London, Part Two - New Videos Added!

Thursday, Julie, Jessica, and Gabriel went to their beach house in Devon. We were sad to say goodbye. Here's a photo of Julie and me on Thursday before she left. (The Queen had decreed it Black Tank Top Day, in case you're wondering.)



We are so grateful that Julie let us keep Natasha for another day. I took the kids to the Natural History Musem, but first we rode a wheelchair-accessible double-decker bus and had crepes for lunch.



We learned that when you "take away" crepes, they come in a cardboard holder that you can tear off as you eat. Very cool.



This is what Maya thought of some of the towering dinosaur exhibits.


Russell was lucky to escape not only with his life but also with this video of a T-Rex.



Near the life-size blue whale model.


Chatting while Russell explores the Marine Invertebrates gallery.



That night, at an Italian restaurant (run by people who actually speak Italian), we learned that Four Cheese pizza in London doesn't taste the same as the Trader Joe's Four Cheese pizza we eat in California. Finally, Natasha guided us home from the bus stop near her house. Her sense of adventure was impressive.

Late Thursday night, Josh came in from Zurich to join us for the weekend. He snapped this picture of Maya and Natasha at Waterloo station, ready for the rain, and the picture of Russell in an Underground station.




We had lunch and watched part of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies in a pub near Leicester Square. Then we had to return Natasha to her father so she could join the rest of her family in Devon. We'll miss you, Natasha!

Needless to say, Russell was enthralled with the London transport system. There were many transportation facilities he needed to visit. Here's a train platform a few of you may have read about.


Here is Maya making an attempt to get onto that platform.


On Friday night, the kids and I learned how to keep Josh from going to sleep while watching a movie: Make him pay the equivalent of $70 for four tickets. It costs 35 British Pounds for a family ticket in Leicester Square, but with the dollar the way it is, that's $70 to us. While it was the most expensive movie ticket we've ever bought, Kung Fu Panda was great for our movie-starved kids.

Saturday, Josh took the kids to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels and lots of weaponry and armor. Josh was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Tower of London won the following award a few years back.




After dinner at an Indian restaurant, we saw the very entertaining Zorro, The Musical, with music by the Gypsy Kings, lots of flamenco dancing, magic, and swordfighting. It was fabulous!

And to top off the evening, this is what we encountered on our way home from Leicester Square.


We packed up on Sunday and got on our high-speed trains back to Zurich. Goodbye, London! We'll be back!