Walking Wednesday

The trip was going by so quickly, one day went by another and finally it was Wednesday.  The same morning routine of chocolate croissants and orange juice helped me wake up.  It was time for a walking tour of London and I couldn't wait.  The gathering place was right outside a train station so all we had to do was take the Tube to Westminster.  Everyone had finally arrived and it was time to take our tour with London Walks.  Our guide's name was Helena.  She took us to all of the main points of London.  We walked and walked and walked. We saw Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square and even the changing of the guard. (Madison got in front of them and even took this picture as they marched down the street.  I thought she was going to get yelled at or run over, but luckily she didn't.). Our last stop was Trafalgar Square.  While we were there, we saw two boys doing really cool moves with a soccer ball (see the amazing video below). The London Walks tour was awesome, showing us the high points of London, but by the time we were through, everyone was hungry and it was time to find some place to eat.

Wahaca, a Mexican restaurant serving small tapas, was our stop for midday dining.  The whole family enjoyed tacos, fresh guacamole, salsa and the best part, churros with chocolate sauce.  The meal was so delicious.  One thing that I thought was cool, was instead of having a bowl of matchboxes, they had a bowl of matchboxes with pepper seeds  (That is a neat way to remember a restaurant by and a great way to start planting.).

After lunch we headed over to Covent Garden because it was a fun place to visit and we were right in the neighborhood.  Covent Garden is known for their artist market, small shops and street perfromers.  All types of interesting things were for sale there...fruit candles, jewelry, knitted bikinis.  (That's right, KNITTED bikinis.)  We decided to buy a beautiful watercolor of Big Ben and Parliament by a local artist as a memory of our trip.  We also found a cool trivet made out of Juniper wood.  Juniper wood is known for its pleasant scent and this trivet smelled terrific and was constructed in an extremely interesting pattern.  As we strolled away from the artist market and shops, we encountered the street performers.  Psycho Sam (his name of choice) was center stage and he was crazy.  He could dance and move like a robot.  Next he swallowed a long, skinny balloon (One of the ones they use to make a hat or a balloon animal out of, not a round one.). His last act was balancing on a ladder, while having spoons covering his eyes and juggling all at the same time.  When Sam was choosing his volunteers, my Dad was chosen.  My Dad and one other man had to hold up the ladder by pulling on ropes.  They had to hold the weight of the ladder and make sure that Sam didn't fall off.  It was very stressful.  (Sorry, Daddy)

Wednesday evening was one of the best nights of our London adventure.  We enjoyed lamb and naan at an Indian restaurant and then went to see the Michael Jackson show Thriller LIVE!  Madison and I were ecstatic.  We danced and rocked the night away listening to all of Michael Jackson's songs.  It was fantastic!  The awesome show was capped off with milkshakes at an American style diner on the walk back to our hotel.  All in all, Wednesday was a wonderful day!