Prepare to Sing!!

 I woke up early this morning (about 5:00 am) and noticed that it was raining.  Rain in England isn't rare, and I am usually over the moon excited about rain.  Today, however I was sad to see it raining outside.  Jacob and Rachel had told me the day before that if it was a nice day outside Gavin and Rachel would get to come with us to London.  Seeing the rain was sad, but the true tug at my heart was when Gavin was standing at the door and then handing his Dad shoes to put on his feet.  We said our good-byes though after enjoying some AMAZING pastries that Jacob had made for breakfast to conquer the sights of London that we missed seeing on Thursday!!

We drove to the closest Tube stop and headed off to Notting Hill.  Remember as children, watching Bedknobs and Broomsticks and hearing the song Portobello Road and singing along?  I have really come to love antiques and Portobello Road is actually full of shops and a street market.  Saturdays are the big antique shopping days so that was our first adventure of the day.  An added bonus to this stop is, that Adam and I danced to Ronan Keating's song When You Say Nothing At All from the Notting Hill soundtrack as our first dance at our wedding reception!  I can honestly say that I saw lots of things in the shops, but I'm sad to say they didn't have everything that I needed or wanted rather!

I have been searching for a wash bowl and pitcher for years and I thought I might get lucky.  I didn't find my ideal item, but I did learn however that the true title is a Jug and Bowl.  The older gentlemen that was very adamant!

Once Jacob and Adam had scouted the shops for me and we found we were unsuccessful (yet had an amazing time looking) we strolled through rest of the market enjoying crepes, pastries and Brazilian hot pockets cooked to order!

 A short Tube ride away was Buckingham Palace and The Changing of the Guard.  Jacob and Adam thought it was funny that I was excited to see the marching band.  I think it is kinda funny that there is a daily parade that blocks road and drivers!  The Changing of the Guard went off without a hitch, even in the wet weather.  * Funny Side Story* While we were waiting for the band to march by us a tour guide was yelling at his group.  He wanted them to hurry and move so that they would have great views of the band.  He finally yelled to them "Hurry up and move, this isn't the back roads of California, this is London!", we laughed a few good moments during the remainder of our stay in Europe over that experience!!

 Walking through London we often found ourselves on a walkway that was named for a Jubilee or Princess Diana.  Our walk from Buckingham Palace to the West End took us past the New Scotland Yard.  I also put the Westminster Abbey photos above, we didn't go inside, but it looked very busy!  I was surprised that the clock on the outside of the church was broken.  I guess that if you need the time Big Ben will have to due :)  We stopped off to pick up our tickets to ...WICKED, and then headed across the street to grab a bite to eat.  I enjoyed fish and chips with mushy peas.  I loved the fish and chips, but  I am not a huge fan of the mushy peas, yet!

 Going to London and not seeing a Broadway show would be blasphemous right...the really hard thing is picking just one.  Jacob would suggest anyone visiting London see Le Miserables.  I had already seen a production of Le Mis so I picked Wicked.  We arrived at the theater and Jacob switched seats with me so that I could see and take everything in.  The show was FABULOUS, I loved the story line and purchased the music off of Itunes as soon as I got home :)  Adam on the other had thought it was a great time to nap.  Yep, you read correctly, Adam fell asleep during the first half of the show.  When the lights came up for intermission he stood up and started putting on his backpack to leave the theater!  Jacob broke the news and he saw the second half of the show.  I asked a gentlemen how long intermission was (it wasn't in the program) and his answer took me by surprise.  He said "When people stop buying ice cream".  I was intrigued so I asked for further explanation.  I guess that a lot of the theaters in London don't have air condition and so during the summer they sell ice cream to help cool people off.  Neat tradition huh :)

I was on a complete high and could have happily gone home satisfied with my time in London after Wicked, but there was more daylight and the Tower of London to see.  We were able to get a picture with the Olympic Rings hanging from the Tower Bridge.  We also walked a little off the beaten path and saw a marina.  The boats were all nice, but the gold leafed boat really caught our eye.  We thought it was a boat from the Queens Jubilee, but during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics we saw the boat being used to carry the torch!

Our last Tube ride of the day returned us to our car and we hurried home, by way of the grocery store and a Thai restaurant to pick up our take-out or as the English say "Take Away"!  We enjoyed sharing a run down of our day with Rachel and just catching up.  I must say that some of my favorite moments with my siblings as adults (and their wives) are those evening conversations that make time fly.  I treasure the time that I spend with family, because it just doesn't happen as often as I would like :)  What a fun day, did you sing while you read?!?!?!?!?