Amy, Polly's sister, arrived in the morning and had a little rest. I got up at 12:30 and was the first in the house to rise. Everyone was moving a little slowly.
I was ready to hit the touristy stuff. When I came out of the shower it smelled a little like something was burning. I worried either that someone had placed something on one of the radiators, or that one of the heated towel racks (a mysterious staple in every bathroom) had overheated a towel. When I entered the kitchen, I saw that a thick acrid smoke hung in the air there. That's when I learned my wife had decided to make coffee and had placed the coffee pot on the big burner and cranked it up to high. But it was an electric coffee pot, and the rubber bottom melted completely. Thankfully, it did not catch fire, and we were not forced to use the fire blanket, conveniently hanging on the wall. The coffee pot was the second casualty of the day.
We decided to walk around and get an idea for what the neighborhood was like. We are staying in Knightsbridge, near Harrod's department store. After a short walk I suggested we see what this store was like inside, despite my dislike for shopping.
The place was a complete zoo. Hundreds of people were storming around and all of them wanted to walk wherever I was walking. We placated the kids with the purchase of truffles (I got a salted caramel truffle... yum). Our party became separated and we realized how much we rely on cell phones for simple logistical reasons. That's because we have but one working phone among all of us. Which is a lot like having no working phones among us, because I have no one to call, and no one can call me. They call cell phones carphones here. And they use them on the left side of the head. Crazy.
We went to the toy demonstration area, where they show the hottest toys. Those included a remote controlled UFO, a radio controlled flippin' rat, and make-your-own snow, a mysterious white substance that turned into cool-to-the-touch snow when you added water. Graham was not happy we would not purchase a toy for him. "Why'd you bring me here if you weren't going to buy me anything?" Meet jet-lag's third casualty: my son's pleasant personality.
By the time everyone reconnoitered at the flat, it was time for dinner. I had managed to call Ellen, my niece who is here as part of a drama program run through USC, where she attends college. She's the reason we came to London, as she finishes up her coursework this week in a culminating performance of King Lear later this week. so we met up with her and went to Wagamama.
After a dinner of noodles, edamame, and vanilla ice cream with toffee sauce, we went home and the kids sacked out. Ellen headed back to her flat, and the missus and I went to Bunch of Grapes, a pub in Knightsbridge.
After a couple of ales and lagers, we headed home and in a stupor, cleaned the melted rubber off of the burner in our flat. The evidence gone, we decided we had to find a kettle to replace the one we'd ruined. But now it was time for bed. And we slept blissfully until the garbage trucks came to Cheval Place.
3 comments:
Does this mean you're in England?
I hope you will go to the War Rooms museum, and get a picture of Graham dressed as Winston Churchill.
i use my cellphone on the left side of my head. is that weird? i think it's cuz i'm lefty.
I remember on my London trip, 25 years ago, we were on our tour coach on our way to the budget hotel in Kensington and we drove past Harrod's and the Royal Albert Hall. Mark Artieres looked out the window about that time and exclaimed, "A Bunch of Grapes!" A friend had recommended the pub and he couldn't believe we drove past it in a town as large as London in the first few hours we were there. We made it over a couple days later. It was nice, but not quite as rollicking as Mark hoped. They must be doing something right. Still in business 25 years later.
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