Avery/Raab adventures

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

touristy London day

Liesl slept from 9:30 pm - 11:30 am, winning the sleep queen award. About the rest of us, the less said the better...

Seb and I headed out around 11 to see what we could see. We walked across Blackfriars Bridge to Gail's bakery, home of excellent croissants and scones, and then followed the Thames toward the center of touristy London - the houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace.

Steve and Liesl took the Tube and met us at the foot of Big Ben. We were surrounded by so many tourists -- it was a bit much -- as we strolled through St James Park en route to the palace. But it was a beautiful day, and we saw the sights.

The Canada Gate! No idea what was Canadian about it, but I took a picture to commemorate it anyway.

From there we crossed Green Park and headed to Fortnum and Mason, a famous foodie department store. They are most famous for tea and picnic hampers, so we bought a bunch of chocolates and biscuits and marmalade to be enjoyed later. After that, Hatchard's bookshop, where we rested our feet and browsed the shelves. A 300-year old book store! Bestill my heart.

We split up again, Seb and I heading back into Mayfair for some car-spotting and a picnic lunch in Berkeley Square, before we met up with Steve and Liesl at the apartment. Steve was asleep and Seb was falling asleep, so Liesl and I were alone in wanting to ride the London Eye. Back out, on the Tube, across the river, and up the giant gondola/ferris wheel. The pace was glacially slow, but the views were indeed spectacular.

We finished up our day with Indian food at this underground cave of a restaurant -- it was literally down two flights of steep steps, in an old cellar. You had to duck your head to get in, the walls were all sloped, and there was no cellphone service. But the food was tasty!

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

London day 2

We had a strange day of walking and napping and walking some more. People fell asleep at odd times for varying amounts of time, and felt more or less functional when awake. Liesl was awake by 3 am and then napping again at 9. Seb was awake by 3 am but then napped from 11-5 (!). Steve was unfortunately a mess, sleeping very little at night and only a bit during the day. I did pretty well - mostly slept until 6:30am and then napped from 10:30-1.

It was pouring rain when we went out for food at 7:30, with thunder rumbling in the near distance. We had breakfast at the tiniest cafe, called Grace's, around the corner from our hotel, the Kings Wardrobe. We ate smoked salmon bagels, porridge with raisins, scrambled eggs with veggies, and a bacon-sausage sandwich. It was quite busy, with the whole place run by a seemingly unflappable man.

Our 2-bedroom apartment is through this door, after ducking through a tunnel and through a courtyard.

Liesl and I went out for an adventure at 1 -- she was so hungry and there was no food in the house, so we started with a sandwich and chai for her and then headed down to the Thames. We took some pictures from Blackfriars Bridge and then walked along the river to the Millennium Bridge, where we crossed. We headed into Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (a re-creation, not the original) and spent some time in the very fun gift shop. Liesl read a graphic novel re-telling of Macbeth, very cool.

From there we continued to wander along the south bank of the Thames. We saw fragments of old buildings, the Clink prison, and enjoyed touring Southwark Cathedral. We crossed back over at London Bridge, which prompted my singing, to Liesl's dismay. We saw the monument to the Great Fire of London, and decided we needed to reach the top -- 311 steps!

Heading up the Great Fire monument.

From the monument we headed back to our apartment, to rest for a bit and pick up the boys. This time, we headed east. We had dinner at The George, a very old pub -- excellent braised lamb and fish and chips. And then we just kept walking east, through the West End theatre district, Covent Garden, Soho, and into Marylebone and Mayfair.