First day in London

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On our first full day in London, we set out to see the sites on foot.  Ignoring the fatigue from sleep depravation, we walked a total of five miles round trip to take in Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar square.   After a yummy lunch, we made our way to Leicester Square.  While there, we decided on a whim to get tickets to see The Lion King, a musical we had planned on seeing as a family in May of 2020 but had to cancel due to COVID.   The best option for the seeing the show was that evening. 




On our way back we stopped for some afternoon tea.  We nibbled on scones and macaroons and sipped tea, coffee and hot chocolate.  The boys said this was one of the highlights of their time in London. 
                                           

After tea we headed home to get ready for the show.  We had about 45 minutes before we needed to catch our bus.  Using Google maps, I had planned our bus route to the theater and had allowed what I thought to be plenty of time to transfer buses and arrive at the theater on time.   Unfortunately, the bus stop was on the opposite side of the road and by the time I realized it, we had missed our bus.   We waited and waited and waited for the next one to arrive.  After twenty minutes of waiting, my panic level started to rise.  The next bus was very late and the opening scene of the Lion King is the best part.  I was sure we’d miss it.  As I pulled out my phone to call an Uber, our bus finally showed up and we hurried on.




Brooks was unphased by my panic.  He was on a mission. The first one on the bus, he immediately ran up the stairs of the double decker bus the rest of us scanned our bus cards.   When we all made it up the stairs, we saw Brooks perched in the front row taking in the sights.   He had been talking about the double deckers since we arrived and now he had his chance.



During the rest of the commute in, we got off one stop too early for our transfer and had to run up to the next stop so we could catch our next bus.  Our first bus driver saw us waiting at that stop and he shook his head laughing as he passed us by.   

We arrived at the theater with 5 minutes to spare and were able to get to our seats right before the show began.  It was refreshing (and quicker) to be able to enter the theater without passing through metal detectors.   

The show was spectacular and the boys enjoyed it until they passed out during the second act.  It was a lovely first day in London.  


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