A Spot of Tea...

Today is what Winnie the Pooh would call a Blustery day, as evidenced by this poor umbrella we passed by...

But, the girls and I didn't want to stay cooped up inside all day, so we ventured out to check out the neighborhood near where we are living for the next two months. We are in an area of London called Vauxhall. How did Vauxhall get its name? Funny you should ask...

Across from our apartment building is a building that is one of the prominent features of the Vauxhall area - MI6 - the foreign intelligence service for Britain. The first picture below is the side of the building - the view I can see from my window.  The second is what it looks like when you are approaching across the bridge toward it. Clearly, the picture was taken on a day much sunnier than this one!!

Right around the corner from our apartment building is a familiar site from home - Starbucks! I haven't been there yet, but every time I walk by it, I get a warm fuzzy feeling, like home isn't so far away after all.

And right across from the Starbucks is the closest tube stop - Vauxhall Station, on the Victoria Line.

I wonder how long I will live here before I no longer stop and take pictures of random sights. I am so fascinated by all of the things that I see here that we don't see in the US.

This is one bike in a big row of bikes that you can rent and ride it where you need to go, and then park it back at any bike station around the city. Pretty neat, and sponsored by Barclays.

 I found this sign interesting.  So, the police are sneaky about catching car thieves - good for them!

I saw this pub while we were out on our walk and it looks good - I look forward to coming back to try it. I love the name - The Black Dog Freehouse. 

The girls and I cracked up at this sign on the side of an apartment building. Just in case your dog was tempted to "foul" on their grass...

The girls and I decided to try to find the Vauxhall City Farm and visit the animals and stop in and have tea at a local tea house while we were out and about.  It started to rain (again) so we stopped in to have tea before we walked around much.  The tea shop was called the Tea House Theatre. It wasn't at all busy, but there was live music - a lady playing the guitar.  She was great!

 I love learning the history of places I visit. I always have, even in the US.

 We ordered two cream teas to share - Sophia and Olivia shared peppermint, and Georgia and I shared a pot of Lady Grey.  The scones were served with clotted cream (I totally love this stuff!) and homemade jam (incredibly good).  Since we sat in the comfy chairs around a coffee table, instead of at a regular dining table, I guess we had a "low tea" as opposed to a "high tea".

I look forward to coming back here again and eating a meal. Everything on the menu looked yummy!

The girls smelled the fresh tulips in the center of our table and Olivia says, "they smell like mushrooms"... okay, I'll take your word for it!

Look - our teapots are wearing hand knitted sweaters!  ;)

After we left the tea house, we found a great playground next door.  Georgia was digging the trampoline, and was practicing her cheerleading jumps. I wished Currie could see her cheering in her Wellie boots in the middle of London!

So, those were our fun adventures for today. Now, on to the challenging adventures... I have to cook dinner.  And this is what my oven looks like! (Note to self, double and add 30!)

and the microwave is super tiny, but I did figure out how to reheat a cup of coffee today! Success!