London Calling

We usually celebrate special occasions with a box of Coco Pops. So I was stunned when AC declared my 28th birthday should be commemorated by a trip into London to see Wicked. With our traditions cast aside he got a bit giddy and even booked us into a 5* hotel the night before, AC and Myself that is, the children remained behind with their Ginger Aunt. A night away wouldn't hold the same appeal with 3 over-excitable octonauts in tow.

Any expectations we had of the hotel were exceeded shortly after booking in when we stepped into the lift. It was gold.

Already more than satisfied with our choice of hotel we were blown away when we entered our room to behold this view.

Tower Bridge behind Tower of London

Now for a good nights sleep and a lie in. The Ginger Auntie wouldn't be enjoying the same privilege.

What the heck? We awoke the next morning at 06:10! At least it was to the hum of London traffic and not to the pounding of my bladder by the jumps of a small child.

We spent the day doing the one thing we usually can't - relaxing. After breakfast we went to Hyde Park for a lie down. After a while we took a break from resting so AC could throw sticks up a tree in hope of freeing a plastic snake he'd spotted. He thought it would make a nice gift for the A-Bomb.

It wasn't meant to be. The snake remained entwined in the branches despite his MANY attempts to free it. We consoled our selves by having another lie down.

The rest of the day was spent drifting between sights, sitting down, and eating.

Wicked was excellent. It was completely unpredictable, there were as many twists and turns as one of AC's ballet routines. However, I was relieved when it finished. I was beginning to feel the repercussions of the 06:10 start and longed for bed. We headed home.

About 300m from the station, the coach we were intending to get home passed us by.We legged it. Finally I was reaping the rewards of my recent jogging efforts. I felt like I was flying through the streets at superhuman speed. And I wasn't out of breath. 

We ran straight to our gate and AC struggled to get through the automatic door to the coach that was leaving. 

But he couldn't. 

Because it wasn't an automatic door. 

It was a locked door. 

We watched as the coach began to pull away. 

The coach driver took pity on us (thank goodness) and signalled for us to go out the side door where he stopped and allowed us to board. How nice. It was worth the trip to London just to experience the warm fuzzy feeling that came over me.