Our final day in London and, yes, one last sleep in! Like a well oiled machine (in my dreams) we were all packed up and ready to go by 9am. Our train home was not booked until 3pm so we left our bags at reception and caught the tube to Buckingham Palace. During our first jet lagged days in country we had travelled past the Palace on a tourist bus. It was pouring with rain and I was nursing a fairly comatosed Abbey. All I remember is a vague announcement that we could get off here and have a look around and a very clear thought of ‘this one will have to wait’. Well, after nearly a year, here we were and now begs the question, why?
After ticking the Palace off the to do list we walked through St James Park. As well as spotting some cute squirrels (yes, this makes us stand out as tourists as the locals think of them as little rats) we saw some interesting signs about not feeding the Pelicans. I mean really, who would be so daft? A little further along was a young family intent on doing just that. We moved along quickly as I was not keen to see a young child swallowed by a giant white bird. It was a pleasant walk through the park towards the home of the Horse Guards. The kids were both impressed with the standing guards and were then much more impressed with those who were mounted. I must say that those horses must be well trained with the number of people milling around and having flashes going off left right and centre. It did make Nathan and I feel rather old when the guards themselves look like work experience kids. Hard to imagine they are probably all war veterans by now.
Down the road from the Horse Guards was yet another small crowd signaling we had come across Number 10. As with the Queen, the Prime Minister was a no show so no surprises there. What was even more exciting, particularly for Zac, was that we were just down the road from Nelson at Trafalgar Square. We bought some morning tea and ate in the shadow of his Hero. He and Abbey spent time throwing money into the fountains (a great way to get rid of all those copper coins they still have in circulation here that simply exist to weigh down your purse.) and climbing the base of Nelson’s Column.
With the National Gallery situated in Trafalgar Square we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a quick dose of culture. It was rather quick as we let Abbey set the pace! All cultured up we walked up to Coventry Street for a quick lunch and look at the markets. The Kids spent some time watching a street performer (I decided to skip this one) and it was time to start making our way back to the hotel to collect the bags. Our trip back took us past some ‘fancy’ shops where Nathan simply refused to indulge me with a pair of £300 rabbit lined mittens – now really! With the kids tiring rapidly we finally caught a bus. Once our bags were collected it was walking time again, this time to Paddington Station. Our train ride home was uneventful. The Kids were both very impressed that our seats surrounded a table. Zac caught up on his blog and Nathan and Abbey read ‘The Folk of the Far Away Tree’. Before we knew it we were back at Westbury and getting into the Mondeo for the last leg of the journey home.
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