Nelson's Column
Base of the column with "England Expects Every Man Will Do His Duty".
The National Gallery behind Nelson's column on the opposite side of the square.
Mermaid on one of the two fountains in the square.
She has such an arresting face especially with the water spraying on her.
Another view of the pretty clock.
Corner building across the way. The windows atop remind me of portholes.
Yummy took me around Covent Garden, Soho and Chinatown. I loved walking around, enjoying the street performers and shops. We stopped and bought packages of tea from The Tea House. It was a beautiful store with an impressive selections of teas. My chai tea smelled heavenly through the package...
Smart cars are so cute! I told Yummy that he and I would look like grasshoppers driving it with our long legs.
We still had some time before we were to meet Yummy's mum, Margaret and his stepdad, Mason. They were meeting us in the city for drinks and dinner. It was beer-thirty again and I was led to a popular London pub called Salisbury. It was more opulent than any of the other pubs we have visited. I liked the frosted glass window around the front.
Next stop for us was Cafe Apogee for wine with everyone. Mind you, I was very nervous, but I am generally effervescent so I didn't give into shyness. Wine here and the 1/2 pint at the pub didn't hurt either.
My American audience will know what I mean when I describe the following. In Virginia, speaking with a Southern accent is described as genteel, a more refined way. Margaret, Yummy's mum, speaks British English in a very genteel way. She could read stories for hours and I would just be as interested as the first. She's beautiful with alert blue eyes and very soft-spoken, but I can tell there is an impish side.
Mason, Yummy's stepdad, is from California and he didn't speak at all with a trace of a British accent even after being in the country over 20 years. He's very outgoing and very sweet. I enjoyed his company, too. You knew he worshipped his English rose.
I brought them some goodies from Florida, mostly Key Lime Cookies and a box of saltwater taffy that brought a story of Mason's mom when she was still alive.
When Margaret and Mason visited California, they wheeled his mother around in her chair. She was in her 90s, I believe. They bought saltwater taffy, but Mason's mom didn't want to share with her roommates so she proceeded to eat the loot piece by piece leaving a paper trail behind her. When she sat in back of their vehicle, she ate some more and left her candy wrappers around.
By the time they got back, there were only several pieces left which they offered for her to take in, but she declined because she was full of the candy. That was a scream. She was one determined woman!
The weather dictated where we would dine. I had asked Yummy to check the weather online before we left Brighton and it said it would continue to be warm. When we stood in Trafalgar Square, I prayed for the sun to shine through the clouds for warmth. The online forecast was incorrect so the evening became much cooler and breezy.
Yummy and I found ourselves at another Mexican odyssey at Chiquito's around the corner from Cafe Apogee. It had more selections than Los Amigos in Hove. We ordered fajita combos while M&M ordered chicken and beef tacos. Amazingly, it was beer-thirty all around. Good with the food, too. A great time was had by all.
M&M were smart and brought their coats and even offered them to us, but we declined to brave the elements. The cooler temps had us walking a lot faster through the streets to catch the tube and then the train back to Brighton.
At London Victoria station, you have to deposit 20p (pence) to use the restrooms. I have never in my life have had to pay for the necessity. Good thing I wasn't already doing the pee-pee dance because there were some stairs down to navigate . Never a dull moment with my restroom visits.
The train took us to a warmer climes in Brighton...Thank God!
