Although we woke up to overcast skies on Wednesday morning, things were looking up when it at least wasn't raining. After a quick hotel breakfast, we set off for a leisurely walk through Hyde Park, past the Italian water gardens, past the Serpentine river, past scurrying squirrels and families of ducks, geese and swans. It is an enormous park and is a quiet oasis away from the hustle and bustle of London Town.
On the opposite side we reached the long road of Constitution Hill which leads to Buckingham Palace. Throngs of tourists made their way towards the Palace, and as it turned out, the changing of the guards was about to take place, and we happened to be in a great spot to see the horses march by. There were so many people crowded around in other directions that we thought it must have been a special occasion, but Ryan asked the policeman and no, it's just the same changing of the guard that happens every goddam day. I was happy to see the Palace though, because after watching The Crown, I think the Queen is one cool little lady.
So after another dose of pomp and ceremony, we set off towards Mayfair. The hotels and restaurants around there justify its high-end status in Monopoly. We wanted to find an electronics store to buy a power bank charger for Ryan's phone, so we walked the length of Picadilly to its Circus, and along Regent St to Oxford and its Circus. We passed kilometres of every clothes store known to mankind, including 6 or 7 H&M stores, but electronics stores were notably absent. Finally we happened upon a mobile store and got what we needed, but where you buy a laptop or tablet or headphones in London beats me.
By this stage Willow seemed to be nearing nap time so we wandered around Soho to get her to sleep before we could enjoy a quiet and peaceful lunch. I love Soho - quiet little streets and pedestrian cobble stone areas lined with shops and cafes and pubs. Willow obviously loved Soho too because no matter how many circuits we did, she never fell asleep. So was happy enough though so we pulled up to an outside table in a little lane at the White Horse pub. I'm glad we did as, not being a big fan of British food, this meal was delicious! I had a chicken and ham pie, and Ryan had bangers and mash.
So then off we trotted, through Soho up to Oxford St and back over to Hyde Park, walking the length back to our hotel, where Willow finally fell asleep. The $20 Kmart special umbrella stroller has done remarkably well considering we wrote it off in Bangkok.
After some quiet time back at the hotel, it was soon around 6pm, and remarkably we deemed it feasible to go for an evening stroll and grab some dinner. We headed around the corner along Queensway which had quite a nice vibe. A long street full of restaurants, cafes, souvenir stores and other things. We eventually decided on some Chinese takeaway, as I didn't think we'd top the British fare we had for lunch that day. I can happily say the salt and pepper squid was very good! So with full bellies we got yet another early night (although after 6pm this night) and got some rest, ready to jet over to Portugal the next day!
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