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Day Two: London

Posted by Max Dunn Thu, 27 Jul 2006 19:31:00 GMT

July 27, 2006: We probably pushed the kids a little too hard today. After finally getting everyone up and out to breakfast, Suzanne and I were excited to see some sights. But less than two hours after setting out for the London Eye, the kids just wanted to go back to the hotel and swim. So we didn’t do very much besides eating and riding buses. But the buses were pretty fun and gave us a nice view of London, especially the double-decker buses which are driven fast and furious, skimming people and cars along the way, which gives the feeling of being on Mr. Toads Wild Ride in DisneyLand.

Here are some more details of the day from Suzanne:

Breakfast

(Suzanne) Having a full night’s rest definitely helped, but the kids and I still had a hard time getting up. Max was up early taking pictures (you can even see us sleeping—we’re featured in Flickr). We were going to go to the train station to eat breakfast but decided to walk a few blocks to find a little hole-in-the-wall that ended up being just around the corner from the hotel. We had a typical English breakfast which consisted of an egg (over medium), sausage (tasteless), bacon (more like ham), beans (Campbell’s), tomatoes, mushrooms and chips (fries) or toast. It wasn’t bad, but not what the kids had hoped for. All in all, I love hole-in-the-wall places that are off the beaten path. It’s fun keeping the little guys in business.

Millenium Bridge

We took the bus over to the Millenium Bridge.

We passed Trafalgar Square which I hadn’t seen in probably 27 or so years. I didn’t remember it much but will have to look at my old pictures when we get home. After walking across the Millenium Bridge, we walked along the waterfront towards the Eye. Street performers were everywhere, mostly in costumes with their hands and faces painted to match. They stood like statues until someone put a coin in their basket. One guy tap danced, others would just bow or curtsy (a rip-off, but Claire said that the lady in gold was pretty). The best one was the blue guy who played the guitar. We’re sure he came out ahead of everyone else. But to make a living doing this? With the cost of living in London, it’s hard to believe they could make enough to make ends meet.

Lunch

Went to Akuna Matata’s for lunch since the wait was too long for the Eye. It was okay. (Max comment: I thought it was pretty bad. My chicken was just this side of jerky, and the accompanying salad was boring.) It’s another one of those self serve sit down places that are all over the place. Two things that I have noticed today, there are a lot of middle easterners that run restaurants here and A LOT of people smoke.

Hamley’s Toy Store

Took a double decker bus (the highlight of Claire’s day) to Hamley’s (the other highlight) which is a giant toy store like FAO Schwartz. Going in there reminded me of Tom Hanks’ movie “Big.” Caught the bus again and made a Starbucks run (one of my highlights) before walking back to the hotel.

Swimming

(Max interlude) When we got back to the hotel, the kids were dying to go swimming. So I went down with them while Suzanne stayed to work on this blog and check her email. I did a lot of “dolphin” with the kids (they ride on my back while I dive down and up) and “surfing on the USA” (they stand on my back while I dive down and up) and I also swam a few laps. So although we only swam for about 30 minutes, when I got out my eyes stung from the chlorine and hurt all night.

Dinner

(Suzanne again) We found a round-about way to the Tube station (again) and made our way to Kensington to eat at Bill Wyman?¢‚?¨‚?¢s Sticky Fingers. It?¢‚?¨‚?¢s kind of like a small Hard Rock Cafe dedicated to the Rolling Stones. And although I am SO NOT a Stones fan, the food was pretty good. I had sea bass wrapped in a banana leaf with sticky rice. The dessert, though, is what I will probably remember?¢‚?¨‚?ùthe Easton Mess. It was a big mushy thing that had berries, whipped cream and merangue chuncks all mixed together. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

We took the double decker bus home. We watched some of “In Search of Bobby Fisher” on Max’s computer, but we all started to get tired again. Time to get some shut-eye.