Day Four: Shopping

Debra and her friend went off for the second day of touristy stuff.  I planned to meet them at a tea shop at 5:00 -- because, dammit, we're gonna have traditional afternoon tea in London.  (And we're not going to pay the thirty pounds per person that the hotels charge.)

Today's plan for me was buying stuff.  Went to the Covent Garden Market where I bought a hand-painted silk scarf as a gift (from the woman I always buy hand-painted silk scarves from as gifts).  Also picked up a little something for my neighbor. 

Then commenced walking (stupid underground line still closed for repairs) to another few shops I usually visit.  The Theatre bookshop was inconveniently closed on Sundays.  Then, I went to Forbidden Planet, the science fiction bookshop.

Forbidden Planet conveniently sorts its books by sub-genre, which explains the shelf marked with my Favorite Sign Ever:

"Macho Dudes With Guns."

Seriously.  Wish I had my camera phone on me to snap to a pic to prove it to you all.

I dumped a bunch of cash at Forbidden Planet -- buying books by British authors which I either (a) can't buy in the States or (b) can't buy in the States yet.  Also picked up an overpriced DVD of a British TV series I can't get in the States yet either.  (Which I purchased on the theory that, darn it, I got a code-free DVD Player, so I might as well make use of it.)

Also, I decided I was not leaving that store without some sort of fake sonic screwdriver, but I regret to inform you I did not get the bath set, what 'cause it was, like, ten pounds at Forbidden Planet, and I am not ponying up $20 just to have something to giggle at in the bathroom.

(Only five pounds on Amazon, but shipping may be a problem.)

Anyway, the guy working the till at Forbidden Planet sympathetically said, "It's dangerous walking in here," when he totalled up my bill -- with which I totally agree.

Got out to the tea shop.  We didn't have a reservation and the dude said we were second on the list and it would take a half hour.  (A half hour?  For second on the list?)  But we came back after about ten minutes of walking around, and the guy had pity on us and crammed us into a table for two.  Which was great.  (And about ten minutes later, the table next to us emptied and they added it to ours -- giving us a table for four.)  We lingered there until about 7:00, which pretty much explains why he'd told us the wait would be a half hour.  Afternoon Tea is not to be taken quickly.  Tea.... scones...  cream and preserves ... tea sammiches .... itty bitty cakes ... way nummy.

We came back to the hotel, trying to figure out what to do on a Sunday night in London.  We toyed with a night-time cruise on the Thames, but it is still March, and the only companies that run cruises after 7:00 run them after April 1.  We also considered a pub walk, but they started at 7:30.  So, I'm updating my journal and we're watching Grey's Anatomy reruns.  Not exactly the height of tourism, but what can you do?