Christmas in England

As I sit here to compose my Christmasy blog post, the rest of the family sleeps, while the sun (yes, the sun is making another rare appearance!) is reflecting on the Thames outside my window.  Oh, how I'm going to miss this view!!

Today we will switch hotels, moving to another part of London, near the Tower bridge and the famous Banksy paintings.  While we're all excited to explore a new part of the city, none of us wants to give up this fabulous space.  Alas, when we made our last minute decision to save Paris for another vacation, there was no room left at this inn, so we had to go back to the drawing board.

Meanwhile, we realized, of course, that everything would be locked up tight for Christmas Day (including the tube and the trains), but we didn't account for the fact that most things close for Boxing Day, too.  Really, Churchill, your war room can't be open, but every store is selling, selling, selling :)

So we've made our adjustments ahd used our Christmas night back "home" to plan our remaining week in London and the rest of England.

In the past 48 hours, we have seen a spectacular show (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which is stunning), taken lots more wonderful walks through Covent Garden and Leicester Square - all dolled up for the holidays (Daniel's step counter may explode at this rate), met a few interesting people, had a couple of wonderful meals (including a "just right" room service order of pizza and bruschetta for our Christmas dinner, so the kids could watch the Dr. Who Christmas special, and we could all recover from our full day of travel), and travelled to a couple of brilliant (when in England... ) places.

The kids humor me with a pose in front of Wonka :)  (what a gorgeous theater!)

(The restaurant where we were supposed to eat is quite obviously closed, though I somehow didn't notice as I snapped a quick photo on our way to TokyoToys in Trocadero between our show and dinner)

(From the start, Daniel's Christmas wish was for a cup of hot chocolate while I read The Night Before Christmas (the book was the first thing he packed :) ) Originally, we were supposed to be on the balcony, in Daniel's fantasy, but he quickly revised when he decided it would be much too cold.)

Oxford and Stratord Upon Avon were the highlights of our Christmas tour.  While in retrospect, we would have preferred to visit them by train, when more shops were open for exploring, our "blue badge" guide Pepe (I kid you not) was so knowledgable, and our driver (whose teenage daughter is celebrating the holiday with her father in Miami) so warm, that the day was still a success.  The weather cooperated for a second day, so we were able to view the rolling green hills of the Cotswolds under clear skies.  Our two walking tours through Oxford and Stratford were much better in crisp, cold, DRY weather than they would have been in the rain, so I am so appreciative of this Christmas miracle of good weather.

Up at 6:30, we had to board the bus at 7:30 to start our journey... the lobby was quiet :)

One of the many gorgeous colleges in Oxford.  Christ's Church is the most famous, having schooled 13 Prime Ministers.

The light post where inspiration struck C.S. Lewis

Harvard House in Stratford (where the mum of Mr. He Who Founded Harvard) lived.  The banner has been removed, so Pepe is curious to see what Harvard (the university bought the house many years ago) plans to do with it next.  

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford.  After a 112 million pound restoration/renovation, this theater is both beautiful and state of the art (apparently, in 1932, it was the first "important" building to be designed by a female architect, Elizabeth Scott, so it has a place in architecture history for that reason alone).

While everyone else was snapping shots in front of Shakespeare's birth home, we had to take at least a couple in front of the Dr. Who store (closed though it was for the holiday).

but we took one in front of the house, as well, of course!

Sometimes it's the mistakes that lead to the parts of your vacation you like best, and that was certainly the case when we walked up to a blackened window for our Christmas Eve dinner.  As I had received the confirmation from the restaurant, I couldn't imagine how the special restaurant we had chosen for our dinner could be closed.   Luckily, a little french bistro just next door was open, and the manager and waitress welcomed us in with such warmth and hospitality that we were happy to give them our business (which wound up being about half the cost of what we had accounted for).  Sitting next to us was a young woman from California, who was making the most of an unexpected layover (from where I'm not sure) in London.  A self-proclaimed actress (aspiring or working?), she was charming, sharing her attempts to learn all of the English dialects, after overhearing our waitress tell us she could guess we were from Florida when I ordered "water" (still not sure exactly how I pronounced the word that screamed the sunshine state :)   When we got back to the room, and I checked the confirmation, I was astonished to see that it was for December 23rd.  So...mystery  solved.  Apparently, I don't know how to make - or check - a dinner reservation! 

We awoke dark and early for our Christmas tour, which was comfortable and informative, though, in the end, nothing all that special.  Still, it was a festive way to spend the day and we were back home in our cozy home away from home for our last night on the Thames.  Now the family has awakened, we're about to have our last breakfast in our hotel dining room (I mean, really, how spoiled has this room made us!!), then pack and head out on our next adventure.   Since Pepe gave us great advice regarding in which Indian restaurant to dine and where to see Banksy's art (Pepe guides tours on street art on Sundays :), we have a fun Boxing Day ahead of us.