North of London:
Looking down the street from in front of the Belinis' house.
Their house has a lovely back yard (or, as the Brits say, "garden"):
An expanse of green lawn, surrounded by an abundance of trees and bushes. Also in the yard are two decorative lanterns on posts, and a child's plastic sliding board. Two black labradors, Kettle and Lucia's dog Jeri, are running and playing in the yard.
The back of the Belinis' house as seen from the back yard. More trees and bushes.
...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:
The family poses on a couch.
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:
The park entrance, with two open wrought iron gates for pedestrians, and one closed gate for cars. The gates are mounted on brick pillars.
A closeup view of a plaque on one of the brick pillars. The text reads "Borough of Southgate. Arnos Park. Opened 1928."
...and let them run and play:
Kettle and Jeri running on a vast expanse of lawn, with trees in the distance.
...and socialize with some other local dogs:
Running with the pack - Kettle and Jeri get acquainted with a couple of local dogs.
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:
