Day 16 London

The plan for this morning was to walk down to Trafalgar Square and then down the Mall to Buckingham Palace.  Along the way we were looking out for somewhere for breakfast, but we got to Trafalgar Square without stopping.  There wasn't much choice of places to eat there and we knew there would be less near the palace, so crossed the road to what looked like a very flash place with no one in there.  

Not a good sign we thought but needed something and the prices looked reasonable. I just wanted a pastry and coffee but it was cheaper to get a contention breakfast which was coffee, pastry & yogurt (all for only £5) and Cam decided to order a full English breakfast.  The restaurant looked stunningly posh and Cam's juice arrived in a glass with a stem.  Then out came my breakfast on a 3 tiered plate and I couldn't believe how much there was.  

The yogurt was from France and had delicious berries at the bottom and I also got 2 pastries and an almond croissant....all very yummy!  Cam enjoyed his too and surprised me by eating the eggs!  Don't know how we ate it all but somehow managed.  We left feeling very pleased with our choice and wondered why the food chain next door had so many people in it when the food looked plastic!

We then crossed the road to the mall

and walked down to the palace....a very nice walk with full bellies

....stopping for views from the bridge

and to squirrel watch.

 There were plenty of people outside the palace but it was still easy to find space to get photos. Much better than the crowds in summer.  

Cam enjoyed the walk but expected the palace to be a bit grander.  I guess we've seen a lot of gorgeous architecture in the last couple of weeks and it becomes the norm.  I enjoy the memory of watching the carriages travelling down the Mall on TV....Cam is less interested. The changing of the guard was an hour away and we weren't bothered enough to wait for that.

We carried on walking....

this time in the direction of Carnaby St (which I remembered as a cool street to walk down).

Don't know if my memory is fading or if it has changed, but there really was nothing much there...just ordinary stores. Oh well, everywhere else I have taken Cam to has been worthwhile.  I then marched Cam reluctantly through Liberty (to educate him what a posh English store is like) and then down the length of Regent St. He let me browse in one store, but had to walk past many with windows that tempted me!

Next on the agenda was Greenwich which we got to via the tube then changing to the Docklands Light Railway....

which brought back memories of our time living in the Docklands with Kelvin and Angela towards the end of our time in London.  There are new stations on the line now, but much of it was familiar.  We got off at Cutty Sark...

took a photo of the ship and moved on through Greenwich village towards the Greenwich Observatory.  It was a pleasant walk up the hill with various breaks to watch the squirrels  in the park - they are soooo cute!  We ate lunch looking at the view.  It is such a mild day today...no need for the gloves.  We commented on the lack of wind...it makes the cold much more bearable.  We had bought salads from M&S Food and they were so yum and very cheap...

- wish we could get these in NZ.  We then took photos straddling the meridian line....the main point of coming here.

We spent a bit of time down a path in the park doing more squirrel watching - Cam finds them fascinating too....

and watching & listening to the bird life

...enjoying the moment!

By now it was time to get moving as I'd booked us an entry at Madamme Tussards at 3:30pm online last night. We had to walk briskly back to the station and back into London.  We arrived just in time to collect our tickets and go in.  We had intended to return to our hotel first so I could change into tidier clothes but we didn't have time.  When booking these tickets I made Cam agree that he would have his photo taken with some of the wax figures....but I wasn't too hopeful he would play along.

The 1st room was movie celebrities....most that we recognised. Cam was uneasy at first with the idea of taking photos of me or posing himself, but everyone was doing it and it was all done so quickly that he soon got used to it.  It was surprising how short some of the stars are...some (like Tom Criuse)

were expected , but others like Dame Judi Dench were tiny. Some wax figures looked startlingly real but others were obviously fake.  I got my picture with a couple of my favourite men and then we moved on...

Then Cam took a turn...

And did the royal ones just for nana....

Along with one for our American family...

There were way more rooms full of wax figures than 25 years ago....as well as a few extra attractions included. One was a scarey passage of horrors where we walked through a twisting passage in the dark & actors jumped out from corners and came out our faces..with random bangs and creaks along the way. You had to be over 12, not pregnant and without a heart condition to do it. I was a bit scared but Cam just found it amusing.

There was also a 4D superheroes short movie based around Buckingham Palace...where we wore 3D glasses and sat in reclined chairs. As the superheroes jumped & flew and generally saved the day, we had water sprayed on us and sudden bursts of air at the side of our heads...all to coincide with what was happening on screen.  It was really well done- made me flinch at times! Cam thought it was pretty cool too.

The final extra was a ride where we sat in a black cab and were taken through the history of London moving fairly quickly.

 It was all very colourful and very well done.

After all this we felt Madame Tussaud's was very good value...and definitely  improved on 25 years ago.  I think we were lucky it is winter and less crowded though, because waiting for photos would get frustrating.

We then went back to our hotel for 20 minutes to freshen up, & then we headed to the theatre district for dinner in Chinatown.

It was hard to choose where to eat as all professed to specialise in and have the best crispy duck, but we selected the Royal Dragon (continuing our royal themed day).  We ordered half a crispy duck and mixed vegetables to share. I was surprised how much duck we got but it was so yummy that we managed to clean it up.

Cam loved them...thin pancakes with hoisin sauce, cucumber & the crispy duck.

Think he has a new favourite dish. He certainly ate more than usual!

We then headed around the corner to the Prince of Wales theatre for "the Book of Mormons".  

We had fantastic seats, centre & second row back from the front of the upper circle which felt right next to the stage as it is a fairly small theatre.

 The show started and it was hilarious straight away...and the singing was fantastic. It is very hard to explain the show but it is basically making fun of Mormons & follows 2 young men on their first mission...and they get sent to Africa. It also makes fun of Africa & everyone having aids, etc. It was laugh out loud funny in places.... And yes Cam laughed and smiled enough. A perfect first musical theatre experience for him.

Thank goodness it was well worth the money!

It's certainly been a very big day, but another incredible one.