It's Friday -- Our last full day in London - Friday, June 28 2013

Today is an even later start – we’re on vacation.. sometimes we have to remind ourselves.  We always have more things on our list than we’ll even have a chance to touch, but we’re always quick to jettison plans if they’re too much.  For example, this trip we had down things like the White Cliff of Dover (3 hours from London), Windsor Castle (an hour from London), Oxford (to see Harry Potter stuff – but we saw the real deal…).  All that is out – no way that stuff is happening on these feet, we’d rather just spend the day doing odds and ends things that we have left.  We just take our time getting moving and talking about what our plans are for the day.  We also want to get some laundry done and we’re having issues again – the machines are taking over.  There is a “60 minute quick wash” that seems to take well over an hour, and then it won’t let the clothes out (the door is locked).  We try to cancel it, but that restarts it – we turn it off, but when we turn it back on, the door is still locked.   Hal? We just want our clothes back, ok?  (Dave. Step away from the machine or you’ll never see your socks in one place again).   Finally we figure out that you have to hold the cancel button for a really long time and then it will release.  Next time we’re doing the “30 minute quick wash”..

 

It’s 11:00 and we're out the door.  Dana nearly falls and I say we're not going to hospital on holiday...(notice the appropriate dropping of the articles).  No personal injury on this trip!  That’s the goal.

We head to the tube and Dana, Patti and Britt "top off" their cards so we all have 10£ left (my ticket guy told me to put 25£ on our cards, the others only put 20 – we may have to add more, but at least we all not have the same amount so it’s easier to keep track.   We’re off to Trafalgar Square!  The plan is to hit Trafalgar Square, then St. Martins in the Field (it’s church that my ancestors were married in and it essentially ON Trafalgar Square… then Picadilly Circus (its like London’s Time Square, and Abbey Road.. then Kensington Palace (where Diana lived when she died and where Will and Kate, and Harry currently live).  If we have time or patience, we may do the “wobbly bridge” – a rope like foot bridge across the Thames and St. Paul’s Cathedral.  See? No time for Windsor or Oxford… but it looked good on paper!  (or white board, whatever).

It’s our first rainy day today, the weather has been AMAZING to this point, but today we need the umbrellas.. well, everyone except for Thomas needs them.  Lauren doesn’t have one yet and we share for a while until we find a place on the corner and get her an “I love London” umbrella.  Britt has a cute one with the flag, and I have one that says “Carry on.. It’s Raining” that I bought yesterday to try and ensure that it wouldn’t rain --  Patti and Dana are both boring prepared people that knew that it would likely rain in GB, and actually packed their own umbrellas.  Over achievers. Whatever.

Trafalgar Square -- 360 with Photosynth (it stiches multi-layers of pics) - Notice Lauren's head.. And not sure what is happening with Thomas.. It looks really cool in the program - but I'll post more of these

There isn’t a lot too Trafalagar Square, but it’s a big landmark in the city, and I wanted Thomas to see it because I saw some behind the scenes shots of an upcoming Doctor Who (possibly the 50^th anniversary) where the Tardiis lands there!  We get pics, get Lauren’s umbrella and we walk over to St. Martin’s in the Field.  We came here 3 years ago and the church was closed when we were in the city – so I wanted to be sure to get in this time and get some pictures for my grandmother.  She’s a genealogist (no seriously, like not just our family, like everyone she’s ever known, she has records of, and people come in from different parts of the country to get information about their families).  I had done some research on it before because the window in it was pretty unusual – not what you typically see in a church of this age and time.  There is no stained glass, it’s all clear and it has an abstract (like a modern art feel) cross done in iron (pics to follow) – and we were curious what the window looked like when our family members were married there.  Turns out there have been 4 windows there, the original window (1722) was really plain and clear glass, meant to be a symbol of clarity and light… then in Victorian times it was replaced with what we think of as a traditional stained glass window.  That window was destroyed in the London Blitz in 1940, and a “temporary” window that we very simple with a block cross in it was installed.   That window wasn’t replaced until 2006 when they decided to renovate the church and get rid of what was meant to just be a temporary installation – they held an art contest for the design of the window.  Really cutting edge for a church like this, I think.  

The original window....

Painting of the Victorian window

The "temporary" window



The current window -- cool and contemporary

 

 

 

We got our pictures and headed back out to the tube to go to Picadilly Circus.  It’s just one stop down – Britt wants to find the M&M store and see if there is any cool London related gifts there.  As soon as we get off the train we see a map and scope out where the M&M store is – and we notice that St. Martin’s in the Field and Trafalgar are on this map (which just encompasses maybe 8 square blocks.  I think with as much as we walked to get to the tube and in the maze of the tube we could have just walked over from the church.  Oops..  Lauren is a little puckish and decides to get some mini cinnabons which she shares with Thomas (awwww)… We notice a flashy store across the street, All things Brittania!  And there is a guy out front dressed all in the UK flag, waving flags and dancing, and Britt wants a pic with him!   We head over and he squeals – he sounds JUST LIKE BRITT when she gets squeaky. She has found her London twin. She asks for a pic and he’s all in -  I’m taking the pic – and he tells me to step back and be sure to get the name of the store in… keep going back.. back..  and then I feel the cold water around my ankles.  He’s done this on purpose – had me step backwards into this huge puddle in front of the store.  I’m cool – I’m in my water shoes, and it actually feels good – so I stay there and get the pic.  I laugh and say, “I see what you did there… “, and he gives me a high five for being a good sport and tells me that at least I don’t have socks to get wet.  Makes me wonder how many other people he gets to do this that do have socks – and what their reaction is.

 

We check out the store and it’s got some really cute British stuff, but I think I’m ok on my British stuff (but I do get a selfie with the Queen who just happened to be hanging out in there).  Thomas finds a jacket that he likes and gets it!  I like it when we find things we must have. Lauren finds some gifts, and we all head out – the rest of the girls are waiting outside the store and they’re having a blast with the “puddle” man in front of the store.  He’s talking to them and telling them how he spends his day with this puddle!  As people are walking by in front of him, he squeals and waves the flags just as they’re about to walk into the puddle so that they look at him instead, and then he runs into the store as they’re ankle deep in puddle.  He says that it never stops being funny – and Britt agrees.. there are things like that, that never stop being funny… “like a baby!”… Patti and I laugh so hard again!

 

We find the M&M store, and it’s 4 levels, similar to the NYC one, but it just doesn’t have the same buzz.  There are some great displays in there, Ms as Queen’s guards, as the Abbey Road crosswalk, the Queen, a Knight… but there are no souvenirs like Brittany is looking for. 

 

It’s about hungry time and we’re in the middle of fast food chain meglomarturbia..  we want local food.   Our next stop is Abbey Road and that area is pretty residential and I’m afraid won’t have a place to eat.  Patti spots a pub in the midst of all the super flashy chain places, and we’re golden!   We all have a great lunch – Thomas gets…. A burger…but with “thick and sticky BBQ” sauce – because that’s how I know I want my BBQ sauce – gotta be “thick and sticky” or I ain’t havin none of it.  I get a meat pie (great pub food) – and Britt gets the beef roast, and it has Yorkshire pudding included!   I’ve always wanted to try it!  I’ve seen it talked about on British shows, and Gordon Ramsey showed how to make the best Yorkshire puddings on “Kitchen Nightmares”.  It’s always intrigued me because it’s a “pudding” (British for “desert”) – but it’s served with dinner, AND it has brown beef gravy served on top.  It looks kind of like a flaky cheese Danish with gravy on it… something sweet and savory mixed in a desert, how does that not taste awful?  So Britt gives me a bite and it’s a little bit of a letdown – it’s flakey and perfect, but like a croissant, not sweet – so it’s basically a nice flaky croissant with brown gravy on it.   No sweet – no “pudding” element to it really.   Britt is cute when she’s paying for her lunch, trying to find the right coin is pretty challenging – none of us want to really do it in front of the locals.  We’d much rather have our easy 1 pound or 2 pound coins – or better yet, just pay with a big note and get change back.  The lady at the bar is trying to help her find a 2 pence..  

 

Also while we’re sitting we take a second to log onto our internet and I try to post a couple of things form the morning on facebook – we see signs everywhere in the city for “free wi-fi” – and “the cloud” pops up all the time as a network that we can join.  But it’s all lies.  We declare that the cloud is not real wi-fi, it just takes up our battery trying to search and connect and it never works.  Just a big plot to drain our batteries.

We’re all having hair and moisture issues.  It’s cool outside, but rainy and moist, and with the walking and the hot underground tube stations with no ventilation – we are a hot mess.  It’s a strange feeling to have your skin chilled because of the temp, but be moist with humidity and even sweating and clammy – it’s a really gross feeling.  My hair is SO puffy – and Lauren laughs at me just a bit because we have the same hair, and she said that she put in extra mousse today to prevent that from happening to her hair.  Well played.  She always teaches me something, and usually about how to be a girl – just a few weeks ago she did my eye makeup and I didn’t end up looking like a raccoon.   But today at lunch even Lauren is having some hair issues and it involves food.  She got some food in her hair and she gestured (and may have used words, who knows)  -- that looked like to me that she wanted her hair moved out of her face and that she couldn’t do it because she had food on her hands – so I push her hair back and that’s obviously not what she was communicating…   OH!  She already had food in her hair and she wanted me to take a napkin and help REMOVE it!  Well, what I’ve accomplished instead is to smear the food through the rest of her hair.  You’re welcome. 

We find the tube from Picadilly to Maida Vale (near Abbey Road) – and start heading that way.  Lots of walking again today – walking in the tube, stairs, transferring, and then blocks and blocks to the studio.  Patti and I did this last time we were here, but we didn’t do a very good job of getting the classic shot of walking across the street.  It’s a busy street and it’s pretty intimidating to try and get that pic with all the locals honking at you silly tourists.  I have a plan this year, we’re going to walk across and I’ll take video of people walking and then I’ll be able to capture the stills.   We first get pics of the studio itself – the gates are open, but I’m too chicken to go up to the door of the studio and get a pic.  Lauren gets some great pics of all the walls outside the studio where people have left their mark in memory of the Beatles.   We walk down the block to the famous crosswalk, and we are approached by a very friendly looking youth in dreadlocks.   He would love to take a “free” picture of us crossing the street.   We walk and he’ll use our camera, stand in the middle of the road and take the picture.   I tell him that is very daring… he has an accent, English is not his first language, and I’m guessing French.  He says, “Daring? What does this mean?” – Lauren says “dangerous” – oh no, this is no danger – he has been here for months for this “project” (he keeps calling it a project) and has never seen an accident or blood and gore.  Patti warns that this “free” picture isn’t free – but I figure that for a good pic (and who better to take the picture than someone who has months of practice, knows exactly where to stand for the pic and is willing to be out in traffic?) – it’s worth a few pounds that we give him as a thank you.   We all head across and I think it turns out great – well worth it.  We get a pic of him too – really nice guy.

 

 

We walk back to the tube station and some of us have been struggling with medical issues – me with my sinuses (I’m not sick, even if Patti says that every time I’m sick I say it’s my sinuses – it TRUE, it IS my sinuses – and they all laugh at me – I’m not sick!).  Britt has some rash, and Dana is just starting to feel sick (sinuses or allergies – she’s not sure).   But we’ve been looking for a pharmacy for a while and each time we find one it’s just been a bad time.   This time I go in while Lauren uses the ATM, and it’s small – and you have to talk to REAL PEOPLE to get even just a pack of Benadryl.   All the meds are behind the counter – Britt gets some ointment and Benadryl, and I get Benadryl with decongestant.  It was actually a nice experience there – it’snot just you reading boxes and trying to figure out what to get.  You tell them what symptoms you have and what you want, and they consult with you and give you what you need.   I liked it.  Imagine, like talking to real people to get something that you need – and it actually being a positive experience. 

We’re getting tired – but it’s still early, and we just left at 11 today – so we press on and take the train to Kensington Palace – transfer (which means SO much walking in really hot muggy places) and then we get off at Notting Hill – it’s a LONG walk from there to get to the entrance of the park and Kensington Palace.   I want a bench, and I want it nOOOooow… (my best Varuka Salt impersonation).  We sit for a while right outside the palace – just near the gates where everyone put all the flowers for Diana when she died.  The palace is undergoing renovations and has scaffolding up on the side that frames the famous gates – but they have a false front up so that you don’t see the scaffolding in your pictures.   This palace is really not very “palace” looking – it’s just plain red brick – but it has a lot of history and we didn’t have a chance to go in last time.  Patti stays outside and sits and chats with locals and their dogs (it’s a big dog and kid park, and most of the dogs run around with no leashes); while the rest of us go in.   It’s 15 pounds for adults and 12.50 for students, but they want to charge Brittany the “donation” price of 16.50 – the extra is a voluntary donation to help renovate the palace.  Well, Britt ain’t paying that – that’s ridiculous that someone who is “royal” is ask us to give them money to redecorate their house…. She makes quite an impression and it’s obvious that we’re with her – he doesn’t even bother to ask me about the donation price and just gives us all regular tickets. 

 

 

 

The arrangement inside is a little odd and I can’t figure out the floor plan of the map that we’ve been given – we keep hitting dead ends, places that we’re not allowed to enter.  It says things like “Royals only” or “private entry” – Kate and Will are currently in Wales, so we won’t run into them, but it is a reminder that this is also a residence as well as a tourist spot.  Thomas finally explains to me that this is the “ground” floor and I’m looking for the “first” floor… OH yah – I knew that – in fact Patti and I told everyone else that!  Those darn Europeans love to do that, the “first” floor is always one floor up, and what we would call the second floor. 

 

 

We walk through the palace and a lot of it is dedicated to Victoria and Albert –  and sometimes they tell the story in a very odd way, like through shadow boxes that are set up in a room to look like tree houses (?) – that’s my best description because I don’t really understand it either.  You have to see the pictures.   They have a lot of authentic original costumes that the royal family wore on special occasions, and they let you take pics, just not flash photography – BUT they have lit everything beautifully so that you don’t need a flash to get a good picture.   Tour done, we exit through the gift shop and get yummy snacks -- shortbread with layers of chocolate and caramel on them! We check out the gardens for a bit, rest our feet, get rained on just a little and then head out again.  As we’re walking toward the tube, I ask everyone just to make sure they don’t want to head down to the wobbly bridge – that was also on our agenda for the day.   Yah – that is NOT happening.  We are tired and our dogs are barkin…  and we need a proper dinner, not just shortbread yumminess…  

 

We decide to go back to Euston to find food – we want English breakfast and we want it NOW.  We haven’t seen much in the way of pubs around our place and the one that we went to was good, but didn’t have full breakfast all day.  In the past we had no trouble getting full English on whenever we wanted, anytime in the day or night, in whatever pub we walked into -- but this time we’ve had a hard time finding it, especially for dinner.  We ask someone who works at the Euston station where we might find someone who serves it – and she directs us to Ed’s Diner.  It’s an American rip off diner (Lauren points out that perhaps it’s not the place to be getting your full English breakfast – point taken young padawan)..  but we want it, and it’s hard to mess up.  It’s on the menu under “Breakfast all day” and we’re ready to be really happy.   We laugh at the “American” food selections -- like the Atomic American Fries – with jalapeño jelly, chili, cheese..  or the chili cheese dog (with the hotdog served in a baguette)… it’s full, and it’s raining so there is no outdoor seating, so we have to be split up to be seated.  Me, Britt and the kids are at a booth and Patti and Dana are at a table near us.   Britt and I look at the menus at the table – and the full English isn’t on there.  Um.  What.  I’m sure it’s just a mistake – it’s on the menu that is posted in the window… so when the waitress comes by (French accent in London in an American diner?), we go ahead and order it.  Not available.  I don’t have a back up – this is what I wanted, this is why we’re here – and I don’t want crappy knock off American food.  I’m not happy – and I’m tired and crabby – and I’m letting it leak out – a lot.  I look at the menu more, I know I need to eat something..  grrr… and finally just order the “all day breakfast” that is on the menu.  It’s the exact same as a full English (bangers, English bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomato, hashbrown).. just no beans.  Maybe it will be ok.  Britt isn’t going to chance it and just gets the chili cheese fries (that come in a bowl) – all of our “fries” come in a bowl – like all Americans get their fries.   Thomas gets a……. BURGER.. and they won’t cook it medium rare.  Medium is the rarest that they’ll cook it and we figure that it’s because of the mad cow thing..  ok, we don’t want mad cow disease… incinerate our burgers.  Dana gets the chili cheese dog – and it’s a funny site to me… that traditional ball park baguette..  It just all reminds me of those scenes from Little Mermaid where they’re expertly explaining the uses of a fork… as a hair accessory.

The breakfast comes, and it really is just like an English breakfast without the beans – but the beans are the glue – the beans are the things that make all of these other random things on a plate come together and make sense.  You need the beans!   I’ve lightened up just a little at this point and ask her if I can have a side of beans – I tell her what I just told you and she says no.  That she could ask, but he will say no (which Thomas points out, means that she’s not really going to ask).  When I say that this *is* an English breakfast, the hard part is over, I just need a little bowl of beans now… and she says that no, this is not an English breakfast – for that I would get TWO eggs …. OOHH!!!... well, of course, then it’s NOTHING like an English breakfast, my mistake.   She asks if maybe I would like “brown sauce” with my breakfast… maybe I  like – it’s good.  I don’t think that something called “brown sauce” sounds like something I want on my breakfast – but she brings it anyway.  It’s the “HP sauce” from lunch the other day – it tastes exactly like A-1… I don’t want that.   So Britt and I are still on the quest of our full English breakfast nirvana.

We walk back to the house and everyone does some laundry – we are all chllin and veggin out with our screens… Brittany facetimed with Scott and family – you can always tell when that happens because she gets really high and squeaky talking to the puppies.  Moses knows that it’s her and licks the screen – Hermione is just confused. 

Tomorrow we leave London... and we "hire" a car....  just wait til you hear what happened...