London "To Do" List

August 26th--Today was basically a "to do list" day. Mike spent most of the morning trying to figure out how to go about getting our Chinese Visas. Once he figured that out and we ate lunch at the apartment, we headed out for our first experience with the London bus system. All went smoothly as we arrived at our destination of Trafalger Square. It was at this square we were hoping to find an internet cafe to print off Visa applications and go to Waterstone's bookstore. When we got off the bus, Mike noticed a Regus which is a business center he has a membership from his "working" days. So, he went in to print off the applications while I took the kids to Waterstone's. The kids and I immediately found the Children's section. I noticed a lot of Where's Wally? books (titled Where's Waldo? in the United States) and introduced Waldo to the kids. They got the biggest kick out of trying to find him. In fact, they've almost developed an obsession over the books. Mike met us at the bookstore but couldn't fine the travel books we were looking for. However, they called and found the books at another Waterstone. This Waterstone was in Piccadilly Circus. So, we started walking to it only to get stopped in our tracks by the rain. Luckily, the National Gallery was right there to take cover. Come to find out, it is free. So, although it wasn't planned, we walked through the National Gallery waiting for the rain to stop. We were thrilled to be able to check that one off our list and continue walking toward the bookstore. We made it to Waterstone and it was the same story as before. The kids headed straight to Waldo only after we all enjoyed a snack at the cafe. By the time we purchased the travel books, it was close to 5:00 and we weren't sure how long it would take us to get back to the apartment. Surprisingly, it only took us about 30 minutes to get back. Mike cooked tacos for dinner and we finished up the evening with Big Brother. Go Jeff!!!