Tuesday, October 2, 2001

Unfortunately, last night wasn’t as restful as I had hoped. I got into bed around 10:00 and Carter came waltzing in. I put him in bed with me but he woke up again around midnight. We both got back to sleep and then Andrew woke up. I pulled Andrew into bed too so now there were three of us in a single bed. Fast forward to 4 am and now you add Nathan to the bed – that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I put Andrew back in his crib and I went to sleep on Nathan’s bed. Ahhhhh back to sleep at last, or so I thought! Around 7 am this horribly loud hum started. Come to find out it was the radiator kicking in. Unfortunately, we were unable to turn off the radiator and stop the noise. We got up and s-l-o-w-l-y got ready for the day.

We made our way downstairs around 10:30 and had a late breakfast. Then we went SHOPPING! Our first stop was John Lewis which is a huge department store. We needed to buy the boys new jackets – what a shock that they had outgrown their jackets. Our next stop was Harrods partly for tourist reasons and partly because I wanted to get a Palm Pilot keyboard. The shortest route was to take the tube (subway) which was quite an experience with 3 little ones and 2 strollers. The tube ride itself was wonderful but getting to the tube required LOTS of stairs and most of the stations did not have escalators or elevators – I guess they’ve never heard of the ADA!!! I wish I could adequately convey how excited Carter, Nathan, and even Andrew were to be riding the ‘train’ and on occasion the ‘moving stairs”. Their eyes lit up with such pure and unfettered joy. We made it to Harrods and I finally came to realize what all the fuss was about. It was the most amazing store I’ve ever seen! When people say that it has everything – they mean EVERYTHING! We only went through a teeny tiny part of the store and we saw the usual clothes, furniture, crystals, etc. and then we saw gourmet foods including meat, fish and poultry, candy and sweets; coffees, and teas. The elevators had black interiors and appeared to be decorated in 24k gold and had an Egyptian motif. We had a late lunch at the “Children’s Diner” and then Poppy and John shopped while I took the boys to the ‘parents’ room’ (a room where moms can change diapers and nurse babies – the ‘normal’ bathrooms don’t have changing stations like in America). We weren’t able to get a Palm keyboard so we took a taxi to Tottenhamcourt which is considered the electronic district. The cab ride was unlike any other driving experience I’ve ever had. The cabs were designed for you to take your stroller with the children INSIDE! You pull the stroller into this expanded floorboard area and then there is a bench for the adults to sit on. We were able to get Carter and Nathan (who were asleep) in but then we had to take Andrew out, fold up his stroller, and hold him. The three adults then sat on the bench. It was cramped but worked amazingly well. I was a little nervous about the kids not being in car seats or even wearing seatbelts but I quickly learned why you’re allowed to not use them – even if you were to wreck, the traffic doesn’t allow you to go fast enough to do much damage!!!

We got to the electronic district and found the store we were referred to but it was closed! It was only 6:30 and it was CLOSED! Most of the stores close between 6:00 and 7:00 pm. We finally found a store that carried what I needed and then we made the long tube trip back to the hotel. We ate a late dinner and the kids finally went to sleep at midnight! I feel quite certain that by the time our bodies get accustomed to the five-hour time difference, it will be time to go home!!! LOL