Weekend In London

This weekend we decided to take our first trip to London as British residents. Kevin and I had spent two hectic days there a year ago and saw a lot of sites but our goal was to "take it easy" since we had Addie this time. We decided to back pack it and take the train from Peterborough to King's Cross Station in London. It only took 1 hour and 20 minutes and was very relaxing not having to drive. Addie had a great time on the train and even took a short nap. We brought Addison to Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, Big Ben at Parliament and Westminster Abbey. We made our way up to Nottinghill in search of Portabello Road, but got sidetracked when I wanted to find Kensington Palace (former home of Diana). Well after an hour of walking around we couldn't find it (it really pays to have a good map of London to find things). Kevin had about enough walking and said "I need a pint." We turned around and went into a Tex Mex place. It was a good rest. We finally found Portabello Road and it was chaotic...so many people, but some really cool stuff. The street was loaded with vendors selling antiques to brand new Wallace and Grommit memorabilia. We made our way to the Holiday Inn in Camden Town which we didn't realize must be the tatoo and piercing capital of the UK. When we went to get dinner at 5:50PM the restarants would not allow children inside after 6PM because they were all considered bars, but we could sit outside. We finally ended up eating at some sushi restaraunt, which was really good, but we didn't eat sushi though. The area was a bit rough for a young couple with an 8 month old and only after we made our way through the market area to end up surrounded by "goth" looking people and Asian food vendors yelling to us that all their food was on sale for 2 GBP a plate. The next day we walked about 2 miles to Regent Park and to the London Zoo. Addie loved the zoo and all the animals. I think her favorite was the gorillas because they would come right up to the glass and make faces at the children. The train ride home was so much nicer than driving, but the train was pretty busy. When we go to the station the exit gates were open which we thought was weird. The car park was one of those pay based on how long you stayed there. While other people stood at the machines paying their 5 pounds a day for weekend parking we passed by and snuck out the gate....I hope that wasn't illegal, but why would they keep the gates wide open going in and out with no one around. Lucky us, we saved 10 pounds (that's $20).