Trafalgar Square, Hamleys and Lion King8 Jun 2012
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| It was such a bad day - gale force winds and the rain was pouring down, so we didn't really hurry to get ready. When we did go out, the rain had eased a little, but we called in to a little souvenir shop on the corner to buy umbrellas. We took the tube to Charing Cross. I had downloaded a Trafalgar Square treasure trail so we were going to do that. We found the starting point easily enough and got going. It was quite good, as you explored all the streets surrounding Trafalgar Square - places you would never normally have gone and seen things we would not normally have noticed. It took us just beyond Admiralty Arch, then back under it again and around the National Portrait Gallery and by St Martin in the Fields church. We decided to go for some lunch. We went into the cafe in the National Portrait Gallery and thought it was lovely, but Reuben moaned because he could only see sandwiches with mayonnaise. In the end we went across the road to Pret A Manager. We had nice food, but it was a bit cramped. We did the rest of the trail, and got some lovely ice creams from a real Italian ice cream parlour. There were 6 clues to find in Trafalgar Square, but we actually gave up and just explored the square instead. Reuben liked the statue on the 4th plinth - a golden man on a rocking horse. He also got very excited about climbing on the lions at Nelson's Column. We took some good photos. We walked to Regent Street next, headed for Hamleys. Reuben was so excited about this, he was bouncing up and down. Inside he was in heaven. He loved all the displays and we explored all of the 5 floors. He picked a mini UFO to buy, so we got that and some batteries. We got the tube from Oxford Circus back to the hotel and had a quick rest for an hour before going out again. We had dinner in Wahaca in Covent Garden - Tommi Mier's Mexican place. It had a lovely atmosphere and the food was delicious. Paul didn't really think so, and Reuben ate next to nothing but I loved it. We had the street food menu - you got a number of small dishes to share. It was so fresh and tasty and different to anything else we had had. It also only cost £36.00. We walked around Covent Garden next. It was buzzing with people and a Friday night atmosphere. We got Reuben some fruit from Boots so at least he had something to eat. We had a look at the buskers - Reuben loved a man dressed as Mr Bean, and then made our way to the theatre. The show was at the Lyceum, we had to stand outside for ages before they opened the door because they were getting a drinks delivery. When we got in, we went to the bar and had a drink. Our seats were in row C - third from the front, so we had a great view. The show was magical - Reuben's face was a picture and he was engrossed the whole time. I have never seen him like that before. All the processions of animals etc. down the aisles were wonderful. The children were also excellent and the music was spine tingling. It was a real feast for the ears and eyes - the stage sets were superb. We walked back to the hotel - it took about 10 minutes, but was so lovely. We crossed Waterloo Bridge and could see St Pauls lit up and Big Ben - what a gorgeous view, that I just wasn't expecting. Even Reuben managed to forget his tired legs and soak it all up. |
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