London (Days 4833-4835)

Day 4833

Our first full day in London begins with my yin and I taking consecutive walks around Knightsbridge, with her coming across random memorials:

and me taking a walk in Hyde Park and its more refined artistic expressions:

Prince Albert Memorial

Unlike our previous family trip to London in 2018 when we stayed in Notting Hill, and given our limited time in the city, we opted for something more central to maximize our time, and Knightsbridge provides a nice balance of being both laid back and centrally located, allowing us to maximize relaxation and minimize travel time. It is also quite posh:

But this is beside the point.

The point is that it was a swelteringly hot day in London, following a night of severe weather with an alleged 29,000 lightning strikes across southern England. Undaunted, we set out for Camden Town on the tube where we came across this lovely, and surprisingly moving, poem by a Polish poet:

“Letter” by Tadeusz Dabrowski

Upon arrival at our destination, we are greeted by sidewalks full of tourists:

and funky storefronts:

and picturesque passageways by the lock: 

where dozens (hundreds?) of vendors sell all manner of wares that generally remind me of St. Marks Place in New York circa 1997, albeit far more gentrified. As far as that goes, Camden also seems much more crowded and developed than it did when we briefly visited eight years ago, as evidenced by a tremendous multi-story food hall where we stop to get a chili paneer pizza, an improbable and absolutely delicious fusion dish from Bombay Pizza:

from their website, not our table

Bellies full, we stop for one quick pic:

and then head back south to wrap up our shopping excursion with new shoes for me:

from their website, not my feet

and a couple of new stuffies for sidecar at a very fancy department store:

Exhausted from the excursion and with temperatures pushing into the upper 90s, we get tired of waiting for the bus and decide to take a cab:

so we can make it home in time to rest before the day’s main event, a (mildly?) inappropriate musical:

at the Garrick Theatre:

which we enjoy immensely from the opening curtain to the closing bows:

Exhausted (and delighted) from the day, we take the tube back home and walk past an even fancier department store on the way back down Brompton Road:

While my yin and sidecar head straight for the apartment, I stop for a takeaway dosa at a nearby shop. My yin and I eat while sidecar readies herself for bed, and we tuck her in sometime after 11, snuggling with friends new and old:

Day 4834

The heat wave continued on our second full day, but undaunted by either the weather or my sore feat, I once again set out for my morning constitutional in Hyde Park, setting off in a different direction than the prior day. Preparations are being made for some sort of summer festival, which makes for a somewhat less attractive walk, but eventually I reach my destination, the somewhat underwhelming Marble Arch at the northeast corner of the park:

However, on the way back, I did come across a pretty cool statue of a baby wrestling a fish:

and a spiky blue flower in the rose garden:

and a Modigliani-esque sculpture of Pan chasing a family at the Edinburgh Gate:

The Rush on the Green

I returned to our apartment in time to meet one of my yin's innumerable yogi friends, but the day's heat was already causing transportation delays, forcing him to abort his journey from Heathrow to meet us (which was already remarkable to the point of incredulity given his red-eye back home to the UK). 

But this is beside the point.

The point is that the day's main event was a trip out to Watford, where we had mid-afternoon tickets for the Harry Potter studio tour:

This outing was one of those wonderful decisions owing to our general aversion to planning too much or too soon when we travel (trust, trust, trust - everything happens for a reason, in its own time, in its own way), and I'm honestly not even sure how we learned about it or whether it was in the Isle of Wight or after our arrival in London. Regardless, upon arrival...

Lumos Solem!

There are numerous images of our hours at this attraction, like my yin holding eyeballs:

and sidecar's (unintentional?) selfie in Foe Glass:

and an unexpected lessons in forced perspective:

and the actual Knight Bus:

and my (soon-to-be reverend) yin on the way out:

Suffice to say, it was an amazing day that reignited sidecar's love of Harry Potter and (one of) the most impressive self-conscious tourist attractions we have ever visited. 

Day 4835

Our final morning in London is largely undocumented, owing to a late morning flight back home (via NYC), but we did take the time to go up once more to the rooftop and take in the view once more:

Our ride to the airport ends up being an unexpected delight, with an Albanian driver who left home at 13 and has lived in London for nearly 30 years. In an odd coincidence, I tell him that Sam-I-Am has advised me to consider Albanian citizenship as a cost-effective alternative to (future) EU residency, and based upon our conversation en route to Heathrow, it seems like a capital idea if all of his countrymen are as friendly as him. 

Upon arriving at the airport, we arrive at Virgin's (amply documented) Upper Class drop-off, which I first experienced seven years ago when traveling for work. Upon entering the lounge, sidecar (reluctantly) agrees to a quick pic:

before we find a place to sit and wait for our time to board.

This adventure brought new challenges that may or may not ever see this venue, and addressing them brought more down time than previous international adventures, but with the slower pace emerged a return to this form, and for that I am grateful.