Thanksgiving in Covent Garden

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! I hope everyone is enjoying a delicious meal this weekend. We have had to forgo our usual turkey-stuffing-cranberry-sauce fare since Thanksgiving doesn't seem to have made it to this side of the pond (at least not in the Uxbridge area). However, last night we went out for a very tasty meal at an Indian restaurant, and although it isn't quite the same (especially as a party of 2 instead of 12 or 14) it was pretty nice. It just doesn't really feel like Thanksgiving here - I think because there were none of the usual seasonal reminders (flyers advertising inexpensive turkeys, abundant bags of cranberries festooning the grocery store, or the annual request to "bring buns" to the cottage feast). So we wish all of our families a happy Thanksgiving and say that we are with you in spirit.

Most of Saturday we spent quarantined at home because Keith unfortunately has come down with a cold. However we did manage to get out to the aforementioned Indian restaurant and had a nice jaunt along one of the canals in the area - a narrow waterway with about two dozen small barges (like little floating caravans) along the path. We will have to take some pictures of the canals here to share at some point.

Today with Keith feeling better and me going stir crazy we ventured downtown. True to English form, the weather started out cool and gloomy in the morning but became sunny and warm by the time we re-emerged from the tube system. We made our way through the crowds to Covent Garden. It was bustling this afternoon with lots of people enjoying the beautiful weather and a bit of shopping. We enjoyed the handicrafts, both beautiful (framed prints, wood sculpture, handmade jewellry) and... less beautiful (beer bottles repurposed into wine glasses).

The London Transport Museum is also beside the market, which was one of the museums on Keith's to-do list. Although the musem was a bit more geared toward kids than adults, the exhibits on the evolution of the London underground and what was in place before the tube were very interesting, especially since we have been using the system so much in the last few weeks. Many of the stations have remained the same for 100 years and it was interesting to learn that suburbanite commuting has been a fixture of London reality for just as long!

And Keith liked playing with the choo-choos.