Super Saturday

Can I just tell you that it really kills me that I don't have the ability to post photos right now? Saturday would be so much better to share with you in pictures! Still, I'll give it my best shot.

The three of us had stayed up playing Phase 10 until after midnight, so we slept until almost 10. It's taken us almost eight years, but we finally have a daughter who has discovered the art of sleeping in during the morning. After a quick bite to eat we grabbed the bus and headed to the British Museum, our favorite in London, perhaps our favorite anywhere. We arrived about 10 minutes to noon and an Ancient Egyptian Storytelling was scheduled to begin at noon, so we scurried through the too expensive to stop and look giftshop and arrived in the Paul Hamlyn library in time for Emma to catch a front row seat. As she settled onto her cushion, Emma was approached by Olivia, the fantastically animated storyteller, who was holding a box of Egyptian artifacts for the children to peruse. The first story she shared was the story of the Phoenix and then she told a story about Ra. She asked the children if anyone knew who Ra was and our wonderfully pedantic little girl raised her hand and said, "A Pharaoh" when called upon . "That's brilliant!" exclaimed Olivia. We couldn't have said it better ourselves ;-)

After the storytelling we walked to hands on stations in some African and Asian rooms. Emma was able to handle artifacts, real museum exhibits, with the help of some curators and they shared lots of interesting information with her. We were equally enthralled with what they have to offer and are so grateful there are people out there willing to work for almost nothing in order to educate others.

All that learning had us working up an appetite, so we left the museum to look for someplace to grab a late lunch. On our way to Chinatown we stopped in a gaming store because we felt we owed it to our friends Aaron and LeAnn to pay homage to this establishment. There were a couple of games we'd have liked to acquire, especially one called Where's Moldova?, but they were both bulky and expensive, so we placed them on our mental wish list and went on with our day.

Following a yummy lunch in Chinatown (wonton soup, egg fried rice, chicken with black bean curd, king prawn in spicy szechuan sauce, and some veggie dish that paled in comparison to the others) we decided to walk to Covent Garden. As we approached CG we walked down the row of street performers and really enjoyed watching a "headless" man wearing spectalces and a top hat sitting in a chair. When someone threw money into his tin he'd dance his feet around a bit. After we'd paused for a minute or so to watch him, we headed into the Disney Store to see if they were running any specials on admission fees to Disneyland Paris. No such luck I'm afraid, but don't waste any time feeling sorry for Emma. She spent Sunday afternoon in Legoland. Ah, but I digress. Yes, I'm aware that comes as no surprise to most of you.

We exited the Disney Store, having bought nothing at all -- Yea, us! -- and decided to walk toward the Museum of Transport just in case Terry happened to be outside. After a few steps Emma's face lit up and she broke into a run as she could hear his voice and guitar. We were out of cash, so after listening to one song Wade set off in search of a Cash Point and some caffeine. He returned four songs later with money to put in the guitar case, a Chai Latte for him and a hot cocoa for Emma and I to share. We enjoyed sipping it together as we listened to Terry perform some of our favorites. A couple of songs later seven or eight of Wade's students walked over to where we were sitting. They had hit CG in search of a T-Mobile commercial that was to film at 5:30. Signs asking for extras had been posted at Regent's College so they decided to give it a go. It's my understanding that their acting prowess will be visible on YouTube soon. We stayed and listened to Terry until his set was finished and then we hopped on the Tube for King's Cross Station and . . . . . .

Platform 9 3/4. Now that might not mean anything to most of you, but those of you who have read Harry Potter know exactly what I'm talking about here. We took the most fantastic photos there, and as soon as I get home I'll post them here and on Facebook. Emma and I had just finished reading the first novel together two days before this, so she was especially excited as we wandered past platform 8 and took a left turn to find the spot where Harry boards the train for Hogwarts.

We closed out this spectacular day with Miso soup, cherries, peanut butter and crackers in our hotel room. And, of course, we played a few rounds of Phase 10 before hitting the sack.