London: The Final Countdown — Days 44-49

Summer of '22 3 Minutes
Europe, the pride and joy of Sweden, hit a major milestone with their hypnotic hit “The Final Countdown,” surpassing one billion views on YouTube.

On Friday, August 19 we started the final countdown of our journey with the Eurostar back to London.

It was a much easier trip than the ferry ride from Dover to Calais and everyone enjoyed it immensely even though we were arriving into London on ANOTHER day of train strikes.

This meant we spent most of the 2 hours and 15 minutes on the Eurostar trying to figure out how in the world we were going to get from St. Pancras to our rental in Notting Hill. It was as if all of England was on strike.

We were leaving Paris and re-entering the Summer of Discontent, according to Le Monde.

Paul Day’s The Lovers statue at St. Pancras.

Once we arrived, there were millions of people in the taxi line and no taxis. We ended up on a bus that got us relatively close to our apartment. We were content to be across town.

This public service announcement was EVERYWHERE, including on the public address system on the Tube. We found ourselves saying it all summer. Marketing goals accomplished, @TFL (Transport for London)!
Thankfully The Churchill Arms was open and the petunias were in full bloom.
Alexander was able to use the downtime to work on his rap lyrics.

On Saturday morning we went on a London Walk in Notting Hill that ended at the Market. We loved going on these walks when we lived in London. They are an excellent way to get to know a neighborhood and learn about the incredible layers of history on each and every street in this amazing city.

Delicious coconut milk. (NB: The straws are compostable.)

A peeping Alexander at Alice’s in Notting Hill. AKA Mr. Gruber’s from Paddington, the Movie.

On Sunday we traveled to Great Missenden to see the Roald Dahl Museum, we visited 221B Baker Street, and went to the Lego Store (against my better judgement). See Alexander’s blog post about Sunday’s adventures.

On Monday, we went to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. We didn’t get very close but the boys got the sense of the pomp and circumstance.

They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace, Christopher Robin went down with Alice …

On Tuesday we travelled to Greenwich to check out the Royal Observatory and the Cutty Sark. We loved going to Greenwich when we lived in London, traveling on the boat to and from Westminster.

A young Xavier years ago, as captain of the tourist boat to the Cutty Sark.

This time we took the train there and took the Uber/Thames Clippers boat back, a new service with several stops on the Thames. The trip was quick and efficient and allows you to see all of the major attractions along the Thames.

Walking to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
How many British yards is an Alexander?
Xavier in front of the Shepherd Gate Clock, an early example of an electric clock.
Josh making sure his watch was in sync with the Shepherd Gate Clock.
Everyone trying to give a Xavier smile. Although it looks like someone might be stepping on Alexander’s toe.
Longitude Zero.
Alexander wasn’t sure what the big deal this Prime Meridian was.
I heartily endorse this event or product.
Alexander looking for where the Prime Meridian ends.
A bit of history.
Aboard the Cutty Sark, a re-enactment of a very cute photo from eight years ago, below.
June 2014
August 2022
June 2014
Another flashback, young Xavier ringing the Cutty Sark bell.
On the last night in London we saw a play that’s been running for 70 years, The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie.

On Wednesday, August 24, on the 49th day of our travels, the Dupuys headed to Heathrow for our flight back to Boston, 7 weeks to the day after we arrived. It was a doozy of a trip. It was wonderful. It was horrible. It was exciting. It was exhausting. Just like life.

The end.

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Published by Beth Dupuy

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