Monday 5th- Jet Lag Kicks In

Oh how I loathe and love the "Full English Breakfast" at the same time. I have no will power, I could choose something else or say "no thank you" but I can't, OK. And I have 30 more days to pick and choose, right?. And I did choose "small" They always look so good on approach then the disappointment sets in after the first mouthful, cardboard tastes better I'm sure. It was a toss up to run with the smarter restaurant breakfast or the run-of-the-mill cafe job. The cafe won this round. I'm sure it's already made it to my hips, my pants won't do up.......comfortably anyway. Breakfast was at 11am after a lazy start although we'd both been awake since the ungodly hour of 3am.

This afternoon I'm feeing like a zombie but I'm resisting the urge to sleep. David has succumbed though, I might just wander down the street and visit the Albert and Victoria Museum for a bit. It's wet out but not cold.

I went walkabout instead, needed the fresh air. Our apartment is very central to alot of attractions and an easy walk to Hyde Park. First I went in search of a pub that's located nearby which used to be one of my Australian forum friend's regular when he lived here 20plus years ago. After a couple of wrong turns I located it down a tiny back lane tucked in amongst the mews of the grand old houses that are all around this area. Mews were the row of stables, usually with carriage houses below and living quarters above, built around a paved courtyard or along a street, behind the 17th and 18th centuries houses. Our apartment is located in one of the houses and overlooks the mews for this particular block. The view of the mews from our apartment. We prefer the back of the building as a major road runs past the front and is very noisy most of the night.

Fraser Place Apartments, Queensgate, Cromwell Rd, Kensington-

The Queens Arms-                                                      

The things you find while out walking-

 
Next stop, Hyde Park and the Prince Albert Memorial and across the road the beautiful Royal Albert Hall.  
 

It's become one of our London traditions to "do" a show at the West End on each visit, tonight will be our fourth. We chose Mamma Mia. There were no tickets left at any of the many discount booths in Leicester Square but we were able to purchase a couple of good seats at the theatre door just before the "Full House" sign went up. It was fantastic and we both throughly enjoyed it. We knew that the leading lady was Downunder appearing in the production in Auckland and we were a little apprehensive that we might be missing out. But I don't think so, she was just great.

Guess who? Not very clear but you can spot the "village idiot" a mile off! :)

Some observations after an Monday evening spent in central London-

You never look weird in London.

Every night is a Saturday night in London.
I forgot how bloody hot it gets on the Underground.
Why is your Oyster Card(Tube pay-as-you-go pass) always hard to find when you're in a rush.
Does anybody speak English in London?
Most of the buskers play beautiful music.
Why would you take your baby to Leicester Square at 11pm
The queue for the ladies are the same the world over. When will designers recognise that they need more loos for women than they do for men!
Mamma Mia was fantastic
I'm still wide awake..........

A little later........
Ok so 5hrs sleep is all I'm getting for now- beggars can't be choosers
My body tells me it's time for wine and nibbles
A cup of tea and scroggin is all it's getting
Today we meet Maddie for the first time, David is so excited......he's having tea and a banana.