Funny. Neither Dave nor myself even heard the alarm. We woke up at 8:30 which was the time we had chosen to be arriving at the market.
Since we were so late Cecelia and Chris decided to join us. We were happy to finally get some real time with them!
(Dave sampling some of the goods)
Notting Hill is even more than I had imagined. The homes were exceptionally tall, beautifully painted, and very, very stately English.
The market was thronged in people with bodies packed in shoulder to shoulder. Several signs warned of thieves and pickpockets and it was clear how easy it would be to not even notice someone poking in our pockets. The shop stands had antiques, nick-nacks, jewelry, clothing, swords, gas masks, dried out tarantulas . . . and whatever else you can imagine! We bought some little trinkets for the kids, including a Bobby hat for Trent. I scored some cute red earrings and Dave downed some coconut shrimp, prawns, and bread pudding.
For lunch we found our way out of the crowds and into a Turkish kabob shop. I munched on some lamb and chicken Turkish kabobs while watching Turkish TV, with Turkish men flying around us, all while chatting with English folk (Cecelia and Chris-originally from Jamaica) and watching every nationality walking by outside. Being in the middle of that little culture tornado was thrilling.
We finished up and bid a goodbye to Cecelia and Chris. They were anxious to make their bets on the National Lottery (Horse Race) and get some to do their Saturday chores.
Dave and I made our way to the British Museum where, to our dismay, we discovered we only had a bit over an hour to closing. I hit the good stuff as quick as I could, and skipped all the riff-raff history stuff. You know, that museum quality riff-raff.
I found some great stuff but missed one important item. The Rosetta Stone. Oops.
After the museum we were debating where to go when Dave spotted a discount ticket stand. He hopped in line and we soon had hot tickets to Wicked that was starting in 30 minutes.
We hopped on the tube, found the theatre, and were soon seated in some floor seats.
What we had forgotten was our exhaustion. Within the first 10 minutes we realized that we both had the head nods. A lot of nods, it was so sad! We both munched on gummy wines (not that good) to keep awake. At intermission Dave surprised me with ice-cream.
The show was good, the actors great, and the scenes over-the-top. And yet, we both agreed that Oliver was a better show hands down.
We made the long ride home and crashed our heads into our pillows. It's amazing how good one sleeps when thoroughly worn out.
