WE ARE HAVING A HOOT!!!

I love going back to places I have been before.  Its kind of like seeing a movie a second time.  Now that you know the basic ins and outs you can sit back and relax and pick up more obscure bits and pieces.

This trip is the second one for April and Myles.  So they had fun showing me some of the stuff they encountered on the first round.  We have definitely done a lot of walking!  In fact we bought an Oyster card each when we arrived and we have hardly used it!  Maybe tomorrow we can make it a tube day.  Just randomly ride the train and get off here and there. One time Bill and I did that in Shanghai and when we got off the subway and climbed up out of the station we were way out in the middle of nowhere...fields all around us and not a soul in sight!

We have done the traditional things so far.  Hyde Park, all the squares, many pubs, Harrods, Covent Garden, China Town and....Book of Mormon.  I bought the tickets in Leicester Square.  Four seats from the front, centre.  They could not have been better.  And the toughest part of seeing this show...is it is impossible to explain it to anyone afterwards.  We laughed till we cried and there was an immediate standing o at the end.  But if you are at all sensitive to the idea of blasphemy against god, or Mormons, and can't handle the 'C' word...best not to go!

Today is a quiet day for me.  The kids have gone to Camden Market Town.  I have been there many times and my feet and hips need a break.  We have averaged way more steps per day than I am used to.  Maybe not quite as walky as China was but almost.  So I stayed home and am now having a lovely quiet day.  I did go out to Garfunkles for a fish pie and then a quick stop in at Tesco's for buns and butter and such.  

A quick word about the room/apartment we are in.  It is on Trafalger Square.  Perfect location.  The room is utterly fantastic.  Separate bedroom.  Separate toilet room...so sensible.  A pull out couch.  A beautiful little kitchen.  The whole place is beautifully decorated and very big and roomy.  And it isn't expensive!!!  

Enough for now.  We leave for Paris on Saturday.  We have another apartment in the same chain of hotels as this one.  And that one is right on the Seine smack dab across from the Louvre!

OUR LOVELY LITTLE KITCHEN...WITH A PEN ON THE FLOOR.  IT WASN'T WRITING THE WAY APRIL LIKED SO SHE THREW IT RIGHT ACROSS THE APARTMENT

TTYL

THE SHARD.  THEY CALL IT THAT BECAUSE THEY THINK IT LOOKS LIKE A SHARD OF GLASS.  47 BUCKS TO RIDE UP TO THE TOP....NOT THAT INTERESTING

TEA TIME

BAD PICTURE BUT WE ATE AT THAT PLACE ONE NIGHT...PRETTY GOOD

COVENT GARDEN

COVENT GARDEN...THAT WOMAN ON THE LEFT IN THE PINK SHIRT WAS EXTREMELY LOUDLY SINGING AN ITLIAN OPERA...NO WORDS FOR THAT ONE

THE SHARD FROM A DISTANCE

BOAT RIDE ON THE THAMES...THAT BRIDGE IS TOWER BRIDGE

THE LONDON EYE

THE FACES ARE DARK BECAUSE I WAS USING MY STUPID AWFUL PHONE CAMERA AND I WAS REALLY WANTING TO SHOW THE CHANDELIER REFLECTIONS.  IT WAS EITHER OR....FACES OR DECOR.  FACES LOST.

WE RENTED THREE OF THOSE BEACH CHAIRS FOR AN HOUR AND IT WAS PROBABLY THE NICEST HOUR WE HAVE SPENT HERE

CRAZY RESTAURANT....YOU CHOOSE YOUR CUT OF STEAK, YOUR SALT OR RUB, YOUR FLAVOUR OF BUTTER AND YOUR CHOICE OF SAUCE.  THEY BRING IT AND THAT IRON UNDER THE STEAK IS FLAMING HOT...YOU COOK IT TO THE RARENESS OR DONESS OF YOUR CHOICE...SO MUCH FUN!!!

SHE DID A YOU TUBE SUGGESTION ON HOW TO PACK YOUR JEWELRY....CLEARLY A FAIL...