London 2018 - Day Two

Angela and I both woke up around 11 PM local time, but also both fell back asleep fairy quickly. I woke up at 5, and read my book for a bit, then fell asleep until 9:30.

Josie woke up around 10:30. Angela rose and fell several times. The day before took its toll on her, and she has a headache today. She took her medicine, and it helped, but this isn’t her usual headache so the meds only did so much.

The bike park across the way had an event this morning, with a couple dozen little kids racing around the track, up and down the hills. This went on for some time, and many pedestrians stopped to watch. It was pretty cool to see the young kids in their helmets and tiny bikes!

Around 11:45 I made Josie get dressed and we went off in search of food. On the first floor of the building is a little coffee shop, but they only serve tosties: basically fancy toast. Not so great for gluten-free Josie. Up the street we found a nice little cafe and Josie got scrambled eggs and I got an omelette.

“A yawn is a silent scream for coffee”

We ordered an omelette to “take away” for Angela and headed back to the flat. Angela is still sleeping. Josie is watching shows on the tablet.

Angela felt crummy all morning, so Josie and I wandered around the Hackney City Farm, looking at the garden and livestock. Several sheep, goats, pigs, ducks and chickens all lived there. It immediately made me think of Jim Bruner and his urban farming.

Angela finally felt human around 14:30 local, so we headed off to Columbia Road Flower Market. It was packed, and both Josie and I were a little turned off by the enormous crowd. Lots and lots of people were buying flowers and plants from the many stalls. Hawkers shouted their wares. It was a bustle of activity, and despite the crowd it was quite fun.

After buying some flowers for the flat, we popped in and out of the shops lining the road. Josie bought some items at Dandy Star, then we all enjoyed a gluten free brownie at a vegan coffee shop.

We decided to have a late lunch at the Stingray Globe Cafe, and we’re delighted to find a whole gluten free menu available for Josie. She got plain gluten free spaghetti. Angela, with a tender tummy, ordered a simple lentil soup. It was a fine meal, and it was nice for the three of us to chill out together.

We went to Sainsbury to buy some groceries, then back to the flat to put the flowers in a vase. As we did, a distressing number of petals fell off the plants, covering the floor! We were able to salvage enough to make the purchase worthwhile though.

Contactless credit purchases are easy here, though some places seem to limit this to 30 pounds and under. I don’t know if this is bank imposed or not. Apple Pay is similarly convenient.

Many cafes and restaurants have WiFi, and will happily supply the password. This makes Josie happy, as she can message her friend at home when we stop for a break.

After a brief bit of downtime, Angela and I tackled the arduous business of getting sight seeing tickets. That sorted, we headed out for dinner.

Angela had her first pint in a pub, The Virgin Queen. We ordered fish and chips for all of us.

Back at the flat, Angela and I planned a few excursions and bought the necessary tickets while Josie played games on her device. Then we all zonked out.