Saturday Chillin' in London

We had a "no plans" day today. We got up late and missed the breakfast times in the hotel, so we ended up having breakfast outside at a cafe nearby. It was pretty good, although I think the English might have a bit of a problem with serving a hot dog weiner and calling it sausage! There were two young French servers and when we went into the cafe, we asked if it was too late for breakfast. One girl said "yes" which made the other girl spin around and say "No!" It was pretty funny. I guess one definitely understood more English than the other one.

After breakfast we wandered down to Trafalgar Square...

Admiralty Arch was built to provide an elegant ceremonial passage from hectic Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace.


We snagged a perfect table outside the cafe, which became our home for the next three hours. The two stools in front were occupied by many people throughout the afternoon, but we outlasted them all! The couple with the canes were heading over to sit down when I got this picture.

After a while, we decided a glass of wine might be nice. Look at the cute bottles...you screw off the plastic top and it becomes your glass!

Feeling pretty mellow!

This helicopter flew by several times. Although the sign is backwards, it is recognizing Freddie Flintoff, who is England's all rounder in the current Ashes Test cricket series. The Ashes is a series played between England and Australia and is one of international cricket's most celebrated rivalries dating back to 1882. It was interesting because Tim had been explaining the series to us the day before. It is a big event here.

We noticed a real lack of pigeons even from our last visit. Two years ago when we were here, the only pigeons we noticed were in front of the Portrait Gallery, but they weren't there this time.

This is one of the statues close by and once we started looking, we could see pigeons hiding around the base at the horse's feet.

This lady came with some sort of feed and all of a sudden there were pigeons around. They have managed to find some good hiding places! But it wasn't long before one of the wardens came along and asked her very nicely not to feed the pigeons.

The kids cracked me up...this scene was repeated over and over by all the little kids. Who can resist chasing a pigeon!




Around 5:30 we decided to give up our prime spot and head out. Here's the everyday scene in front of the Portrait Gallery.

St. Martin-in-the-Fields parish church was built in 1721 and was used as a model for many churches, including those in the U.S. It is the fourth church to stand on this site, the earliest being in the 13th century.

Just as we were about to leave Trafalgar Square, this group of breakdancers put on a little show...




A Hummer wedding car!

One of several sidewalk artists...

This one was amazing...so much work and then it will get washed away and walked over!

Little girl trying her hand at drawing beside the artist's drawing...

Calendar Girls is playing...

With Jerry Hall as Miss September...

Jim thinks scooters would be a good idea for us...ummmm...let me get back to you on that one!

Some kind of sharp looking Audi...

We stopped at this Indian restaurant...the food was excellent. First time I have had spicy butter chicken, but I guess all Indian restaurants are different. It was very good.

It was a great relaxing day...

Tomorrow we are thinking we'll head to Westminster Abbey and then pack up. London is coming to an end...