No run this morning and I slept in as much as I could, which wasn't much technically. Met up with my parents for breakfast, like usual, and like usual I tried something different. I got the pancakes, which were good but dense eve though they were buttermilk pancakes. Must be the flour. I don't know. I should have stuck with the red flannel hash. Damn, that was good.
Mom and I decided we would head out to the British Museum and dad would go out to try to take some pictures. Sadly and surprisingly, this was the first cloudy day we had throughout the entire trip. Each day of our trip up until today was sunny and lovely.
I had been to the museum before and enjoyed it but I mainly stuck to the Greek/Roman and Egypt sections of the museum, though there are many different areas to explore. Mom really wanted to see the mummies, so that's what we did. We also stopped into the see the Chinese Ceramics and the Greek & Roman areas. Of course we saw the Rosetta Stone as well, which is still a cool site.
After picking up some trinkets in the gift shop, we headed back out to the tube station at Tottenham Court Road and then we each went out separate ways. Mom headed out to Liberty's (a store like Harrods) and I made my way to Notting Hill.
I was on a mission for blue doors. I had been taking pictures of blue doors when I saw them around London, because I had a request from a friend who has fond memories of the movie Notting Hill. So, I headed to Notting Hill in search of more blue doors to photograph. I found plenty.
I ended up at Portobello Road, which is a rather colorful area. It reminds me of the Hamden area of Baltimore. Anyway, I walked around a bit and shopped, for both myself and for others, and then headed back to the hotel.
Once back in my room, I decided to make use of the time and try to figure out how I would repack my luggage. I didn't have much to pack in the first place, but I did bring a suitcase the size of a carry on, my cross body purse and a backpack. Not much wiggle room and I did buy a few things, but again, all small so things could fit here or there.
I pulled out what I would be wearing on the plane the next day and got everything situated. The only thing I debated was what shoes to wear. That's a weird concept for me, because I hardly ever think about my shoes. I brought two pairs of brown boots (one knee high and one mid calf) and my running shoes and I've gotten major use out of all of them. I wore the knee highs over, for more room in my suitcase, but the running shoes are more comfortable. The dilemma! Comfort over functionality or vice versa?
Finally, it was time for dinner. I had really wanted to head out to an Indian restaurant but sadly due to walking distance and restaurant availability, that would be happening. So mom made a reservation for an Italian restaurant not far from the hotel.
It was a cute little Italian restaurant (yes, I came all the way to London for Italian food) virtually right next door to the US Embassy. We went all out, seeing it was our last night. We all had some prosecco and started with an antipasto of bruschetta con pomodoro, fresh mozzarella and some prosciutto and salami. I ended up having fresh pasta ravioli with ricotta and porcini mushrooms in a cream sauce. It was light but hearty all at the same time. For dessert, while mom had her double espresso (geez) I had chocolate mousse while dad had the tiramisu.
We had our first celebrity siting as well. Sitting two tables down from us was Robert Englund, who is probably best known was Freddy Krueger, from the original 1984 Nightmare on Elm Street and subsequent sequels. Dad spotted him first and we all proceeded to figure out who he was. Dad was the one who said Freddy and I looked it up and low and behold, it was.
No, we didn't say hello.
Our last walk back to the hotel was uneventful except for the quick stop into a Starbucks to grab a London mug for dad's Starbucks mug collection (yes, he has one).
With a quick goodnight, I was back up in my room to grab a shower, do a double check of my suitcase and then reading until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.
Goodnight London. Until we see each other again...
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