Filed Under S: London

We were in London October 10th - 17th. Stepler had a course for work and Rory was on fall break so Rory and I went along. It was ever so nice to spend our days exploring London while Stepler was learning.

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, just about lunch time. We took a train to Paddington Station and stopped for sandwiches at the M&S Simply Food there. A wonderful, wonderful store with delicious Marks & Spencers food -- sandwiches, sushi, desserts, anything prepared that you can imagine and some things you probably can't because they're very British. I love it. And if I lived in London would likely eat their food entirely too often.

After lunch we checked into our hotel, rested in the lobby a bit because our room wasn't ready, and tried unsuccessfully to get Rory to take a nap in our room. Once we decided the nap wasn't happening, we walked to the zoo and Rory promptly fell asleep in her stroller. By the time we arrived it was only one and half hours from closing and there were no twilight prices. We'd passed a nice looking playground on the way to the zoo so we went back there instead and Rory enjoyed playing for awhile. As supper time approached we walked in the direction of an Indian restaurant we'd heard of. We found it and the Gap. After browsing at the Gap we had some great Indian food and then walked back to our hotel.

While Stepler was in class Rory and I stayed busy -- the Science Museum, the Princess Diana Memorial Playground, the Zoo, a children's play, and the V&A Museum. With a lot of walking, some tube riding, a bit of shopping, and good lunches thrown in too. Rory loved the water area at the Science Museum. Her shirt was soaked. The Princess Di playground is one of the nicest I've been to. The zoo is alright. The play was at the Apollo Theater in Wimbeldon and was based on the children's book Lost and Found. We sped through a very small part of the V&A and probably spent more time in their gift shop.

In the evenings we had the chance to all do things together -- we went to the London Eye, Hamley's toy store, and the Natural History Museum. On Thursday nights the shops are open late and I went shopping on my own, though I only bought some nail polish. On Saturday we went to the Tower of London and tried to go to the Tate Modern, but by the time we walked there only had time for one exhibit that we weren't even sure was an exhibit and the gift shop. Rory and Stepler went back to the hotel while I visited the largest Paperchase store I've ever seen. Three stories of paper and pens. We filled our last night with a little shopping and more Indian food.

On Sunday morning there wasn't much time for anything other than getting to the airport, picking up a few magazines and coffee, duty-free window shopping, and a quick lunch of sandwiches. We had a great time in London, but it was good to be back home too (where Rory has her own room).