We’re sitting in the pub of The Mad Hatter, having one last drink before a day of travelling. We managed to find the Imperial War Museum (London) about 11 this morning. It is a phenomenal museum with displays from WWI and up. Seems the wars never end. There an amazing trench recreation form the Great War – it even reeks – and because of the Battle of Britain anniversary, there’s a couple of exhibits from WWII home front. There’s a heart rending exhibit called The Children’s War which documents the kids in the cities, evacuated to the country or Canada, or just dealing with the end of the war. A quote is “Mummy, there’s a soldier outside with his kit. I think it’s your husband.”. They have guns and planes and tanks in the main hall. We also went into the Ministry of Food exhibit – showing those who stayed at home how to add to the table.
We noticed the rain here is very fine, and figured all the pollution filters it out on the way down. London is very dirty – you have a greasy feel at the end of the day, and I must say I am looking forward to Germany.
I had a couple stressful moments this afternoon when Kieran who was supposed to come back from the museum just after us had failed to appear two hours later. I, of course, went into considering what hospitals to phone while Michael, sensing my stress, headed out to hunt him down. He was still at the museum. So, after a couple glasses of wine, I am finally peeling myself off the ceiling.
We went for supper at the Pizza Express beside the Globe Theatre. Circumstances prevented me from going in (sore legs) but it seems quite a crowd gathers outside of it. There was also quite a view from the river side.

Today was a little harder – Michael woke up with a very sore throat, and low energy. We had planned a number of outings but we had to downsize our day. We walked over the bridge to see Big Ben, the Parliament buildings and Buckingham with the Australia and Canada Gates.
After the gawking, we headed over to find the Sherlock Holmes Museum (and Gift Shop!). It was a replica of what a boarding room would look like in the 1890s. Not a nice as Dalnavert, but still a lot of fun. Along the way we found a Beatles Shop and Aleksander picked up a poster and badge – as he wanted, bought in London, and hopefully heading home in one piece.
We did try Covent Gardens but Michael faded just as we got there, so they watched a street performer show while I scurried about, looking for cool stuff.

We grabbed a bus, then hopped on the Underground, then strolled over to The Mad Hatter, our hotel. It’s humid and grey here – hope it gets nicer. I think it’s warmer than it was in Oxford.
We just finished up supper in a cheaper cafe around the corner and then found a very expensive bakery/cafe for lattes and treats. Kieran had a sour cherry cheesecake and Aleksander had a brownie.
London is dirty, noisy and huge. Tomorrow we hope to decide which sites to see. The Globe Theatre isn’t far away and I think the Tower of London would appeal to the boys. We’ll see…