Enry Iggins Country

Each time we step on the tube, I hear Henry in my head, speaking of how some chap wants to lose "Kentish Town" or is quite clearly from "Tottenham Road."  I haven't yet taken the tube to any of these spots, but it's certainly a testament to Shaw just how thoroughly he set his play in England (and, particularly, London), so when we set forth for Covent Garden, I was beside myself with delight.  When we got there, my delight quadrupled.

After finding a wonderful Italian restaurant for our dinner, we wandered around window shopping and people watching through this enchanting area filled with amusements.  At one point we saw the marquee for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Sam Mendes directed play we will be watching this afternoon, our Christmas Eve present to ourselves, so we all became equally excited to know we would have good reason to return within just a couple of days.  

Since London appears to be a "Pepsi town" (which I know is as unsettling to Clay and Alex as it is to my children), they were especially pleased to find a Rudolph inspired Coca Cola truck set up in the middle of the square, sending off "snow" flurries, and passing out free drinks. 

Yes, that is a Disney store they're standing in front of (happily holding their coke cans).

     One of the things I enjoy the most about visiting other countries is getting to see their "take" on the things we love back home, from restaurants to movie theaters to museums to tourist attractions.  In the past 48 hours, we've sampled them all.    We stayed up too late after our fun in Covent Garden, not getting back to the hotel until after midnight and to sleep until nearly 2:00 (a mistake we made again last night).  While you think you're adjusting to England time, the truth is your body clock is still straddling the two time zones, so it's a bit tricky to get it to cooperate.  Yesterday we got a late start after our late night, but we still had a full day.  The weather, unfortunately, was as miserable as it had been glorious the day before.  Therefore, we opted for a mix of transportation -taking the tube, a bus, and a couple of cabs by the time the night was through.  

   The British Museum was spectacular but incredibly crowded.  I had not expected such crowds on a Monday in London, but it seems as if the entire city has decided to go on holiday for Christmas.  The beautiful center courtyard was a bit less impressive under grey skies than it must be when sunlight pours through, but beautiful still.  While the Rosetta Stone attracts the most visitors (making it as difficult to get near as the Mona Lisa was in Paris), it was only one of many

pieces that wowed Maddie, who had devoted the last year in AP Art History to studying so many of these early artifacts.  It was wonderful to have our personal docent fill us in on the value of this or that work, as she explained how the evolution of the way the characters are depicted demonstrates the evolution of the culture it represents.  While I was ready to breeze through and head to Harrods, she lingered in front of each piece.  I was one proud momma, let me tell you!

Meanwhile, Dana and Daniel just couldn't get enough of the "mummies," which certainly are beyond fascinating.  After a few hours in the British Museum, we headed (in driving rain and wind at this point - the wind was up to 25 miles an hour we later read) down the street, "to the corner" Dana had been promised we would find a bus to take us to the London Eye stop.  Needless to say (you could tell by the quotation marks, coudn't you? :) ), the "corner" was not quite as clear a stop as we hoped it would be.  Luckily, there was a Starbucks waiting (there always seems to be one whenever you need one most), so we ducked in, got a cup of hot chocolate, dried off, checked (through the free wifi) our evening plans (with weather like this, it was a good night for a movie), then got better directions to the bus stop (which was, indeed, right down the street).

The London Eye would have been even more spectacular under clear skies, I'm sure, but in December in England, you take what you get.  The South End has been transformed, at least in part, by the addition of this attraction, which simultaneously advertises London's energy company 

Here Daniel and Maddie ride bikes to light up the Christmas tree.

Before getting on the giant ferris wheel, you watch a 4D movie that shows how they installed it.  Seeing the astonished faces of the little children as they watched this huge structure get hoisted into place was probably even more fun than actually riding it.  Still, it was an entertaining 30 minutes.  Even more entertaining for the children was when I dared to ask the employees after the fact why some groups were allowed to take their own "pod," while others were sent up with a dozen strangers.   None of us particularly minded riding in a group pod, but so many went up empty (as riding the London Eye in 25 hour winds likely frightened some lesser folks) that we were all a bit curious why they said no when we initially asked.  Anyway, you would have thought I had suggested I was going to steal the Crown Jewels for all the security personnel who surrounded me when I asked the question, leading me (in what was probably not my finest moment :) ) to say, "I was just curious.  In America, it's not a crime to be curious."   As is usually the case, the moment was far less impactful as the story will be entertaining for years to come.

     

  People in an equally crowded pod, also wondering why so many were being sent up empty!

Big Ben looms in the background

The ice skating rink Daniel is eager to give a spin

After disembarking - and shaking security - we decided it was time for dinner and a movie, so we took a cab to Leicester Square, having no idea it is basically London's Times Square (right down to the giant, 3 story M&M store) - Daniel feels he must "shop" in the M&M store each time we're in

New York, so I certainly didn't expect we'd be able to escape London's version of this particularly odd place.  I did get a kick out of their version of the famous Abbey Road cover, though I'm not sure why they couldn't have one M&M with bare feet in order to more accurately depict the cover.

After dinner in a practically perfect in every way nondescript little restaurant on the square (which Dana bemoaned was not a highly ranked establishment, despite our protestations that it looked good, was close, and there were 25 mile per hour winds outside!!), we scurried into the Odeon West, a very cool movie theater experience, to see Saving Mr. Banks, the film we had all determined was the best one to see here in London, and it didn't disappoint.   Hanks was a great Walt Disney, and we were very amused by all of the English/American conflicts, laughing just as hard as the Londoners sitting all around us. 

We arrived home to our gracious room after midnight, so we're getting a later start again this morning.  On our agenda for Christmas Eve is a late morning in the Tate Modern, a 2:30 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, followed by dinner in Covent Garden.  It promises to be a Christmas Eve to remember, though we're certainly missing all of our family back home home.

Tomorrow we will be picked up in front of our hotel bright and early at 7:30 AM for a Christmas Day tour that will take us to Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick Castle and a "traditional Christmas lunch" in the Cotswolds.   I will likely catch up on the blog later tomorrow night, once we're settled back in our hotel, with Daniel merrily watching the Dr. Who Christmas special, while I process all of the photos I'm certain to take.

With that, I will wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!