This was mom and dads last full day in London and we had a lot to do so we hit the road early. The one problem with this plan was that we didn’t realize that the majority of stores and sites were closed today in observance of Easter Sunday. Those that would be open wouldn’t open until noon so we had a little time on our hands. We decided to walk around some of the side streets in my neighborhood and find some of the nooks and crannies we had yet to discovery. Dad found some toys for Syd and Brody (see pic below).
After wandering around, we got a little hungry and found a crepe place in South Kensington. We then walked on to Harrods only to find that it too was closed for the holiday. This led us to thinking of places that we could visit that weren’t required to be open, Buckingham Palace. The holiday and beautiful weather brought the rest of the tourists out as well so the palace and surrounding parks were packed. From the palace, we made our way around the city visiting all the tourist shops along the way. Dad had been on the hunt for a walking stick, similar to what man of the men here carry. I knew of a shop but once we got there, we found it to be closed. To our amazement, one of the guys who works in the shop was working some over time hours on the weekend and let us in to browse the store since mom and dad were leaving the next day. Dad ended up buying a really nice Chestnut stick. There is supposedly some history between the Chestnut tree and London which I still need to do a little research on to get the full story.
This brings us to our big event, Tea at the Ritz. We headed over to the Ritz a little early as coat and tie were required and these are two items dad did not bring. Luckily the Ritz has a few on reserve for just such occasions and they were nice enough to lend a matching coat and tie to dad for the evening. They start the meal off with a glass of champagne and follow that with as much tea and/or coffee as you like. This was my downfall for the evening as I drank an entire pot by myself and got no sleep. For food the main course was a variety of sandwiches which kept coming all evening. For dessert, we had scones with clotted crème and jam as well as a variety of small pastries. I had also called ahead to let them know we were celebrating mom and dads 36th anniversary so we also received a special chocolate mousse cake. Another great ending to a great day.
Presents for Sid and Bro
Mom and Dad at Harrods
Mom and Dad in the Park
Dad at the Stick Store
Mom and Dad at the Flat
Chilling at the Ritz
The Anniversary Cake
More Jewelrey Shopping
