The arrival of mum n dad sparked a couple of active days as we set about visiting the places they wished to see. So, after a rather filling breakfast at the hotel, we set off in the warm and pleasant weather for... the Tube.
Okay, so that wasn't really what they came to London to see, but it was our first port of call after crossing Westminster bridge and was to take us to South Kensington and the Natural History Museum. Being a Friday, the main entrance appeared to be packed with school groups, so we headed for the not-so-busy side entrance through the Science museum wing.
Unfortunately, the Earth Room was closed for renovations,
but we still had plenty more to see in this section. We took our time, just ambling through several floors of interesting exhibits and information, before eventually emerging into the Natural History Museum itself. Again, just moseying through the eastern half of this amazing building before a quick stop in the café there.
After we'd had our fill of mothers with children, we headed back out onto Brompton road and made our way over to the Victoria and Albert Museum. This was to be a brief stop as we'd taken a tad longer at the Natural History Museum than anticipated. We took another tad longer here too, as we simply just kept finding interesting things in what turned out to be a little more interesting place than where we'd just been.
One thing for me stood out above the rest and that was to revisit the Raphael "cartoons". I found these back on a previous visit to London, and they are still very impressive. The "cartoons" are six paintings, each around twelve feet in height alone and wider again. Monumental works to say the least. And yes, this is the Italian artist that a certain teenage mutant ninja turtle is named after - the one no one seems to have heard of...
Anyway, we again took to Brompton road and strolled along in the sunshine towards our next destination. A quick stop in Paul for a better coffee than earlier, and then we crossed the road to venture through Harrods. We took in the luxury rooms, the food halls, the jewellery and watch section - you can guess who looked at what here, and funnily enough Sheryl and Mum finished before Dad n I did! We poked about in a few other departments before hopping a cab back to the hotel for a quick change and dinner.
Into another cab we went to make our way to the evening's entertainment in the West End, with Wicked being the show we were to see. Interesting when the lead character is green, but never-the-less a very good and clever production that all four of us enjoyed.
A late evening coffee in a nearby restaurant rounded out what had been a relaxed but busy day.
After such a packed day, the Saturday was a somewhat later breakfast for the four of us, and the start for a much more casual day. Today, we just wandered along the South Bank [of the Thames] to enjoy the buskers and other sights n sounds. Poking through the large book stalls under Embankment Bridge, watching street theatre, paninis in the park by Gabriel's Wharf and just generally taking in a lovely sunny day along the banks of the Thames.
The evening took us back to our place where we were joined by Vanessa, Zara and Jarrett for what was to be an entertaining family catch-up and Indian banquet.
Sunday saw another family catch-up, this time with Steve n Eileen. The six of us headed down to Hampton Court Palace on what was to be an unusually hot day in London: 32C!! We all moseyed throughout the palace and its grounds for a good while.
A bit of a "halftime break" as we picnicked in another area of the grounds, before reventuring through more of the palace and along the nearby Thames. Afternoon drinks in a nearby café/restaurant finished off our time at Hampton Court Palace. The rest of this afternoon, you'll have read about in the World Cup post below...
Sunday evening saw the four of us dining at the famous Criterion restaurant in Piccadilly, which turned out to be a splendid way for mum n dad to finish off their time with us in London before their European odyssey for the next 2 months.
Monday morning, was a trip to St Pancras to 'bon-voyage' mum n dad onto the Eurostar and the start of that odyssey...
Okay, so that wasn't really what they came to London to see, but it was our first port of call after crossing Westminster bridge and was to take us to South Kensington and the Natural History Museum. Being a Friday, the main entrance appeared to be packed with school groups, so we headed for the not-so-busy side entrance through the Science museum wing.
Unfortunately, the Earth Room was closed for renovations,
but we still had plenty more to see in this section. We took our time, just ambling through several floors of interesting exhibits and information, before eventually emerging into the Natural History Museum itself. Again, just moseying through the eastern half of this amazing building before a quick stop in the café there.After we'd had our fill of mothers with children, we headed back out onto Brompton road and made our way over to the Victoria and Albert Museum. This was to be a brief stop as we'd taken a tad longer at the Natural History Museum than anticipated. We took another tad longer here too, as we simply just kept finding interesting things in what turned out to be a little more interesting place than where we'd just been.
One thing for me stood out above the rest and that was to revisit the Raphael "cartoons". I found these back on a previous visit to London, and they are still very impressive. The "cartoons" are six paintings, each around twelve feet in height alone and wider again. Monumental works to say the least. And yes, this is the Italian artist that a certain teenage mutant ninja turtle is named after - the one no one seems to have heard of...
Anyway, we again took to Brompton road and strolled along in the sunshine towards our next destination. A quick stop in Paul for a better coffee than earlier, and then we crossed the road to venture through Harrods. We took in the luxury rooms, the food halls, the jewellery and watch section - you can guess who looked at what here, and funnily enough Sheryl and Mum finished before Dad n I did! We poked about in a few other departments before hopping a cab back to the hotel for a quick change and dinner.
Into another cab we went to make our way to the evening's entertainment in the West End, with Wicked being the show we were to see. Interesting when the lead character is green, but never-the-less a very good and clever production that all four of us enjoyed.
A late evening coffee in a nearby restaurant rounded out what had been a relaxed but busy day.
After such a packed day, the Saturday was a somewhat later breakfast for the four of us, and the start for a much more casual day. Today, we just wandered along the South Bank [of the Thames] to enjoy the buskers and other sights n sounds. Poking through the large book stalls under Embankment Bridge, watching street theatre, paninis in the park by Gabriel's Wharf and just generally taking in a lovely sunny day along the banks of the Thames.The evening took us back to our place where we were joined by Vanessa, Zara and Jarrett for what was to be an entertaining family catch-up and Indian banquet.
Sunday saw another family catch-up, this time with Steve n Eileen. The six of us headed down to Hampton Court Palace on what was to be an unusually hot day in London: 32C!! We all moseyed throughout the palace and its grounds for a good while.
A bit of a "halftime break" as we picnicked in another area of the grounds, before reventuring through more of the palace and along the nearby Thames. Afternoon drinks in a nearby café/restaurant finished off our time at Hampton Court Palace. The rest of this afternoon, you'll have read about in the World Cup post below...Sunday evening saw the four of us dining at the famous Criterion restaurant in Piccadilly, which turned out to be a splendid way for mum n dad to finish off their time with us in London before their European odyssey for the next 2 months.
Monday morning, was a trip to St Pancras to 'bon-voyage' mum n dad onto the Eurostar and the start of that odyssey...
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