For the past 3 days we have had our lovely neighbour from Ibi in Spain staying with us with her 11 year old son. The trip was a special treat for his good efforts at School this year so he was having a trip, a chance to see some of London and have his Mother all to himself. This is particularly important as our neighbours have a disabled daughter who requires a great deal of care and attention and, as regretfully is unavoidable, this means the other child does not always get a fair share. He is a sweet boy who is devoted to his little sister and accepts that that's life.
So, this trip was very exciting for him. It was full of firsts - his very first flight on an aeroplane, his first experience of the London Underground, a trip on the London Eye, a river journey from Waterloo Bridge to the Tower of London by Thames Clipper, an authentic Indian Meal in Brick Lane in the heart of Whitechapel and that was only Day One!
The weather let us down on Day Two with some very heavy rain showers which meant we saw most of the major sites through the top front windows of a Red Double Decker London Bus from Kensington Palace in Kensington Gardens, via Hyde Park Corner, Westminster Cathedral,Westminster Abbey, Parliament Square, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Royal Courts of Justice, Fleet Street, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Bank of England before ending up at Liverpool Street Station. Time to eat and recover in Pizza Express - the favourite restaurant of my Grandson No.2 who accompanied us on the day trip.
Umbrellas up again we headed back into Oxford Circus by tube to brave the madness that is Hamley's Toy Store after which we were thoroughly exhausted and headed towards the home of The Daughter for a light supper before travelling home.
Today was their last day here so we took it easy and stayed local before taking them to the Airport. All in all a very successful trip - I have earned the ultimate accolade of being called "a really cool guy" by my young spanish friend. Because I know London so well I did manage to save them quite a bit of money by knowing which off-peak travelcards to buy and which river boats gave discounts etc etc., not to mention my free London Guide services!
I am now intending to put my feet up and have a lazy weekend.
What a lovely treat for that young man, to have such a trip and to have his mum all to himself for once. I expect it was quite tiring, but well worth it, as he will have those memories for years to come, and I am sure that mum and son really appreciated being shown around London by you. Good to see you here today.
ReplyDeleteGreat memories that you helped to make!
ReplyDeleteAnyone who visits England needs the rain so they know they are here!
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