The Bank of England

First of all, congrats to our friends Kathleen and Craig on the birth of their new little boy Charlie last night!  We can't wait to meet him!!!  This is the second baby born since we left that I am missing holding as a freshie - Will and Emily had their son, Rush, the day after we left!  I can't wait to squeeze them both in December!

It was another beautiful fall day here in London.  After spending the day in Hampstead yesterday, waiting for our TV and my phone to be delivered (I have a phone again yippee!!!), we wanted to do something downtown near our temporary home again today.  We are located very close to the Bank of England and "Bank" is our closest tube stop so when I saw that there was a Bank Museum I figured that could be a good activity for Tyler and I today.  This is another museum that is free so Tyler and I wandered around a bit.  The bank was established in 1694 and is one of the oldest banks in the world.  There were little educational pieces around the museum and artifacts like old bank notes, gold bars, etc.  A gold bar was enclosed in glass with a window that you could try to lift it and feel how heavy it was.   Today I decided to take Tyler out and about in the Ergo Carrier (a front carrier) instead of the stroller since I read that there are quite a few steps leading up to the bank and a security pass through.  Plus I wanted to see how he liked it since he really hadn't been in it since he was a small baby.  He LOVED it!  He kept looking around and tilting his head back, spreading his arms out and closing his eyes.  It was the cutest thing and it was actually not that uncomfortable for me to carry around all 22 lbs of him!

After the museum I had read that there was a free "recital" at a church nearby that was open to the public on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  I figured that was a great activity to get the little guy some culture.  When I opened the doors I realized my mistake.  It was a very small church, all the folks there were all dressed up in business clothes, and there were no children.  Everyone stared at us when we came in and I couldn't have felt more out of place in my yoga pants that I've been wearing for the past three days (because our air shipment still hasn't come yet) and a baby strapped to my stomach.  Oh and someone was video recording it too.  I thought, OK we can do this, and looked for a seat near the back.  All the seats at the back had "reserved" on them so I turned around and tried to just stand in an open area.  I heard some opera-like music coming from backstage and then Tyler began to fuss because it was getting close to both eating and nap time.  I figured this wasn't the best idea and darted out the door.  We tried!  Next time I think we will stick to the children music classes that are available up in Hampstead instead!

Tyler and I outside the Bank

One side of The Bank of England