London/Moscow Plans Are Falling into Place

We're leaving for our great European jaunt a week from today, and I think we are almost ready. The Russian visas and our passports are on their way back to us. Jason's appointments are all set. I have a couple appointments as well, both for work and for fun.

I'll just give you a quick, day-by-day rundown:

• When we arrive on Friday morning, Jason will head to the Pearson offices in The Strand to finalize details for the Foreign Rights Summit he hosts there every year for his department's foreign publishing partners. I'll be hopping a train to Lincolnshire. I have a 2pm appointment to tour Harlaxton Manor, my home-away-from-home 22 years ago when I was in college.
• On Saturday, we've arranged a bus tour to Stonehenge. Jason's never been there before, so we'll be taking an early train to Bath and then hopping a tour van for a day of sightseeing among the ruins of ancient Britain--with time for shopping, of course.
• Sunday I'm planning to head out to Chawton to see Jane Austen's house. Jason thinks it's funny that I have to take a bus from the Alton train station to a place called Alton Butts, and then walk to Chawton. Meanwhile, Jason will be at his summit in The Strand.
• Monday I'll be lunching with Sally, a friend from 22 years ago. She's picking me up at the train station in Peterborough (as she did on my last visit two years ago) and we'll be hanging out with her eldest son, Max, and maybe spending some time in Stamford, where they filmed the last Pride and Prejudice and some of the Da Vinci Code.
• Tuesday I have an appointment to meet EMC's foreign rights rep, Wolf, at the London Book Fair. I'll be telling him about our books and their rights potential. Then I'm going to see the King Tut exhibit.
• Wednesday we leave for Moscow. Jason's Ukraininan publisher friend Gennadiy will meet us there, and his wife Helen (who has been to our house a few times) will accompany me as I crawl around Red Square for a few days while Jason works.

So we're going to be plenty busy. But I can't wait!