Arrival

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After last year’s trip, the novelty of a 10-hour, overnight, transoceanic flight had worn off for the kids, but we did the best we could to get some sleep. We arrived in London in the early afternoon on a gorgeous warm day and were picked up by a driver to be taken to a flat in the West End. Because of Gay Pride celebration in Trafalgar Square, the drive was long and circuitous, and our homophobic driver was unnecessarily chatty. The flat is small, but comfortable enough for our short stay in London. We settled in a bit, but resolved to get back outside before we got too sleepy. We got much needed coffee (even Andrew was given a caffeinated frappachino) and walked down through Trafalgar square to take in a bit of the colorful revelry. The one thing Andrew really wanted to do again from last year was the London Eye, and that seemed like a good objective for a day when we were all still a bit groggy. The Waterfront was a pleasant walk from the flat and it was fun to see the kids remember the places we were last year. While we are excited about the upcoming new adventures, we appreciated this respite in London with advantages like knowing exactly where to find a public WC when needed. After purchasing our tickets for the Eye, were treated to “The London Eye in 4D” - a five minute three-D video (special effects of rain with real water, snow made of soap foam, etc made the 4th dimension) with some spectacular views of London and they Eye from the air. We hadn’t seen the movie last year and it was good for a laugh on our way to queue for the Eye itself. The queue was extra long, probably because of the spectacular weather, but the views from the Eye were excellent. Afterwards, it was approaching dinnertime and we headed back towards Covent Garden, by way of Big Ben for some close-up photos. We had pre-selected a traditional British restaurant (Porters) where we all had “pie”. No one was in a traditional enough mood for the steak & kidney pie, but we still felt very authentic while remembering why British cuisine hasn’t really caught on as a trend in the US. For dessert, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try the “spotted dick” which the waiter assured us was a better choice than the treacle tart, not because it was tastier, but because it is not widely available elsewhere. Recognizing this as his sincerest and highest endorsement of the delight, we were not disappointed.
By the end of dinner, happy to be done with our day of flying, we did the short walk home and fell rapidly asleep.

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