I should have woken up at 6am...

Disclaimer: This blog includes some personal info-- don't read if you don't want to get to know me better :P

So I had to majorly wash on Wednesday because I had totally run out of clean underwear. I realize that this in itself is something that is not shocking and probably has happened to a lot of people ( I had a friend from college that would just buy new underwear instead of washing haha) But, I'm pretty good about always having clean underwear. I didn't even have clean underwear to go to the launderette to wash my underwear, so I decided to wear this skirt that has spandex shorts attached to it ( I guess they work like a girdle.) I always wear underwear with it, but I figured that the shorts sort of were like long underwear.

I should have woken up at 6am, so that I could be at the launderette by 7am. I didn't get out of bed until 7:42 am. Booooo #1.

Although I didn't have my entire heart set on it, I was inclined to take two London Walks. One to Little Venice at 11am and another on The Beatles at 2pm. What I did have to do, was buy Chuggington trains for my nephew Matthew. I had found out online that Hamley's located inside St. Pancreas train station sold them. It has been my experience that I have to leave the house 2 hrs before I have to be anywhere in London. Most times, I'm there with at least 30 minutes to spare, but there have been times I get lost, or trains aren't running like they're supposed to, etc.

I finished my laundry by about 9:30, so I decided to RUN home drop off my laundry and back to the train station and try to make it to the Little Venice walk. (Note: no time to put proper knickers (underwear) on-- the spandex shorts were doing so well after all.) I imagined Little Venice would be fantastic. I imagined being in a gondola, and having the guide sing a bit (why I thought I could take a walk on a gondola, I don't know.)

So, I exit Warwick train station in London at about 11:05 am, and I see a group of people across the street. It was the London Walks people, and I was downright smug I woke up late, did my laundry, and made the walk on time.

My glee was short lived. Soon after we started the walk, the guide said there was a particularly beautiful garden, but that the owner wouldn't let us stop in front of her house so we had to quickly glance at it as we passed by. I got my camera ready and snapped a pic of the house from the outside. I wanted a picture of the garden as well. I had been on so many tours by now that I had experience on snapping a pic quickly as I walk by whatever I'm taking a picture of. I had the camera ready and just as I turned to look at the garden (just a glimpse out of the corner of my eye) I FELL DOWN. The hateful garden of the beautiful house and garden had just moments before finished watering their lovely roses, and left the pavement (sidewalk) completely wet and muddy.

The fall didn't hurt, and I was too stunned to feel embarrassed, but my entire backside, legs, and feet (wearing flip-flops) were covered in mud.

The ladies in the group came to my rescue and handed me the packs of tissues they had, and one lady even tried to help me get the mud off me.

I spent most of the walk trying to get the mud off of me, and WE NEVER GOT IN A GONDOLA. Little Venice looks nothing like the pictures I've seen of Venice, Italy. It has no gondolas, and that's not even it's real name. The most exciting bits of information the guide gave us were the place Alan Turing (father of computing) was born, and the house Madonna almost bought. Wow. :/

I still had to buy Matthew's toy trains, and I still wanted to make The Beattles walk at 2pm. I had one hour to get to St. Pancreas Station and then to Tottenham Court Station in one hour.

I was feeling a bit sticky from the mud, so I wanted to buy some cleansing wipes. Also, I was afraid the mud had seeped through my skirt and I imagined my behind covered in caked mud.

I got to St. Pancreas, and my first stop was Boots pharmacy. I got the wipes and headed for the bathroom. Well, the good news was that mud had not seeped through. The bad news was that my monthly friend had decided to pay a visit. Now, despite my sharing this with you (didn't one of my professor say I have to write about things that make me feel uncomfortable? The roses and urine thing Pablo Neruda said and all) I am an old-fashioned kind of girl. I can't accommodate my guest without proper underwear, now can I???
Luckily, St. Pancreas has a shop called Senza (a cheap and cheery version of Victoria's Secret.) I bought underwear for 3 quid (remember cheap and cheery) at Senza and went back to Boots for girly things, and back to the bathroom (also, lucky St. Pancreas doesn't charge for the use of toilets-- patron saint of those who have to go? most stations charge 30p to be paid with one 20p coin and one 10p coin-- no variation is accepted!)

By this time I had abandoned the hope of seeing Abbey Road or Abbey Road Studios. My dream of being in a picture with another 3 random London Walkees with arms extended at an awkward angle were abolished.

I grabbed a sandwich at Pret a Manger, and I headed in search of Hamley's, the toy store.

The clerks at Hamley's had no idea what Chuggington trains were, but they suggested I visit the main store in Regent Street. It was two stops away on the Victoria line train. I needed to get off on Oxford Circus station and it was a four minute walk from the station. Oxford Circus was CLOSED. I had to get off on the next station which was Green Park station. Never mind-- I used the opportunity to have my sandwich at Green Park. I sat next to an Indian family, who were conversing in their native language. When I dropped my coca-cola, the girl asked me in a perfect British accent if I was okay. She sounded beautiful in both languages.

Because I had no idea where I was, and how to get to Hamley's on Regent Street, I bought yet another London map. I had to cross through all the posh shops. Gucci, Prada, Rolex and model/designer looking people surrounded me (haha!) The Abercrombie and Finch actually had shirtless, real, live models as you went into the store.

Hamley's was an experience in itself! Six stories high, and fun, games, and performers everywhere. Hamley's is older than the U.S.A.! I got Matthew four trains. :)

I think I walked for five or six hours straight that day.

And… I had my second bike riding lesson when I got back to Harold Wood. I was promoted to a bigger bike. I'll post pics later. Ian says I did better on this lesson. I had pizza for dinner and watched Saun of the Dead. I laughed soooo much. First zombie movie I like. :)

I heart London :)