London - Thanksgiving 2009 (day 2, part 2)

So here's one more Eye picture that I missed, but I think it's cool enough to add here...

This is the pod next to ours. What a trip, right?  Creepy and fun at the same time!

After we left the Eye, we walked along the waterfront, there was a Christmas Market set up, selling all sorts of crafts and imports, and food! 

 

Scott bought some chestnuts, yes, roasted on an open fire!  Of course, thanks to the girls' Kindergarten teacher, we've already had these on the Kindergarten field trip back home.  Thanks Heather!  :) 

 We had lunch at a restaurant down the way, it was cold and we were ready to sit down.  But on our way back to where we would meet our bus, we let the girls ride the carousel.  At this point, it's mainly Cambria who wants to ride, but fortunately Meridian is still game enough to go with her.  :)

 

So our next thing was to catch a hop on - hop off bus tour, we chose the Big Bus, though I don't know if it was best.  It was OK, but some of our legs didn't have a tour guide, I guess we needed to ask for headphones, I don't know.  Anyway, the kids loved riding in the open top, even though it was FREEZING cold.  

 

So our goal was Hamley's, the 7 floor toy store on Regent Street.  There were only a few things on our must-see list, and for the girls Hamley's topped the list.  It was pretty impressive, though Christmas time is probably not the best time to go, duh.  :)  There was a couple of guys standing outside the store doing magic tricks and blowing bubbles, and inside the store there were a lot more employees playing with toys.  That was pretty cool to see how the toys actually worked. 

And, they have a whole Harry Potter section!  You can get a time-turner necklace just like Hermione's.  Or a broomstick like Harry's, or a Wizarding Chess Set!  There were lots of fun items in that section, Meridian bought a set of house shield pins, and really, really wanted a Maurauder's Map.  We said No (at £29, that's like $49)!!  I did end up ordering one online for $35 when we got home, and it was her Christmas present this year. 

Dobby!  Life sized!

Cambria with Harry's broom, and Dumbledore's?

The window displays outside Hamley's were pretty extraordinary too!  The bears were rocking, the fire was lit, there was music - it was neat.

So Hamley's is on Regent Street, which has a ton of shops.  It was partly lit up for Christmas, Cambria thought the stars over the street were really cool.

As we were walking down Regent Street (toward a tube station, honestly, ready to head home) we looked down an alley and saw this:

So, ok, we couldn't just walk past!!  Well, the kids could have, they were done for the day despite our many stops and treats and breaks.  But I dragged them down here to find a fun little shopping street with lots of holiday flair.  Unfortunately I had to give in to the whining of two kids a block after we turned down this street, and we had to head back to our hotel (it was only maybe 7pm).  I would really have liked to have stopped for dessert or a cup of tea or a pint.  Another time, maybe.