this trip's overview

Gran Canaria portion

First Day Back

Man-made Finery

Queen's Life Guard

Covent Garden Markets

London's Transport Museum I

Marks & Spencers

Natural History Museum

Science Museum

High Street Kensington

Bus Karma I

The Strand

Simpsons-in-the-Strand

Tower of London

Science Museum II

Worst Food Ever

Where the shops are

Neal's Yard Dairy

Seven Dials

Bus Karma II

returning home

Thursday 30 January 2003

Lila has some traveller's virus. She's vomited twice and now has diarrhea. I've got experience, and the good luck of having some good baby-changing resources handy when necessary, so the collateral damage on clothes has been evaded. She's in good spirits, albeit with much lower energy than usual.

Having the ATM at Heathrow eat my bank card is bothersome: we'll need cash for small purchases and tiny eateries. The first order of business is getting transportation sorted out, then money. We stop at the London YMCA - where we got pictures done years ago - but they're all-digital now. We're directed to our local tube stop, Tottenham Court Road, where a photo booth has been installed. Silly us.

Rose and I get our photos - at £3.50 (US$5.00) each - and buy a weekly pass for £11 (via credit card). We're ready to own the city. I love to travel without worrying about getting on and off the subway each time; completely changes the timbre of a visit.

Here are Mama and Lila in a contemplative (read: exhausted) moment on the London Underground.

Isaac, city boy that he is, absolutely loves being back on the tube. Here he is at Charing Cross station, minding the gap.

Aboveground, at Embankment station, I find a place that'll sell me American Express travellers cheques (funded by credit card) so I'm one step closer to having cash in pocket.

Here Isaac is explaining that he saw the subway going across the bridge to the southern side of the Thames River. We're at the Milennium Bridge, but it's closed for repairs. I never knew a walkway could be such a problem to construct. (The whole thing was delayed because it swayed beyond belief, neaseating anyone trying to cross. Now it's closed for unspecified reasons, with no posted date for re-opening. Sigh.) In the background you see the London Eye, an absolutely huge Ferris Wheel.

We cross the street to the river's edge to take a panorama of this cold winter day in London. Brrrr.

We make our way to the Houses of Parliment, and Saint Stephens clocktower (with Big Ben within). Isaac can be seen to be saying (repeatedly, ad nauseaum) "take me to the tube". Given the cold outside it's not an altogether bad idea.

Here I am, warm, back on the tube. That haircut seems to be doing the job...

Lila is asleep at my feet, in her stroller (err, pram, while in London). I've had to change here twice today, but that's better than it could be. Last vomit was last night, so perhaps we're getting better. I hope so. London in the cold is hard with kids, worse with a sick kid.

We make it to Waterloo station, where there are lots of trains for Isaac to enjoy. Lila is up for a short while, showing off her very layered winter look. She's chasing a pigeon around.

We're at Leicester Square, in the snow (which is really hard to see in this panorama). Isaac decides he needs an ice cream, which is all right as they're willing to cash one of the travellers cheques, giving me some folding money for the tiny places which don't take cards.

It's nearing the end of a long day, and we have our early evening dinner just outside the Tottenham Court Road tube stop, at Dionysus, where the Doner kabab (a schwarma) has been a staple on each of our London visits. This is a picture of Isaac, outside while we're waiting for our food to arrive, watching the snow. Can you see how used up he is? He woke at 0500...

Now it's just about midnight, and I'm feeling a bit used up. We had some good food brought up from the French restaurant downstairs. The scallops were delightful. I put my cappuccino on the heater to keep it warm while I write this. I have to get some sleep, or I'll be beyond useless tomorrow. I may be fighting the same bug that Lila has. Oy!

previous

next