The kids and I were headed back to India on Tuesday, so I spent most of Monday packing and psyching myself up for another 10-hour flight with three kids and no help. We did have time for some final bouts of partying, though.
First stop: Lunch at the original Hard Rock Cafe! Woot!
I was a little worried that the kids wouldn't enjoy this as much as Carrie and I were planning to, but I was mistaken. Johnny, Evie and Samuel proved that they can rock out with the best of them. It helped that we had a great server. She was happy, loud, and she cheerfully put up with Samuel's scowls. Two thumbs up for great food and great service.
That guitar you see above Samuel's head and to the left belonged to Eric Clapton and is the first piece of memorabilia the Hard Rock acquired.
Evie saw a new side to Favourite Aunt Carrie.
While we waited for our food (a surprisingly short wait, I might add), Caroline and Johnny explored the restaurant and took pictures of more memorabilia. Johnny especially liked a jacket and guitar used by Jimi Hendrix, and Caroline did some heavy drooling over in the Beatles corner. Carrie has promised to share her photos when she gets home from England (yes, she's still there wreaking havoc with friends) so I'll post some later.
Second stop: I took the kids for a long-awaited visit to Hamleys while Caroline took a tour of St. Paul's Cathedral.
Hamleys on Regent Street is the largest toy shop in the world, but my kids know about it because of its much smaller Chennai branch.
Regent Street is all decked out for the Olympics.
Hamleys is one of those stores that lets you play while you shop, so the kids took a turn with remote control Turbo Twister cars and watched demonstrations of cars that can drive up the walls and magical markers that change colors. The guys demonstrating toys are a little like carnival barkers, grabbing your attention with their jokes and crazy hats.
We loved the Lego section, where we ran into some famous London characters ...
Like the rest of London, Hamleys' Lego section was decked out for the Diamond Jubilee, with an impressive jubilee crown made of Legos ...
... a few Royals scattered here and there (yes, life size and made of Legos) ...
... and even the queen herself!
Stop 3: For our final grown-up hurrah, we hired a babysitter (a teen-ager whose parents work at the embassy) and John, Caroline and I went out for dinner and one last play.
We ate really good pasta at a little Italian place across the street from the Novello Theatre, where we saw a hilarious production of Noises Off, one of my favorites. I was laughing so hard in the second act that I would have been embarrassed by my uncontrolled squealing if everyone else hadn't been doing it too.
It was a great end to a great trip.
First stop: Lunch at the original Hard Rock Cafe! Woot!
I was a little worried that the kids wouldn't enjoy this as much as Carrie and I were planning to, but I was mistaken. Johnny, Evie and Samuel proved that they can rock out with the best of them. It helped that we had a great server. She was happy, loud, and she cheerfully put up with Samuel's scowls. Two thumbs up for great food and great service.
That guitar you see above Samuel's head and to the left belonged to Eric Clapton and is the first piece of memorabilia the Hard Rock acquired.
While we waited for our food (a surprisingly short wait, I might add), Caroline and Johnny explored the restaurant and took pictures of more memorabilia. Johnny especially liked a jacket and guitar used by Jimi Hendrix, and Caroline did some heavy drooling over in the Beatles corner. Carrie has promised to share her photos when she gets home from England (yes, she's still there wreaking havoc with friends) so I'll post some later.
Second stop: I took the kids for a long-awaited visit to Hamleys while Caroline took a tour of St. Paul's Cathedral.
Hamleys on Regent Street is the largest toy shop in the world, but my kids know about it because of its much smaller Chennai branch.
Regent Street is all decked out for the Olympics.
Hamleys is one of those stores that lets you play while you shop, so the kids took a turn with remote control Turbo Twister cars and watched demonstrations of cars that can drive up the walls and magical markers that change colors. The guys demonstrating toys are a little like carnival barkers, grabbing your attention with their jokes and crazy hats.
We loved the Lego section, where we ran into some famous London characters ...
Like the rest of London, Hamleys' Lego section was decked out for the Diamond Jubilee, with an impressive jubilee crown made of Legos ...
... a few Royals scattered here and there (yes, life size and made of Legos) ...
... and even the queen herself!
Stop 3: For our final grown-up hurrah, we hired a babysitter (a teen-ager whose parents work at the embassy) and John, Caroline and I went out for dinner and one last play.
We ate really good pasta at a little Italian place across the street from the Novello Theatre, where we saw a hilarious production of Noises Off, one of my favorites. I was laughing so hard in the second act that I would have been embarrassed by my uncontrolled squealing if everyone else hadn't been doing it too.
It was a great end to a great trip.
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