Sometimes, it takes a milestone event to gather one's extended family for a long-overdue visit-and that's exactly what inspired our four-generation family gathering in London this past fall. It was my eldest daughter Sarah's 50^th birthday, and she wanted to go back to England, having been born there and not having visited for some 20 years. It was the perfect excuse for my husband, Adrian, and me to pack up three of my four adult children (one daughter couldn't make it), their two spouses, and the three grandchildren-11-year-olds Amelia and Simon, and 15-year-old Jack-for a Thanksgiving week we will always remember.

Of course, once family members in England caught wind of this visit, our party of ten grew. Adrian's 86-year-old mother, Beryl, wanted to come up from Devon, and his daughter, Sarah, and her boyfriend decided to join the fun. Darcy at Hideaways came to my rescue, finding us four centrally located flats-my main prerequisite-right on the edge of Covent Garden and Soho.