DAY TWO: London is a Melting Pot Which Hopefully Won’t Boil Over

Observation of the day: London has a small amount of trash cans, but a large amount of people who respect not littering. It is a clean city where people seem to go out of their way to find a trash receptacle. After a beautiful Spring day, the few trash cans we could find were overflowing, but it was all still very orderly. Leave it to the Brits to have orderly trash.

Today, Sunday, we had a “nothing on the agenda” day. While we had all intentions to go to Palm Sunday mass at Westminister Abbey, we didn’t make it as the girls slept the morning away (sorry Nana Donny, please pray for us). Again, having traveled internationally before, we figured Jesus would understand why we wanted well-rested kids by our side the rest of the day.

The Tube was cool. Photo creds: HM.

We finally headed out from our apartment around 1pm to tackle London’s Underground, also known as the Tube, to visit the British Museum. We mastered it fairly well except we should’ve probably only bought a one-way ticket because the weather was so incredibly beautiful today, we walked everywhere else. Regardless, we were happy to experience the world-famous Tube and even happier when we found ourselves riding along with the cutest Beagle ever. Yes, apparently dogs can go on the Tube.

We HAD to stop & take a pic with an iconic London photo booth.

Quintessential London. Photo creds: HM.

We found our way to the British Museum which while a bit overwhelming has some amazing

artifacts. As one British dad told his son as he was walking through the Egyptian gallery when the boy asked “what is this?” he answered, “Basically all the stuff the British took from other countries.” And while a bit cheeky, there’s some truth to that. The galleries feature ancient artifacts from Egypt, Greece, etc. Plus, they have a gallery dedicated to British history dating to the Romans. Quite fascinating. Needless to say, HM, who is a history buff, loved it and EM did a good job tolerating it.

Ancient kitty wearing jewelry from Egypt. JM is considering a new
profession -- feline & canine ear piercing. Not sure if he's kidding or not. Photo creds; HM

Located at the bottom of a skyscraper, the view UP 
from Zizzi was super cool. Photo creds: HM.

By late afternoon our stomachs were begging for attention. A TripAdvisor consultation led us to Zizzi, a delicious Italian trattoria for linner (lunch/dinner). We sat on a piazza between towering skyscrapers and enjoyed chatting with our

Zizzi was a delicious spot for lunch. HM
loved her mint tea so much she had to
chronicle it. Photo creds: HM.

waiter who was originally from Poland. While he has been in London for 14 years he told us that he was readying to move again to Spain, citing London was a tough town to live in and getting tougher by the day.

After a long linner, we walked Oxford Street among the CRAZY amount of tourists from EVERYWHERE. I think English was the least spoken language on this street. It was as fascinating as people watching in an airport & a bit daunting as well. We made it to Hyde Park and ran directly into a large gathering of Muslim young men listening to an agitated fellow on a soapbox. With a LOT of police monitoring the situation, we decided it was best for us to keep walking.

Hyde Park is simply beautiful. It is charmingly overgrown with beautiful soft grass and wonderful flowering Cherry Blossom trees. We reached the Italian Gardens & were greeted by more breathtaking flowers. Wandering through

The Cherry Blossoms are stunning. Photo creds: HM.

The flowers in the Italian Gardens are simply awesome. Photo creds: EM.

McCarty clan: Selfie-stick Hyde Park edition.

McCarty girls: Italian Gardens edition.

the park, we made it to Kensington Gardens, which is equally beautiful and more manicured. By this time, it was getting late and quite a bit chillier so we mapped our way home to recharge for Monday.

EM: It was fun adventuring through London. I learned a lot of different things that they do, like they like to hang out at the park. It was cool. Note to Paris (her trainer) – “I beat my steps from yesterday, 27,868 – BOOM!”

EM tracked her steps on JM's phone today!

HM: After a very late start to the morning (gotta love jet lag), we left our London flat on a mission to find the British Museum. While looking at a couple maps, VM and I decided the Tube was the most efficient mean to reach our destination. A quick walk brought us to the South Kensington Underground Station. We enjoyed a short ride with a very cute doggo named Rio. Rio gave me a couple licks before heading on his own way with owner in tow. 

Arriving to the Holborn Station, we ascended the many escalators and began the walk to the museum. However, I promptly got us lost. Thankfully, a lovely English couple sent us on the right way, and we made it to the museum via a quick cut through a gorgeous city park. The Brits really know a thing or two about gardening!

Enjoying one of London's many beautiful parks. Photo creds: HM.

The British Museum blew my mind. Most of what was displayed I had learned about last year in World History AP. It was incredibly cool to see all I had learned about, and put some context to what

HM points out how radiocarbon dating was something she
learned about in Biology this year. In this case, it helped identify
when the "Lindow Man" possibly died. Although they're not sure
why he was killed, he died a very violent death, yet thousands of years later,
his body was well preserved as it was in a bog. Fascinating stuff.

I was seeing. Although I could have spent the entire day wandering the endless galleries, the rest of the clan was ready for food.

Thanks to VM’s research, we went to a delicious spot called Zizzi. I enjoyed “hanging” Mediterranean chicken with my favorites—courgette (just a fancy British way to say zucchini) and red bell pepper. I finished off the meal with fresh mint tea, another favorite of mine. Nothing disappointed! We chatted with our sweet waiter before parting ways and heading for Oxford Street.

Clever way of serving Mediterranean chicken.

I was very disappointed when we arrived to Primark [VM Note: A British retail store famous for trendy yet inexpensive clothes] on Oxford Street and found it closed for the evening. We forgot it was 6pm on a Sunday. Instead, we decided to continue walking Oxford Street until we reached Hyde Park. I was almost drooling as we passed LUSH, TopShop, Urban Outfitters, Zara, and more. (We will be heading back tomorrow hopefully!) 

Entering Hyde Park, I was a bit underwhelmed. However, I was quickly proven wrong as we delved deeper into the park. From the picturesque foot trails to the serene trees, Hyde Park reminded me very much of the Spiderwick Chronicles—a book series VM and I read when I was younger.

HM: Hyde Park edition.

As exhaustion began to hit and the sun to set, we decided it was best to plug in our address to, as VM likes to say, “The Google” and head home. Thanks to JM’s navigation, we quickly made it back to our flat with one side trip to a convenience store for some necessities (Smarties, Frosted Flakes, and Doritos). I am very excited for what tomorrow has in store for us!