Yesterday was another stellar day for the Zimbler's here in London.
We allowed ourselves to sleep in a bit to help conquer the last remnants of our jet lag.
Every morning at about 11:30am you can witness the "Changing of the Guards" ceremony in front of Buckingham palace. The trick though is to arrive early enough to stake a good spot for viewing which we were not entirely aware of upon arriving at 11:00am to massive crowds already packed in around the castle gates several feet thick. David took matters into his own hands and asked a "Bobbie" or policeman manning the traffic and he directed us to what he felt was the best spot to watch. I'm not I agree with his opinion unless of course you only want a good view of the band marching in from the Mall or like the challenge of balancing on your tippy toes in order to see something. Nevertheless we enjoyed the excitement and rich pageantry of this daily London tradition.
The girls and I spent the afternoon shopping at the shopping Mecca in all of Europe known as Harrods. Everyone says you must go to Harrods when visiting London, but until two dashing uniformed fellows opened the gilded doors under the signature forest green canopied entrances we thought we were just going to some fancy department store.
No, we were wrong. Harrods is an institution, a retail dynasty on four floors! Your every whim or fancy is fulfilled at Harrods from the finest couture designs to the finest caviar, nothing is too rich or too rare to be gotten here if you're willing to spend the cash. As much as miss the formalness of the old State street Marshall Fields of my youth, I know realize even old MF had nothing on this place. We floated up and down Egyptian escalators marveling at the sights, sounds and aromas wafting through each glorious level of the store. Even pets get the royal treatment here with a full pet salon and rooms filled with the latest in canine fashion and accessories.
But what impressed me the most was the series of food courts linked together of the first floor. Don't think Burger King and Subway here, no. Think fresh shellfish and every kind of seafood you can imagine displayed on ice, every type of cuisine your heart desires, and meringues and pastries the size of your head to name a few. The girls found the candy room and could hardly contain themselves as you can imagine.
Yes, in case you're wondering, my wallet got a thorough work-out.
That afternoon we rejoined David who was busy working to pay for all these indulgences for afternoon tea here at The Goring Hotel which was recently named the top spot to have tea in London, an incredible honor if you know anything about Brits and their tea. What a lovely experience for the girls first formal tea experience which of course involved constant reminders to keep knees glued together and ankles crossed in such situations . I enjoyed teaching them how to properly drink their mango raspberry tea (pinkies out and all) and the order in which to enjoy the three tiered delights set before them (bottom up).
The Goring has a beautiful garden in the back of the hotel with a porch you can enjoy on days like this. We ventured out to take a walk after tea to find a croquet set in the grass. Sophia went right for it not knowing a thing about the game, but with all that pent up energy we was ready to take a whack or two around the yard. I think this was just as entertaining for onlooking guests as it was for Emily and I to watch.
No trip to London is complete without a night at the theatre, so we took in Daniel Radcliffe's new play, "The Cripple of Inishmaan" at the ? Theatre. The cast was incredible, the story clever and very witty, but at first their thick Irish accents were difficult to understand for the girls. They kept up though, and we all found it wonderfully entertaining. During intermission, Sophia made it a point to turn on the charm for an older gentlemen usher by asking him (dimples fully displayed) if he could direct her to the best place to meet Mr. Radcliffe after the show so she might get his autograph. We saw lots of nodding and negotiating going on between them, and when she returned she said something to the effect of, "Mommy, I got this."
Program in hand we dashed outside after the show only to find a large group already packed in tight around the back stage door. Guess the secret was out. The security guard at the back door seemed to feel for "Miss Dimples" and motioned for us to go around to the other side so we could move in closer. A couple of young women in front of us took a liking to Sophia and told us they would let her squeeze in front with them, her chances of meeting the real Harry Potter Increasing measurably. One of the girls warned her though, "Whatever you do, don't call him Harry, and don't mention anything about Harry Potter at all. He absolutely hates that and he won't sign a thing."
Well, the pictures below will tell you what happened next.
Emily's comment on the whole thing: "Its not like its One Direction."
Still on a high from our brief encounter with Harry, we decided to take a stroll through Leicester Square (think Times Square at night) and stopped for late night dim-sum in nearby China town. Getting a cab home from this area on a Friday night proved challenging and we considered riding home on the only mode of plentiful transport that time of night. Luckily, we finally flagged a cab avoiding having to resort to a rickshaw home.
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