July 6th. London

Bike parking near the Waterloo station

Today was a full day. We dragged the kids out of bed at eight. Surprisingly they did not protest after going to sleep at midnight a day before. After a quick breakfast @ Starbucks we headed for the station. The ride to Waterloo station in London on express was a little over 20 minutes. Really awesome!!

Dan went to Bloomsbury to take care of his business while we walked over the Hunderford bridge to the Trafalgar square. Next was St.James park. We enjoyed picking berries off the really giant sour cherries trees. There is also a very nice playground there and plenty the different breeds of birds by the lake. We saw the Buckingham palace and mounted guard in traditional gear.

Quick stop at the Waterstone on the Picadilly circus to stock up on some Russian books. They have a very nice selection but prices are a good match to the neighborhood. Sales lady was incredibly friendly and courteous. Said Georgia made her day by asking her about her fables - her favorite type of reading. She introduced herself as Elena Genadievna. I was hoping that Georgia would follow the suit by saying her name is Georgia Daniilovna but Georgia limited her to her first name. She said that she has to be much older and with children to use it.

We met up with Dan back the Trafalgar square and went to check out Saints Alive exhibition at the National gallery. Once you get over the “wtf” feeling watching the plastic statue slap its chest violently with a stone, it is a fascinating perspective on visualizing tortures of the Christian saints. Especially interesting is the fact that in the exhibition you get to inflict the tortures by pressing the button. Georgia patiently kept pressing the button for St. Francis – the metallic arm reaches into the chest cavity through where the neck is supposed to be and randomly pulls out a t-shirt for the visitors. But no luck.

We took a train to Brick Lane Yard to go to Brick Lane Food Feast to catch our lunch but there was a change in service and they let us out early. Undeterred we hopped on the cab for the rest of the way. We like London cabs – spacious, open and comfortable. And you can sit backwards.

We should have bought our tickets in advance. Event organizers said they were sold out and had suggested to come back in an hour after the current crowd was done eating. However, right next door was an empty shell of a building that was gutted and cleaned up and featured multiple booths selling different ethnic foods. Quite a feast on your eyes and great tasting too. Dan had Indian, Georgia Moroccan, and Isabella – white rice. Hunger taken care of we enjoyed our walk through the neighborhood with myriad of ethnic restaurants and colorful graffiti walls. Highly recommended!! About 20 minutes  North of the London tower.

Next we took a long walk along the riverside stopping along the way for sample the food and amusements at many venues on our way. London really knows how to party. Georgia collected sea shells on the river bank, kids got soaked at many fountains on the way, and got carbified regularly to keep alive. It was pretty intense on us and we were amazed that the kids were able to walk as much as well. Dan or I carried Isabella for a few minutes every now and then but still it was a good solid 6 hours of walking.

Back in Kinston, we went out to get some breakfast food and, for our new evening tradition, to feed the swans. Dan and I wanted to top the day by having a few glasses of wine on the balcony at night but had gone to bed instead. Great day!!