By It’s crazy how quickly this trip is flying by! It’s another non-stop day in London town. After fueling up with another fabulous breakfast at the hotel (avocado toast), we had the excitement of taking the bus to the National Art Gallery First stop at the gallery was the gift shop for a little Christmas shopping and then it was time to explore…which means me taking the back seat to the gals who know art. You could probably spend weeks in the gallery. We managed 3+ hours before getting worn down. My favorite part was seeing the local present day artist making sketches of the art on the wall. I love to see the talent and enthusiasm. I enjoy art, but my painting skills are limited to bedroom and bathroom walls (and solid color). We rejuvenated at Pret-a-Manger…And managed to run out of time again!
Ruth had purchased tickets for a walking tour of Christmas Trees that started at 4:30pm. We had to get from Trafalgar Square to Bond Street…and that was NOT going to happen. We all piled in the taxi in the rain, only to get stuck in a major traffic jam. Ruth called the ticket office to let them know we were about 10 minutes away (a stretch of the truth). As we continued to not move, she called back to determine the 2nd or 3rd stop in the tour…ultimately we decided to change directions and headed to Claridge’s Hotel to wait for the group there. We managed to connect with the tour guide and off we went, walking in the rain. In typical London fashion, we were rained on … a lot London. I was prepared and had my backpack with me. My friends were not. Their paper bags (from shopping) disintegrated in the deluge. I ended up being the pack mule with all of their presents shoved in my bag.
For this day I wore my wedge boots, which I adore. I discovered that they do not adore the cobblestone streets of London. My poor little feet were starting to yip at me, but I was determined to press on and finish the tour. We enjoyed 2 ‘bonus’ trees – the Covent Garden tree and the tree in the Royal ballet’s atrium. Thoroughly soaked, we were not done yet!
For tonight we went to see Operation Mincemeat. I loved the show. Very funny and energetic with a mild serious moment. If CDs were still a thing, I would have bought a CD. Alas they are not, so I’ll have to do some googling for lyrics and possibly go to the show again (yes it was that good). Only complaint I have is the legroom at the theater. We were crammed in like sardines. To say there was no leg room is an understatement. Thank goodness the show was fun so I was distracted.
