Parliment & Clock Tower, as seen from London Eye
How good to wake up in my own bed this morning … even if I did wake up at 5:00 after going to bed at midnight. Ah, the joys of jet lag.
We loved London, but our wallets didn’t. An unfavorable exchange rate meant that sandwiches, fries, and a cokes for two could cost as much as thirty dollars. That financial fact struck home hardest at Harrod’s post-Christmas sale (the monstrous department store that’s long been a British institution), where even the items marked down fifty percent were almost twice as expensive as they are here in the states.
The result? For the first time in our travels, we visited a country and bought almost nothing, apart from a few chocolate bars and a four pound (eight dollar) tin of Tarot cards.
More frustrating: thanks to globalization, very little distinctive merchandise could be found anywhere. I had looked forward to tasting authentic Scottish shortbread in Edinburgh, for example … and discovered, to my disappointment, that the stuff on sale in the streets of town was exactly the stuff on sale at World Market here in the States. Why bring home a $25.00 box of souvenir shortbread from Scotland when I can get the same product here for less than ten?
That said: apart from prices, our trip was magical — and was made all the more so because we got to experience it as a family. I love Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and would have enjoyed the energetic and appealing performance we attended at the New London Theatre, regardless. But the play takes on a whole new dimension when, at the end, my nephew Walter is so caught up in the spirit of the event that he’s on his feet singing and dancing with the rest of the audience.
It was one thing to experience the quiet awe provoked by Westminster Abbey or the drama of the London Eye … and quite another to watch the wide-eyed responses of my nephews and hear their chorus of “Awesome!” each time we visited a remarkable spot.
Notes on must-see attractions, hotel recommendations, and other useful info coming soon … for now, though, I have to go spring Chelsea from the Dog Wash kennel.
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