"Spring" Weekend in London

Spring officially began on March 21st, so the weekend following should have been nice, right?  WRONG.  It was freezing cold.  In the high 20s/low 30s the entire weekend.  Windy.  Nearly constant drizzle or snow.  Just miserable.  I have seen a few brave daffodils and trees that looked like they want to bloom, but the cold has kept it all at bay.  I'm hoping the next few weeks will improve. 

Trying to keep a stiff upper lip as the locals do (while complaining alot), I decided not to let the weather ruin a weekend to see London.  Saturday morning I joined some expats for brunch at John's in Covent Garden.  They had some traditional stuff (eggs, pancakes) and some other stuff (bubbles and squeak?  what?!).  I had a nice time and it was a good reason to get out of bed.  I'm saving my list of funny menu items for post entirely unto themselves.  Stay tuned for that at a future date. 

After breakfast, a few of us ventured to the proper Covent Garden square - I was there just the week before with Mom.  They were having an Easter Egg display with all these large, hand-painted eggs.  Here are a couple of the goods ones - one in particular for a special girl I know in Kansas. 

 

We made our way next across the River (the "River" is the Thames - now that I've defined it, you'll know what I mean every time I say it) to Southbank. There was a free Chocolate Festival and I couldn't pass that up. If I known it was an outdoor free Chocolate Festival, I might have passed but didn't find out until we got there. It wasn't big, just a small courtyard with tents from local vendors. We tried several samples of truffles and chocolate flavored with berries and other things. I bought a couple of brownie-bar type things to take home. Probably better I didn't know in advance about the outdoor thing, or I would have missed the treats!

 

Sunday was lousy weather as well, so I spent a few hours inside at the Natural History Museum. They have a wide range of exhibits - geology, ecology, gemstones, dinosaur bones and a large variety of stuffed animals. It is all very kid-friendly and I would recommend it to anyone visiting London with children. Mostly the building itself is impressive with so much detail in the sculpture, tiling and woodwork. Here are a few pictures. 

 

 

 

There have been moments throughout the last couple of months when I see things that remind me of someone in particular at home.  I've been trying to email and tell you, but most of the time I forget before I get in front of a computer.  So here are two in particular.  The first one is for my running buddy Kristen G. - in honor of all the beautiful birds she has pointed out to me in Suwanee during our long runs.  Look at these Kristen!!

 

 

 



 
I think this will be obvious to those who know - and for those who don't, this is for my friend Beryl.  You are so special, they put you on a card, under glass and in a museum!! 

Hope the sun is shining and it really is spring wherever you are!!