Florida Coalcracker Chronicles: Day 3 of 35 - London

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Day 3 of 35 - London - Mrs Doubtfire Show

We just finished day 3 of our Euro Trip. You lose track of time. We left Tallahassee on Tuesday. We flew 10 hours and lost 5 hours to the times zones. First day we left home at 7 pm. We got into Atlanta a little late - and then we waited in Atlanta for many passengers. It was nearing midnight - when our jet took off from the world's busiest airport - our goal London Heathrow Airport. We arrived here Wednesday around 1 pm - and our hotel in downtown at 3 pm.

Wednesday - we got our bearings by walking down along the Thames River. We visited Big Ben and The London Eye big wheel. Weather was sunny - breezy - 70s. We stopped by a local pub for supper and to watch the England vs Netherlands - Euro Cup Soccer Gams. We experienced their last minute 2-1 victory. England is used to losing big important matches. Now they play Sunday for the European Championship against Spain. We will be on Queen Mary 2 during that event. It could be a very sad day over here - I am sure there will be plenty of Brits on board watching.

We woke up today - Thursday - with lots of energy at about 9 am local time. We took a bus to the Shaftsbury Theatre to get tickets for a play - Mrs Doubtfire. You may recall there was a movie featuring Robin Williams - playing the famous nanny. If you go to the box office on the day of the show - you sometimes score some nice tickets cheap. I was lucky to get 2 tickets in the second row for 27 pounds each. This was 50% off. A pound is worth $1.30 on this trip. The show was at 2:30 pm - so we had time for a light lunch - and some shopping.

I was surprised at how full the theatre was for a Thursday afternoon show. Mrs Doubtfire is a play about divorce and raising kids. So the theatre was full of women and kids. I imagine half of them were divorced. There were few men - many kids - there was no profanity.

Our seats were very good - there was an empty seat next to me - I could stretch out - but seating was tight. The play included a full orchestra - and there was lots of upbeat music to dance to. It was a large cast I thought.

With jet lag - it goofs up your eating schedule. The less you eat the better it seems. We had supper at a Chinese Restaurant near the theatre. After that we walked Oxford Street all the way back to the John Lewis Store. Lulu's watch said we walked 7 miles. Tomorrow is a very big birthday for my lovely wife. We had little shopping to do. After shopping - Bus 94 took us straight to our hotel on Hyde Park.

After a really hot June and July in Florida - the 70s and breezes is a welcome relief.

We have three more nights in this hotel before embarking on the Queen Mary 2 to Norway.

Tallahassee is 30 degrees north of the equator. Tamaqua PA is 41 degrees north. London is 51 degrees north - thus it gets colder yet. Finally we will reach places in Norway where you are 61 degrees north of the equator. Though we will not approach the North Pole - 90 degrees north - we will be near the Arctic Circle - which is 67 degrees north - the land of the midnight sun. The only other time I was 61 degrees north of the equator was in Anchorage AK.

After a week exploring Norway - we will fly south to France - to visit family and see the Olympics in Paris.