We started with a brisk (in both pace and temperature) walk from home to the Regency Cafe where I was determined to introduce my very Aussie boy to a very English Breakfast. It’s about a 30 minute walk from our unit to the cafe, but when you get to cross the Thames just down from Westminster and have a gorgeous clear morning of weather, it is worth every frosty nose and chilly step, and generates a bit of conversation. It’s also really heartening to see the number of people walking the same route to walk. Pretty sure most people who live 30min walk from the city still jump on the train or bus back home (although I know a couple who don’t!)
Get to the cafe, which has rave reviews and there is a line up about twenty long from the counter, out the door and not a table to spare. Maybe they are all takeaway coffee types, we surmise. Nope, we stood in the cold, in that line, for 10 minutes without moving and those warm bastards inside were masticating like the French! Enough of being cold, we made our way 20 metres down the road and entered a little family cafe (Astral) where we both ordered a number four - wait for it, and if you haven’t eaten yet, maybe grab a snack cos this will make you hungry - two eggs, two serves of bacon, two pieces of black pudding, a huge scoop of baked beans, a huge pork sausage and a serve of hot chips with two slices of toast.
Yep, that is a gut buster of a meal. Still not well, so I only managed to eat about a fifth of mine, but Hayden certainly did his justice. And the best part? Along with a coffee and a tea, it cost us £11.60 - about $22 bucks. I’m sorry Aussie breakfast lovers, you can keep your croissants and your spinach and mushrooms, smashed avo or whatever the hipsters are eating these days. The English have breakfast organised hands down!
Waddled to the tube (probably should have made the half hour walk) and alighted at South Kensington - a bit of a posh neighbourhood, especially as it bumps shoulders with Knightsbridge, and any shopper worth their salt knows that one of the most opulent stores in the world lives in this address - the world-famous Harrod’s. I loved watching Hayden’s reaction as he took in the opulence of the store, especially as we walked through the hundreds of departments to find the toy department (smaller than last visit) and the Harrod’s Gift Shop (girlier than last time). It was at this point that Hayden said, “ok well I might take off then” and we made our separate ways for the rest of the day.
I don’t know how to describe the feeling I had at that moment. Hayden has a few anxieties that we have worked through over the years and I’ve noticed some little flares on this holiday, so I know what a big step this is for him. But like me, I think he is a learner from watching others. He has watched how we’ve navigated the tube, made our way up and down stairs and escalators to platforms deep beneath the earth, looked for sign posts and utilised Google Maps (thank god for Google Maps) to get around and decided that the time is now. Gave him the standard “call me as you’re coming home” “call me if you need me””don’t talk to strangers””don’t drink at an Irish pub” speech and watched as he walked (bolted) away.
So the feeling was pride, mixed with a little trepidation and finally jubilation to have a day to explore the things I wanted to see but knew he had no interest in.
Being in South Kensington meant I could indulge two of those desires - the Albert and Victoria Museum (a huge collection of art and antiquities from across the ages) and the Natural History Museum (because dinosaurs!). Most excited to see a panel mould gifted by the Queensland Museum to the NHM depicting the dinosaur stampede discovered at Lark Quarry in Winton. I think I stood for about ten minutes at that exhibit watching kids’ faces light up at the story told in the fossil tracks, only to be brought back to earth by every single parent dragging them away before they got to the end of the story cos it wasn’t a model dinosaur that kept the parent’s interest. I wanted to grab their other little hand and finish the story for them, but not wanting to be thrown out, had to just smile and move to the next section. Super proud to be an Aussie who has visited the trackways though!
Back on the tube and the British Library beckoned as our tour guide last week had mentioned that one of the four remaining copies of Magna Carta resides in said library. Yes I am a history nerd and no I’m not ashamed to admit that not only was there one copy - there were two! Both with the King’s seal still partially attached. And as a bonus, there is a Beatles section where they have copies of workings of song lyrics that have been donated by various members of the group. My favourite was a child’s birthday card that John Lennon had used to make notes of the lyrics to a song he was writing at the time - I think it was Julian’s second birthday card).
Spot of grocery shopping to eat dinner in and my phone buzzes - it’s Hayden letting me know he is on his way home, so I head home for a rest for my feet. Quick nap by both of us and as the daylight starts to fade, we decide to walk the 1km down the road to see if we can see inside “The Oval” - yep we are only 1k from a major cricket field. It’s a beautiful old stadium and after a quick walk around we found a small space where you can see inside the stadium walls. Mission accomplished and we strolled home in the cool evening air.
What a great day!
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