Back in '08, the first time John and I went to London, we had a little over a day to see the whole city. Doable, right? Maybe from the top of one of those double decker tour buses. (which is what we did) or from the London Eye (we did that too). But we left feeling like we barely got to experience London. I saw the outside of several buildings in passing, snapped a few crappy pictures from the top of a moving bus, and that was about it. It was a sample. A taste. And it totally left me wanting more. You can read about that here.
So 5 years later, when I had the chance to go back with John, but would only be spending less than a day there, I didn't even really try to see London. I did ZERO research on the sights to see, and had zero expectations. I knew there just wasn't the time, plus, we are planning a family trip this summer and John will be working in London for a week, so the kids and I can do all the sightseeing we want then.
I mention all this so that when I tell you what I did do with my time, you may not be too judgmental. Well, some people probably still will be, but there's probably no getting around that. I try not to fly my geek flag too proudly (I know, I totally fail) but I am raising four little geeks, and sometimes it's contagious.
Anyway, first things first. After checking into our hotel, and as we headed to the nearest underground station, lo and behold, what do we find? A chocolate festival!!!
I found my new favorite brand of chocolate. My favorite kind so far had an orange flavor to it, and had sour cherries and candied nuts sprinkled on the top.
Then we headed to Kings Cross Station. A platform 9 3/4 t-shirt was pretty much the one thing my mom requested as a thank you gift/souvenir for babysitting for us this week. We were happy to oblige.
Then we headed to the BBC offices. I heard they had a store. I was trying to find a particular set of Christmas tree ornaments not available in the US. (For my kids.) I didn't find the ornaments.
I did find a Tardis though!!!
And see that?
Doctor Who and Daleks are a somewhat big thing in England. In some circles, I guess. (I have a whole Doctor Who write-up planned. Yes, it's that big of a deal around here.)
And then just cause we had a little time to kill, we went to Harrod's. It was totally crazy though. And crazy expensive. But I only lasted a floor or two. I've heard there might be some more moderately priced stuff, but I didn't last long enough to find out.
Of course the whole reason we were in London was to go to a work Christmas party of John's. He did some work for the London office, and they knew we would be in the area (if you call Barcelona being in the same "area" as London) so they invited us. Which was cool, cause the St. Louis office doesn't invite spouses. (rude.)
And then to make matters even cooler, it was a "hat party". At a hip and happenin' brand new 20's themed night club. Anyways, everyone had to wear a hat. Well, women could choose between a hat and a "Fascinator". Which honestly was a hard choice. After watching Princess Kate get married, and all the relatives with the crazy headwear, I really wanted an excuse to wear something like that.
I ended up going with a simple Twenties style hat though cause I was worried about having to style my hair so it looked awesome with the fascinator.
And then to complete the look I rounded it out with an antique necklace from the 1920's, a somewhat flapper style dress, and stripey tights. I'd include a picture of the whole ensemble, but frankly, in my head I looked awesome, and posting pictures of myself on the internet causes me to be twice as critical of myself as I usually am, so I'm not going to spoil that for myself, okay?
And that's it. I had to be up early the next morning to catch my flight. (John had to go somewhere else. We flew separately.) Our hotel room did have a nice view though. (I guess you're just gonna have to take my word for it. These pictures aren't that great.)
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