London Days 12 & 13

1/04/06

On day 12 we finally got to take Forest to the Tower of London! Last time we were here James and I went to the Tower twice! It is such a great experience. But I have to say that hearing all the history, it is easy to start getting very mixed up about all the kings. The only thing you can definitively say is that being in line for the throne is very deadly! We also saw the crown jewels on display at the Tower. They are quite sparkley.

After the Tower we had dinner at the Wagamama noodle house. Another place that James and I remembered fondly from our last visit. So yummy.

On Day 13 Forest went out on his own adventure in the morning. I was excited for him to have this experience. It is always exciting to be on your own for the first time in a large city like this. I remember how thrilling it was the first time I was out on my own in NYC.

James and I went to Westminster Abbey. It was overwhelmingly ornate! Every surface was covered in some beautiful wood or marble carving. It was really great to see the tomb of Elizabeth I. The Lady’s chapel had the most beautiful ceiling I have ever seen. We also saw Poet’s Corner where they memorialized many great English writers such as Jane Austen, William Shakespeare and Alfred Lord Tennyson. Westminster was an amazing experience.

Forest met up with us for a late lunch at a sushi place called Matsuri. Yummy!

We headed over to Covent Garden for some shopping. I had some bead shops I wanted to search out. They ended up being in a great little area called Seven Dials. While I found some amazing beads for earrings, James had coffee in a really neat little courtyard outside the bead store called Neal’s Yard. It seemed like a set for a play! Forest found a great skateboard shop there where he finally found the elusive white belt he had been looking for. Down the street we went into a vintage store called Rockit where James found a great vintage leather jacket. I found the second bead store and James bought some cool t-shirts from a street vendor. James said he was glad that I wanted to seek out those bead stores because it led us to such a neat area for shopping.

After that we came home, made ourselves some spaghetti and packed for Paris. We leave this morning. Can’t wait to see the Eiffel Tower. I dreamed about it all night!