When you see all that we accomplished in the past two days, I think you'll understand why I haven't been so prompt with my entries.

Friday
We raced over to Dickens House and learned as much as we could about Charles Dickens in an hour. The four floors were crammed with information. He lived in this house from 1837 - 1839, completing The Pickwick Papers here and most of Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. I think it's time to reread his novels.

We then took a taxi over to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard. The traffic was horrible and it took much longer to get there than we thought. We arrived twenty minutes into the ceremony, but fortunately were able to catch the last twenty minutes.

We had lunch near Victoria Station and then took the subway to Tower Hill where we headed down to the Tower Pier and caught a boat to Westminster Pier (these tickets were included in our sightseeing bus package). I enjoy the commentary by the crew, and especially enjoy their cockney accents. Most of us stayed in the heated lower level, but some went up on the open deck. Brrrr.

We then took the subway to the British Museum where we tried to see the highlights in two hours. Andrew followed the children's audio tour and seemed to really enjoy it. Every time I go there I find new things--this must be my sixth visit this trip. Gord met up with us and we walked through countless rooms until 5:15 or so.

We then walked past Gord's office and over to Southampton Row to an Italian restaurant. From there we went to the Victoria Palace Theatre to see Billy Elliott. What an enjoyable play that was! And you would not believe the talent of the kids! There are five boys who play Billy Elliott on alternate nights, and one of them was born in Albany, New York! Apparently his Newcastle accent is right on; too bad we didn't get to see him. Actually I was talking to someone on staff during the interval and he told me that that Billy Elliott was just sent over to Australia to replace one of the Billy Elliotts there who was out due to a car accident. It really was a good family show, aside from the language. My eight-year-old nephew got an earful of new expressions.

Saturday
Portobello Market day. We got to sleep in a little, but once we got out it was non-stop walking. The market was particularly crowded. We spent a couple of hours there and then some of us took a detour several blocks east to the original Miller Harris store on Needham Road. Not being a perfume person (what an understatement!) I didn't know anything about perfumer Lyn Harris or her products. I have to admit that I was not overcome with the smells in her store--I could even breathe in there!--and some of the scents were actually not bad. But I didn't buy any. Carole bought two! You can purchase her products at Saks in NYC, but that is the only place in the US. We walked back to Portobello Market and then headed to Costa's Fish Restaurant for fish and chips. We then walked across Kensington Gardens (it was not raining but it was cold and windy), and then "tubed" it to Harrod's where we spent another two hours shopping. Took a bus home, stopping at Whole Foods for some wine and cheese. Had a light dinner of hummus, raw veggies, a selection of cheeses, and of course wine.

Friday's plaque of the day: Charles Dickens