Day 12: London
Day 12 Photos (9)
Lazy morning and a bus ride all together to Dashoom, an Indian-inspired global dining experience. Snuck in just under the rope for the breakfast menu which were various egg wraps with all sorts of yummy fillings. Very chic and very tasty, Then Mom and Dad headed off for a day alone while we took the little one and boarded a bus for Victoria Park, via a canal walk. Passed one canal boat with a Peter Pan flair, “Second Star on the Right.” Victoria Park was a young person’s heaven. Might give ulcers to American city playground planners who are so restrained by our litigious approach to design these days. There were mostly wooden and rope structures, and so many different ways to challenge and improve balance and speed, with all sorts of potential for falling or getting caught up in ropes. We loved watching our granddaughter navigate every one of them.
We had a quintessentially British experience there as well…someone pointed out that a puppet show was just starting a few yards from the playground, so we went to see it. I had asked if it would be Punch and Judy which I find offensive for many reasons, and the man had said, “Oh, no, it won’t be Punch and Judy.” So we settled our young person in a group of enthusiastic kids and got all ready to be enthralled. And, of course, here came Punch and Judy and the baby and all the whacking which seems to be the only plot line.
We watched for a few minutes until it was clear that this was not funny, even though there were quite a few kids hollering and whooping all around her. In my opinion, she had more sense than to find it funny. If it’s an acquired taste, I’d just as soon she not acquire it, and she was more than ready to come with me when I asked her if she wanted to play some more.
We ended the day with an emergency run to a nearby café as we discovered all the public loos were closed. But this meant we also got to have ice cream cones from the vendor truck just outside the park, so that was cool. We found the right bus pickup spot and headed back to NE London, with a stop at Perfect Chicken to get take-out dinner. Some quiet time before dinner and a bath and songs and stories afterward. Mom and Dad got back just in time to kiss her goodnight.