Made it!

By some quirk of fate our trip to London actually went ahead on Saturday. No disasters, no mass snow fall, no train failures, nothing ... We made it!

Mia, Charlotte, Bethany and I caught the train to London on Saturday morning, Bethany clutching her London Underground map as she was navigator. B and I sat down Friday night and I showed her where on the map our 'big' train would come into London (Liverpool St), explained the different underground lines to her, and we then plotted our journey from Liverpool St to the theatre and beyond.

With Bethany's assistance we successfully made it to Holborn underground station ("Red line Dad!") and we all walked across to Covent Garden. The area around the theatre had masses of outside broadcast TV vans, scaffolding, and cables running everywhere, we soon discovered that the Baftas award ceremony was being held in the area on Sunday evening which explained all the big sweaty blokes putting up lights and things.

I let slip to Mia that there's a Mac make-up shop in Covent Garden, so off we went so Mia could get advice on foundation. I kept Bethany away from the lady advising Mia, as she was dressed somewhat strangely (to a 5 year old anyway), and I knew B would comment on it, very loudly. Once when walking the dog, a feller with the biggest sticking out ears walked past us, and B remarked very loudly "Did you that man's ears?! They're massive! They're like this ..." (Puts her hands to her ears , palms facing forward). Once I regained my composure I explained to B that some things are best left unsaid.

B paitently waited for her make-over, but never got it.

Mia and Charlotte went off to watch 'Oliver', and B and I (With Tube map in hand) went off to the Science Museum ("Purple line Dad!"). Originally we were going to go to the Florence Nightingale Museum, but the website made the place look really boring, so we decided to go somewhere fun, where B could push buttons, and I was really looking forward to it. Needless to say I was really disappointed! Half the exhibits were closed, none of the shows we wanted to see where on, and the majority of the things to play with were broken. We did see 'The Rocket', the first ever train, and we walked over a green glass bridge which for some reason really excited B, but gave the place up as a lost cause and decided to go elsewhere.

So back to the Underground we went, and got the train to Green Park so Bethany could see "the Queen's house". Walking through Green Park with B was my highlight, as her imagination went into overdrive. Apparently she made everything around Green Park, but a wicked witch turned her back into a baby, then her friends rescued her only for the wicked witch to turn her back into a baby again, and now her friends are all DEAD as they'd all grown up and died, but she didn'tmind being a baby again as she'd got to be our baby. (Which was nice!) I did ask her why she made some of the mud in the park, but apparently that was the wicked witch's doing (said with rolled eyes, and real disdain in her voice!).

After the Queen's house (Buckingham Palace for those not in the know) we headed back over to Covent Garden, where we watched some of the entertainment going on around the garden. B was most taken by the man in hot pink lycra pants, who was riding an incredibly tall uni-cycle whilst juggling chain saws! (What makes you take that career choice?! I'd love to meet the careers advisor who told him "We have an opening .. How are you with chainsaws and lycra?").

And that was it. Mia and Charlotte enjoyed Oliver, Bethany and I enjoyed our adventure around London, but if you ask B what was her favourite part she'll tell you it was having KFC on the train home ...

Kids ....