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Day 2: March 24, 2024
What a fantastic first day! We met at London’s Heathrow Airport (after the pilot kindly gave you three ‘go-arounds’, before landing the plane!) a little later than anticipated which impacted our schedule a little but, with a British stiff upper lip, we pushed on, and soon found ourselves heading off in the sunshine, to make our first Tube (/Underground/Subway!) trip into the centre of London!
A love of all things ‘Jellycat’ ( *very* soft, plush teddy-type toys, for the uninitiated!) led to half the group visiting thw world’s oldest toy store, Hamley’s, whilst the remainder of the group plumped for an outing to sportswear emporium Lillywhite’s. We experienced the bright neon video screens of Piccadilly Circus, the statue of Anteros, and some double-jointed, breakdancing street performers, before joining icons such as Paddington Bear, Harry Potter and Mr Bean in Leicester Square (well, bronze statues of them, rather than at a film première!). We soaked up the relaxed, sunny Sunday evening atmosphere as we ambled on, towards Covent Garden. En route, I introduced the group to a relatively new and common pursuit of covering British red pillar box post boxes with intricately-knitted or crocheted designs, often featuring popular characters and scenes, or commemorating an event.
Formerly a fruit and veg market, Covent Garden now sees small market traders, boutique shops, and restaurants all housed under one roof, and is buzzing with chat and laughter, particularly at weekends; with passers-by and visitors alike enthralled by a variety of street performers.
A delicious fish-and-chip dinner, followed by ice cream, saw everyone ready to return to the hotel, tired, after a long day but happy, and ready to return to the centre tomorrow, to see yet more popular London landmarks, before heading out to visit Windsor Castle! Sweet dreams…!