Memories, La, La, La-la, La, La, Laaaaaaaa…

I took this photo for two reasons. 

First, check out the GIANT paella being made in the foreground.  I immediately wished I hadn’t had whatever crappy dinner we’d just had—it looked wonderful!  Second, I have a photo of myself under the archway in the back right corner.  It’s a special photo for me because that was a really pivotal summer in my life and I’m not the one to bar-hop.  It’s one of the few nights in my life that I really enjoyed myself at a bar.  I liked to go out dancing or to a nice dinner, but I’ve never had much patience for sitting around a bar, slowly sipping drinks.

Street Performer?

In historic Covent Garden, you see all types of street performers.  They are professional performers who audition for the opportunity to work there.  They work a set schedule, rotating so that everyone gets their fair share of good time slots and bad time slots.

Just outside their jurisdiction, you see guys like this.

He’s playing a traffic cone.  He’s humming into it and collecting money.  As far as I can tell, all he needs to do is carry a tune and give a thumbs up, periodically, to people who throw him cash.

Not how I’d choose to earn a living, but interesting, nonetheless.

Why Don't We Have These At Home?

I promised the kids a treat one night, so we hit the Marks and Spencer.  I bought these terrific mini-mousse cups, with tiny plastic spoon included, for a pound each.

I had a heavenly lemon curd chemical bomb.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s the wisest food choice I’ve made, but for a quick treat for the kids, it was spot-on perfect!  Are you listening, U.S.-based food retailers?  We need these back home.

And for everyone else, for when they arrive on our soil: you’re welcome.

What's in a Name?

The name Olivia is in the top 10 list of baby names.  It has been up there for the last 10 years or so.  As a result, we run into a lot of Olivia’s.

To date, I have yet to meet another Helena.  So buying any trinket with the kids’ name on it is impossible unless it’s a custom-made thing.  We’ve met several Helen’s here, so for fun I looked at the names the English print on their kids’ toys.  Check out the list.

Gemma, Georgina?  Sure, I guess.  But still no Helena.

Zoo Trip

On what must have been the coldest day in recorded history, I brought the kids to the London Zoo.

Guy, the iconic gorilla sculpture--beloved of Londoners and immortalized in a song by my favorite band.

I love the tunnel decorations.

The giraffes were a big hit with all three girls.

The rainforest exhibit felt like one of the first “cage-free experience” exhibits created.  It was dank and humid, which I love, with vines running overhead that the monkeys would occasionally scurry across, if you were lucky.  “Don’t stand directly under the monkey,” the zoo volunteer said.  It took the girls a few minutes to figure out why.

After paying $70 to get the three of us in, there’s no way I’m throwing down another quid for the ride-on toys!  They played anyway.

Olivia was chosen to be a penguin for the penguin demonstration lecture.

She got to put on a costume and shake her head happily.  When she had to put on the beak, I was afraid she'd freak out.

She was thrilled.  Shows me what I know, huh?

After the penguins, I relented and spent three pounds letting the kids slide down the bouncy castle slide four times each.

At the end of the visit, I asked the girls what their favorite part of the zoo trip was.  Olivia said she liked being a penguin.  Helena said she liked when she lost her tummy on the big slide.  I should’ve just found a bouncy castle place!

The old penguin exhibit is eerily empty.

These weird chickens were roaming around the picnic areas.

Why would a kid-oriented place like a zoo have those “put your head here” photo op spots without stools behind them?  Curious.

The Galapagos Tortoises were great—the kids loved playing with this sculpture.

Side Trips to Greece, Egypt and Italy

I took the kids to the British Museum to see the Egyptian and Greek artifacts.  With as horribly crowded as the Tower of London had been, I imagined we might not be able to stay long.  The kids’ tolerance for museums is directly proportional to the number of times they get jostled and shoved by strangers in crowds.

When we arrived, we tried to go directly to the Rosetta Stone.  However, there is a lovely gift shop across from it.  I learned long ago that buying the kids their “souvenir” early in the visit prevents them from asking for things all day long. 

With our detour completed, we headed into the crowded Rosetta Stone exhibit.

After the requisite man-handling, the girls got up front to take a look.   Then we went through the Egyptian galleries to the Elgin/Parthenon marbles.

Once again, the brilliance of the “buy their trinket early” strategy was evident.  I was able to stay in the Elgin galleries for half an hour.  I read the descriptions, contemplated the carvings and took photos to my heart’s content.  The kids were playing with their new pink sparkly journal and teddy bear.  Sure, they didn’t look at the artifacts, but after every museum we’ve seen and all the boring things I’ve dragged them to, I was okay with it.

The Egyptian galleries were a hit, as expected.  The girls are budding Egyptologists.

I loved the Greek sculptures.  They were more interesting in playing at that point.

I had forgotten how huge the Assyrian sculptures are.

This one still shows the guards’ playing board for a dice game.

 

The new interior boasts a gigantic, swirling spiral staircase that leads you up and down from wing to wing.  It feels incredibly space-inefficient and stylistically jumbled, jammed up against the neoclassical facade of the olde museume parts, but so marches progress, no?

 

To my delight, even the floors were full of fossils.

Cardio from 20 Years Ago

When I studied in London, our dorm was equidistant from three tub stops.  Depending on your station of origin, you could get home via Euston, King’s Cross/St. Pancras or Russell Square.  The latter had this great series of spiral staircases leading up to the street level.

To avoid being crammed into crowded elevators with 20-odd total strangers, we used to sprint up the steps.

This time, I elected to be crammed into the crowded elevators with 18-odd total strangers and my two daughters.

A lot changes after 20 years.