My flight into Heathrow arrived later than normal because flights were pretty expensive. I ended up booking a flight that connected through Dublin. The extra leg was welcome because it allowed me a bit more sleep before getting on the Tube. I often fall asleep on the Tube from Heathrow to wherever our hotel is, but usually my husband is present and awake to be part of ensuring we get off at the right stop. Not this time. Although he, my son, and I kept trying to get tickets for the match even after I booked my flight, no tickets materialized.

I held off booking my hotel until two days before I departed since we were hoping my son and/or husband might make it. Do you book a hotel for one, two that are married, two that are not married, or three? I ended up hedging and selecting something appropriate for two that were married, a room at The Exhibitionist, a tiny, somewhat kitschy hotel in Kensington close to the South Kensington Tube stop. Easy access to the airport and on the same line as the Arsenal stop, albeit not super close to the stadium. Great neighborhood we’ve been in a few times and it worked well for me. They checked me in immediately upon arrival and I took the opportunity to take a short nap before showering. A full bath with both a tub and a separate shower, and the rain head was serious about my cleanliness.

I’d booked cheap groundling tickets to A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre for the evening. Good activity to do on your own, reasonably priced so you can bag it if you’re too tired or the weather is bad. This is a comedy in the star-crossed lover genre and one I know pretty well. It’s probably one of the more accessible Shakespeare plays and very popular among park theatre productions.

It was a Sunday evening and although the play was well-attended, it was not incredibly crowded either. The Globe does a great job of involving the audience to keep things fun and interesting and they outdid themselves on this occasion. Before the play even started, they had the audience singing in rounds, practicing dance steps, and reciting sections from various Shakespeare plays. The groundling section was mostly populated with young people who were happy to participate and, once the play began, seemed to really enjoy it. The play was fun and well acted, but being in a really engaged audience made it even better. The actors occasionally brought members of the audience onto the stage to perform various roles and everyone had a wonderful time.

The play started relatively early and ended at dusk. The walk back to the Tube over Millennium Bridge was particularly nice. There were very few people out on a Sunday evening and I was surprised to be able to hear the birds calling as I walked over the bridge and enjoyed the views to St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Shard.

Sleep was somewhat elusive that night (reference the afternoon nap described above). I had made plans for Monday in light of the match in the evening and the fact my husband was not with me. Visiting gardens is probably not at the top of his list, but I figured that would be fun for me. A few months ago, I had watched a movie on Netflix called Dare to be Wild, based on a real, past participant in the Chelsea Flower Show named Mary Reynolds. I won’t pretend to know everything that happens in the Chelsea Flower Show, but part of it includes a landscape competition. Mary Reynolds had a big idea and applied to enter the competition. Her idea was selected to be built out and the movie was about all the problems she had to overcome to bring her vision to fruition, and win. Anyway, the Chelsea Flower Show was days away from my visit and therefore not a possibility, but an event that takes place starting in advance of the flower show is “Chelsea in Bloom.” During this festival, many shops in the Chelsea neighborhood decorate their storefronts with floral displays. This year, around the theme, “Out of this world.”

I had decided to spend some time visiting Chelsea in Bloom, but my bad night’s sleep had me out in Chelsea much earlier than I originally planned. This was a good thing and a bad thing. Chelsea in Bloom started that day and some shops were still just working on their displays when I went through. To the good, though, I was able to enjoy most of the displays before the crowds set in. Most of the displays used real flowers. Not only were the displays beautiful and sometimes just fun and creative, I enjoyed how different shops interpreted the theme. There was a lot of outer space influence, as you might expect, but sometimes “Out of this world” was interpreted as out of the world of England. For example, there was a floral exhibit of cactuses. And sometimes it was interpreted as imaginary creatures, like unicorns and mermaids. It was so lovely and fun to see how people walking to work or to school were reacting to the displays. Everyone seemed so happy.

After walking all through Chelsea I decided to revisit Fortitude Bakehouse, a bakery near Russell Square my niece had told me about that I visited once last year. Famous for their cream-stuffed beignets that aren’t available until 11 a.m. It’s lunch! Fortitude was not really close to my hotel or Chelsea in Bloom but whatevs. I had time on my hands. Today’s flavor was pistachio and raspberry. Half of one would be plenty, even for lunch, but I took mine into a pretty park and ate the whole thing. With tea to wash it down. Delicious. Not health food.

I stopped by the hotel for a quick nap (yes, making a habit of this on my short trip to London) and then set out for a nearby garden called Kyoto Garden in Holland Park, a few Tube stops and a short walk from my “home” Tube station, South Kensington. Kyoto Garden was a small, peaceful, and lovely Japanese garden. I enjoyed visiting the “Dutch garden” as well. Not much was blooming there but it was very nice, with orderly plots.

I headed back to The Exhibitionist for a quick change into my Arsenal jersey. It brings good luck. And we need everything to go our way. Including, but not limited to, luck.