London Days 8-10

Day 8 was Thursday. We brought a few boxes to the post office, to ship ahead some of our accumulated 'stuff' to Italy. We hopped on the tube and met friends at the British Museum. It was a great glimpse of Egyptian Mummies, the Rosetta stone and a plethora of Greek artifacts (many from the Parthenon). A quick cafe lunch at the museum, then to a nearby park for some ice cream, keep away with the soccer ball, and nestling our bare feet into the grass. We walked and shopped a bit, then landed at a Pizza Express for dinner (pretty typical chain in London, but not bad for a light meal and a bottle of red).

That night was very special: we went to watch Billy Elliot (a favorite); the boys loved it. We all loved it. And will never forget running through the rain---with newspapers over our heads---to get there. Anthony held my hand to make sure I didn't fall over, because my shoes were so slippery! It made for great memories.

Day 9 was our last day in London. When it is our 'last day' in a big city we usually take inventory: what does everyone want to do on the last day? What haven't we done yet? Is there anything we missed? Is there a favorite place you want to re-visit? Or something you still need to buy? In Paris we finished our week with a dinner picnic on a bridge (right near the Louvre and Notre Dame), enjoying the sunset and people-watching. I remember in Maastricht, last day requests included Belgian waffles, visiting the candy shop and trying on wooden shoes before we exited Holland (I almost bought some but they were so big and uncomfortable!).

Our last day in London was all about following our noses. We deliberately walked about town with this plan: to walk across the infamous Millennium foot bridge (the one that is destroyed at the beginning of Harry Potter 6), to peek inside the Tate Modern (south side of bridge) and walk toward Saint Paul's (north side of bridge).

We took the Underground to the London Bridge. And lucky me: tucked on the south side of the bridge is my favorite outdoor food market in the city: Borough Market. It was my 'last day' request, and an unexpected delight that we were able to stroll through it without agenda. We grabbed grass-fed burgers and just-grilled chorizo sandwiches for lunch. The boys tried some dandelion & burdock soda and ate shortbread. We tasted olives and cured meats, and hovered in a shop that boasted aprons and tea towels with motifs from an impressive artist. I couldn't resist.... I bought an apron with a rainbow trout (artist Richard Bramble). We chatted about drawing and being artists, found some coffee and exited the market.

A few blocks later, we walked by the Clink Museum, a prison museum that beheld and explained torture devices. Of course we went in. We were adequately mortified, rightly grateful for our ease of circumstance, and took token pictures of Caleb chopping off James' head.

Next we went into the Tate to peek at some of the modern art---quite a fun contrast to the Louvre, Van Gogh and even the British Museum. We saw a handful of Picasso's works and some art by Andy Warhol. Then, we walked over the Millennium bridge over to Saint Paul's cathedral---and directly to our favorite, readily found and ironically named patisserie: PAUL's. We landed happily at an outdoor table and munched our pastries and stirred our tea, while Anthony and Caleb juggled the soccer ball back and forth for an hour... right by the cathedral. (Yes, we are careful it is low pedestrian and free of windows before the ball comes out of the bag). When we had sat long enough for even the pigeons to give up on our residual crumbs, we picked up and hailed a cab.

I almost forgot: climbing into one of those fabulous London Taxi cabs was an experience we meant to fit in. So we did. We snagged a ride in a pristine cab across London, landing at a sport shop (to buy a few more pairs of soccer socks), shopping our way from Oxford Street back to Covent Garden, and landing deliberately at the TinTin store. Caleb spent some of his well earned dollars (or euros or pounds...) on a TinTin sheet set and classic book.

By this time we were hungry, again. So we popped into an Italian joint for an early dinner; Caleb read his new book, Anthony worked on Sudoku (from the daily paper handed out en route to the TUBE) and James and I chatted over glasses of vino. It was a good moment, a fine way to wrap up our visit to London.

The next morning, Day 10, we packed up all of our belongings, slung them onto the back of our bikes and headed for the train station. James had reserved spots for our bikes, so we hurdled all of our bags into the train car, the bikes into a separate car and rode to Manchester.

London days 4-7

London started so fast but gained unprecedented momentum. The first few days seemed to start casually and slow, but the more fun we had the faster time flew. (We have already said goodbye to London---with fond kisses and promises of a swift return). But I still want to share our frolics:

Day 4 was Sunday, and James and I rallied onto the tube, then a train and finally landed in Windsor, England. It is a beautiful city just outside of London, where our friends live and Anthony and Caleb had spent the night. It turned into a sunny day, and we joined our friends and walked about Windsor, circling the castle, snagging some cider and pints at a nearby pub, and ogling at Eton college (THE school for princes and modern day aristocrats). We found some great hamburgers and milkshakes for lunch at Gourmet Burger Kitchen, peered at the train stations (impressive), and relaxed at their home for hours of basketball, games, food, wine, some rather strong lemon drops and stand-up [and a bit of home spun] comedy.

In the end, we crashed in their guestroom and the next day we rolled out of bed to a yummy breakfast and said our farewells. We made our way home---stopping for a 2 hour visit to Lily White, a famously large sport store with authentic gear at discount prices (clothes for the boys' forthcoming soccer camp)---and caught up on relaxing, journals, laundry, snacking and reading.

The next day (Day 6) we rode into Leichester Square, lined up in front of TKTS and purchased half-price tickets to two musicals: Jersey Boys and Billy Elliot. We were thrilled. We took a walk about town to familiarize the boys with London, visiting the Covent Garden market, pacing down Oxford Street, passing Piccadilly Circus, and collecting postcards and stickers. We had an early dinner at Jamie Oliver's new restaurant in Canary Wharf---Jamie's Italian---then regrouped and headed back into town for our first show.

Whew, huh?

Wednesday (Day 7) we cycled. We hopped on our bikes and cycled 30 kilometers around London. Starting on the east side of London, we looped down over Tower Bridge, along the south bank of the River Thames, back over the Westminster Bridge near the Eye and locked our bikes up long enough to spend 2 hours inside of Westminster Abby. After, we cycled by Buckingham Palace, through James and Green Park(s)---ate lunch---cycled through Hyde Park and then landed in Regents Park for 1/2 hour of playing soccer and relaxing on the grass. We cycled home, this time on the north side of the Thames during rush hour (what a rush! literally!) in front of Saint Paul's cathedral and home again.

By this time, we were feeling fabulous about our London frolicking. It had included visits to key sites, both small walking tours and a large cycling tour. We had seen all the major parks, had quickly learned to think like a hamster and follow tube routes and eaten at a variety of 'typical London venues.' We had enjoyed some of the souvenir shops, had scones with clotted cream and tea, and watched Jersey Boys---a huge musical production---and even had time to relax together at 'home.'

London, days 1-3

What a great day in London. And how sweet to be able to take each day slowly, to not be in a hurry, to skip a tour or to dive in, to take time for tea or simply sit on some nearby grass.

How lovely to take in London without time nipping at our behinds.

Perhaps I appreciate our time in London (being here just 3 days) because our time in Paris was a whirlwind tour. In Paris we felt the pressure of a once in a lifetime visit, the sites you must see, the places to visit, the ground to cover and the familiarity to achieve. But London is different.

Not only will we be here 9 days, but we (well, James and I) have been here before... and are quite confident we will visit again. Our absorption of the city does not need to fit into short days with stern book ends. So we are here, and time slows and the days seem to expand.

The first day we landed in London was via the chunnel from Paris; after landing, we cycled to our 'residence' and found an English movie online. James grabbed some nearby take-out Lebanese food (quite good, actually) and we melted, guiltless into couches.

Day two in London started with the London EYE, something I had beheld but never experienced. A 30 minute ride in a capsule over London, we exchanged photo taking responsibilities with strangers, and oriented ourselves to the sites and scape of the city. Soon after we enjoyed a glorious lunch of tapas and then hit the nearby IMAX to view, finally, Harry Potter 6. We puttered about the city after that, strolling past Charing Cross station and spilling into Trafalgar Square, then finishing the evening enjoying a scrumptious meal with friends just south of London (thank you Simone and Raphael!).

The TUBE is an amazing thing, getting us from here to there and everywhere. It is quite well kept, efficient and worth the experience. (By the end of the trip, we were 'experts' in determining our routes, grabbing newspapers to read while in transit and slipping our tickets nonchalantly in and out of our back pockets. In our minds anyway, we blended).

Day three was a slow morning with James perfecting his egg-poaching skills and soliciting family smiles by the long, deep whiffs of bacon. After breakfast we popped on the London Underground (TUBE) and landed at London Tower for a day of King Henry VIII, sword fighting, historical facts and details of the Tower of London, Crown Jewels, tea time and fabulous gifts shops (Caleb found really awesome, functioning miniature catapults---perfect for launching paper wads in a forthcoming class; Anthony splurged on a poster time line of England's Kings and Queens; I bought a deck of cards, a common, well-used souvenir of places we visit).

We ended day three by joining friends over a splendid meal at a tapas restaurant in downtown London. Then the boys joined their new friends for an overnight in Windsor; James and I meet up with them tomorrow, day four.