A Day in London
Early yesterday morning I left the house with my youngest and eldest daughters, and travelled into London for the first time in over a year. A day of wandering, exploring, and lots and lots of walking.
I had pulled off something of a masterstroke in the morning. My eldest daughter is famously terrible at getting up. She knew we were getting an early train, and almost pulled out of the entire day just at the prospect of getting up early (or rather, early for her). While she flapped, running to-and-fro around the house finding shoes, a backpack, and whatever else in the moments before leaving, I stopped her in her tracks.
“You know I said the train is at 8:30am? – it's actually at 9am”.
You should have seen the look on her face.
“Go, sit down, and calm down. I'll make a coffee”.
She begrudgingly admitted afterwards that having an extra half an hour after getting ready was a good idea.
After a quiet journey to Paddington, we arrived in central London to sunny skies, and a gentle breeze – perfect for a walk across Hyde Park. Along the way I remarked to the kids how wonderful London can be – everybody we passed seemed to be from a different country – all mixed together, all going about their day.
The day was kind of wonderful, in an unplanned kind of way. We visited Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Kensington Gardens, Shaftesbury Avenue, and Soho before descending into the underground and finding our way back.
Along the way we passed an American import candy store. I made the mistake of offering to buy something for each of my daughters. Who knew we would be in there for HALF AN HOUR. Granted, they had only heard of many of the brands in movies and TV shows – so it was probably all sorts of exciting – but really?
(it probably wasn't half an hour, but if felt like forever).
I didn't think to start the fitness app on my phone before setting out – so have no idea how far we walked during the day. It must have been in the tens of thousands of steps. Many miles. Like I said though – the weather was good – quite rare in the UK.
Anyway.
I'm supposed to be getting on with some work. Let's call this a coffee break. My feet still ache today.