Rainy Day

Yellow warning for downpours today. We made a plan to spend the day shopping. We have come to the conclusion that the British weather forecasters are not trained meteorologists. They are never right. Your look out the window is far more accurate.

We had our last Ottolenghi breakfast and I tried the hot chocolate. Excellent. We chatted with an American ex patriot who has been here for 40 years. It was an interesting conversation about here and there. One thing that’s clear, immigration is an issue. Almost 100% of the service people we’ve run into are not British. A very large number of construction workers are not British. Yet the British are upset that there are too many immigrants. It’s a conundrum.

The view from our favorite breakfast spot.

We trotted around Bond Street for a bit, visited Selfridges, checked out some other stores and the got on the Tube to Battersea.

Battersea is such a great complex, but we had lost our Mojo. We wanted everything yesterday, and struggled to make a purchase today. I swear all of the merchandise in Zara had been rearranged or sold. Anyway, the day turned bright, we got some lunch and headed home.

Packing ensued and then a walk in the park. The pictures cannot do justice to the hundreds of thousands of plants in Regent’s Park. It is huge and perfectly maintained. A veritable botanical garden.

It doesn’t come close to how beautiful it is and how large it is. I need to do some Googling on how many people it takes to maintain the Park system here. Wonder how many are immigrants?

Anyway, we met the kids and Lisa and John for dinner at Carlotta. It’s part of a chain of restaurants that are more theatre than food, but the food is good. Think highly decorated red sauce place with hip drinks.

Best unisex bathroom ever (in red).

We’ve had a lovely stay, fine weather, good family time and a lot of fun. London is an easy city to enjoy. It’s a change of pace and a comfortable get away.

I am packed and ready for Heathrow. Can’t wait to snuggle Miss Lillian and visit my garden. More later.