coffee-powered frolicking and feasting through soho
This morning we went across town to Horizon 22 for incredible panoramic views of the city on yet another sunny day. Even though I’ve been up there a bunch of times lately, today’s visit was unique because we got to see the Tower Bridge rise up to let a ship through. Then we descended in the high-speed elevator to walk to Liverpool Station to catch the Lizzie Line to Tottenham Court Road.
When we arrived we began some fantastic wanderings all through Soho, first happening upon an immersive digital art experience called Outernet and then turning to walk through Soho Square Gardens and on to my favorite outpost of Gail’s. Most of us were hungry for a snack so we got small bites and coffees, and I dared to take my latte caffeinated which resulted in hours of heart-pounding energy that I didn’t need, so I exercised in a few short bursts of high knees and squats as we walked.
We ducked into lots of fun shops, like a boutique where Ben styled Ori and our favorite comic store, Gosh. We window-shopped past a bunch of excellent bakeries as I designated which ones were worth a stop after lunch. Then we commenced an elaborate multi-hour Indian food feast at Dishoom, with many courses of delicious food like chicken tikka and 24-hour black daal. Even though dessert was included, I kept my promise to grab us all some of London’s best pastries for later.
We toured a bit through Covent Garden and into my favorite store there, the London Transport Museum’s gift shop. We were all tempted by various tube-themed products like Underground map t-shirts and train upholstery pillows, but resisted the urge. Then onwards to Trafalgar Square where the kids erupted with post-feast vigor into a whirling mass of boy energy that circled Nelson’s Column a couple times. From there we walked towards Embankment, with a last view of the Eye and Big Ben before catching a tube ride home.
Bill and Michal stayed on the train one extra stop to grab some dinner ingredients at M&S, while Andrew and I walked with Ori as the rest of the boys ran ahead home. The evening was raucous as usual with me joining the boys to play an old favorite Roblox game (My Restaurant) while heckling them relentlessly, and then sharing a delicious dinner in which Bill re-made his popular peanut salad dressing from last night. The boys all did planks together, we turned on Ted Lasso, and I served up our pastries dramatically on my tiered tray again.
One last Elton John-related tidbit: I got a few more texts today from people who spotted me in the special, including one from a friend who sent me a link to an excellent review of it here from the Telegraph that beautifully captured so much of what I experienced.