Last Day in London, Part II

Note: Thanks for staying tuned. The last post survived and thankfully didn't cause a technological meltdown! Blogging, and doing it from an iPad app, is an extra skills set I've developed during this whole adventure that I never imagined I'd have. That said, I have no intentions of quitting my day job and joining the growing ranks of those adding daily to the overcrowded blogosphere!

 

Now back to the final sights of London.

 

On our way to Hyde Park, which had been transformed into London Live, a venue for Olympic concerts, athlete appearances, and a fun place to watch events on massive projection screens, we saw more folks from around the world who had come to join the party, this time...

the Aussies, and...

...the Dutch.

At this point, it was close to 3:00pm and we hadn't even had lunch yet. After a day trolling the city, we were famished! We needed our strength, though, because one final, crucial task still lay ahead of us -- purchasing gifts for our husbands! At this hour of the day in England, when the going gets tough, the tough...

...go have Afternoon Tea! This tea was shared, by the way. The photo makes it appear that Jennie consumed this lovely tray of finger sandwiches, scones, and tarts by herself. While she might have wanted to at this point in the day (especially the clotted cream!), I assure you she did not!

 

The good news about the all-important husband gift buying was that we knew exactly what we wanted to get. Jennie's husband, Chris, is a very talented musician. By day he's a graphic designer, but by night, he's a guitar/keyboard player and singer who needs a cool "gig shirt" or two. Many thanks to our good friends Matthew and Alex who recommended the iconic Selfridges as a good place to look. A delightful young salesman took very good care of us and Chris is now sporting two very cool gig shirts. (Any Ab Fab fans out there? If so, Eddy and Patsy would have been pleased with our shopping efforts!)

While our husbands are friends, they have very different interests and tastes. Scott (a.k.a. Francis) likes a nice floral tie. Yes, he's in touch with his feminine side and has a thing for ties from another wonderful British shopping institution, Liberty.

If you see a man on the BC campus (sadly on crutches from hip surgery #2) wearing one of these ties, please say hello!

We arrived in time to see St George appear and valiantly slay the evil dragon on the recently restored Liberty clock tower, which he thankfully does every quarter hour.

We did it! All missions accomplished! And with that, we waited out the 5:00 PM rush in the cozy Victorian Clachlan pub next door, which interestingly enough used to be owned by Liberty. When things died down a bit, we hopped on the Underground at Oxford Circus (many thanks to the young attendant who helped us decipher the tube zones in order to know which ticket to purchase and which platform to go to!), and we made it back to St Pancras in time to miraculously catch a rare express train to St Albans. For whatever reason, there was some good Karma flowing at that moment! One last, delicious meal at the Mediterranean Grill and home to catch some Olympic action and to pack! We are headed home!

 

 

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