LONDON! Days 5 & 6

You are going to be upset with me. I don't have any interesting pictures for these two days. Sorry! *dodging hurled keyboards*

BUT I do have a good story! Well, more of a rant, with lots of sighs and rolling of eyes! And exclamation points!!! Okay?

Let's start with Tuesday. That night we were kinda dragging so we opted for the Italian restaurant we found on our first night. Topped the night off with another visit to that amazing ice cream place. Actually, I believe it was gelato, as some commentors noticed. Also, see that cute little dish the lady is scooping into? Well, we thought they were very cute as well, flower shaped and pretty colors. So we saved them; rinsed them out in the hotel sink. Even saved the funny little shovel/spoons. Then we brought them home and gave them to da Boo! She loves them.

Wednesday night was quite an...adventure. Now that it's over, I'm back home, and surrounded once again with chocolate and Aleve, I'm fine. Not mad. But you would not have wanted to cross my path that night...

It started with the closing party for the main portion of the conference. It was an evening event and we decided to stop by, make an appearance before heading back out again. I took a picture of some friends we made and, while waiting for Super Dave, I took a picture of this cool staircase at the hotel.

Because of our less-than-stellar experience at a steak place the night before, the boys had talked to someone about finding a decent restaurant. They were given directions and a map was involved so I assumed they knew where we were going. Now, in my journalism studies, it was ingrained in me that you never, never, never, ever assume anything. Because when you assume, you make an ass out of u and me. Yeah. So we head out.

First stop, our beloved Tube station. We arrive in the underground just as a train is preparing to depart. Rather than waiting the 3 minutes it would take for the next one to arrive, Super Dave leaps onto the train. Super Dave has traveled on many a subway/train/underground transport system and on all of these, when you get in the way of closing doors, the doors reopen. Another London Survival Tip: The Tube doors, once closing, do not reopen. But Super Dave made it safely so the Man jumps on, also. That leaves me, standing on the platform, considering my freaking out options. The Man, sensing upcoming freak out, hauls me on board. Did I mention the doors were closing and that they do not reopen? Did I say that already? Perhaps you might have seen me in a previous photo and may have noticed that I am not a slender girl. In fact, I describe my figure as Ruben-esque, after the famous painter who liked to paint chubby females. I. Will. Not. Fit.

Alas, the Man is undeterred and simply pulls harder. This might have worked except for the fact that I happen to have a bad shoulder. Bad shoulders do not like to be pulled any more than they like to be shut in Tube doors. I manage to make it into the train. For the moment, I am just grateful that all body parts are intact. It takes sitting down, glaring at Super Dave and the Man for it to finally hit me: my shoulder hurts. Now I'm really glaring. But everything seems fine because shortly, we will exit the blasted Tube and arrive at a lovely little restaurant, as promised. Right?

We do indeed exit the train and I am trying to decide whether to ignore the throbbing shoulder or the rumbling tummy. Alas, both are forgotten once I see Trafalgar Square just outside the station. More pictures of that later - taken when I wasn't ready to murder someone. We set off around the Square. Again, I think we actually know where we are going!

Things that happen in the next 5 minutes:

1. We get lost.
2. Boys decide to wander around aimlessly instead.
3. It starts to rain.
4. My shoe breaks. (My favorite shoes, brought on this trip because they are my most comfortable but are now pinching the crud out of my little pinkie toe.)
5. Boys gets irritated that I interrupt their aimless wandering to look at souvenirs.

Momma ain't happy. And if Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!

Have you ever played the Sims? I played it regularly until the kids came along. On this game, you have your Needs that must be maintained, such as Energy, Hunger, Bathroom, Fun, etc. If one Need is not being met, it's not such a big deal (unless it's Bathroom, then your Sims just pees on the floor). But if several Needs are in the red, well, then look out! All that Sim will do is yell, stomp their feet and basically act like a 3-year-old until you give them what they want. I was tired, in pain and getting very hungry. AND I wasn't having any fun. You can guess what came next...Okay, I didn't yell and I didn't stomp my feet because when I get really, really angry, all I can do is cry. This is when the boys decide to get back on the Tube and go to Piccadilly Circus, AGAIN! Why? Why go back to a place that has restaurants we know are lousy? What exactly was the logic here!?! But crying, emotional women also have difficulty conveying coherent thoughts. We headed back to Piccadilly Circus.

The boys, being sensitive and highly observant people, realize that not all is well with the female. In an effort to placate me, the Man asks me to pick the restaurant. I believe my response was to give him a glaringly angry "Talk to me again without chocolate and you die"-look. Hey, at least with me looking like I did, no panhandlers or street merchants approached us!

We finally arrive at an Italian place that looks pretty good. When it appears that the boys can't commit to entering, I use my veto powers by immediately marching inside and asking for a table for three. Decision made. Was that so hard? Now that we are seated, my toe can rest. Food is arriving so my hunger is abated. All my Needs are returning to green. I can now join in conversation without glaring. Oh look! I'm smiling again! I don't even remember what I had...but the Man had pizza that didn't look very appetizing. London Survival Tip #3: Pizza anywhere else in the world is not like pizza in the Good Ol' U S of A.

And yes, we did get more of that delicious gelato.