Be careful about what you say to Bill....

Orange was the color of the day.  Bill made friends on the train to London with some fashionable like-minded ladies.  We started the day at Portobello Road Market - a great place for pictures since there are colorful food stalls and lots of funky people.

When we walked by this guy Allie said, "I'd like to know that guy."  I replied, "I"m married to that guy!!"  The kids seemed to really enjoy it - the people watching, the musicians on the corner, the stalls of vintage clothes and antique doo dads.  Allie made the mistake of saying she wanted to eat something "really different".  More on that later....

We found an Italian Restaurant that Joey was drawn to because the name sounded like his favorite pizza place in Ipswich.  We are always looking for a decent pizza and this place was pretty good as far as British pizza goes.  But the real excitement was around the napkins.  They were fabulous!!  Thick and soft - - I want to sew them together and make a set of pajamas out of them.  But in the restaurant we settled for wearing them as hats.  Bill and I were able to snag some extras on our way out the door.  Hopefully Joey and Allie are both too old to be influenced by our bad examples.

On to Trafalgar Square....

 Bill has a special talent for making friends where ever he goes...like this homeless man who asked Bill for one of his cigars.   Of course, he was willing to let Bill drink out of his whiskey bottle in return (which Bill actually considered until he saw the look on my face).  What does Bill do when I'm not around??  This is how he ended up paying for that hooker's dinner in Belgium....

Ok, back to Allie's food comment.  We wandered into China town and while Joey, Allie and I were in the Chinese market buying funny snack foods (Joey bough some Ball Cakes for his friends) Bill ordered some take away for Allie...chicken feet and pig ears!!!   

(On a side note - Bill ordered "Pigs Ear" and said the woman had no idea what he was saying.  When he pointed to it on the menu she said, "Oh!  Pig Ears!"  Somehow make the pig plural vs the ears made all the difference??)

Allie handled it like a trooper  - - eating enough of both to say she has truly eaten chicken feet and pig ears.  Joey and I had a tiny terrified nibble.  Both were disgusting but at least the pig ears were in a sauce that helped to mask the taste.  The consistency was foul enough, I wouldn't want to know what it really tasted like.

 We ended the day with a long walk across the Waterlook bridge to South Bank.  You can see a tiny little Big Ben and the London Eye behind us.  It was just warm enough for dinner outside (no ears, no feet) with plenty more people watching.  We covered a lot of territory today (which also means lots of steps on my Fitbit!!)   I think Joey and Allie have the lay of the land and will be ready for their own adventures in  London this week.