London - Churchill War Rooms, Soccer disappointment, Mousetrap

Churchill War rooms * Trafalgar Square * Mousetrap

15,000 steps

Our first stop today was the Churchill War Rooms.  A museum under ground in the rooms where Churchill, his cabinet, and staff worked for several years during WWII. After the war the rooms were locked and not thought about again until  many years later when they were made into a museum.  It was amazing to see such basic rooms with only maps, typewriters, and phone.  No computer or high-tech equipment.  There were also bedrooms in this underground work space for Churchill, his wife and staff.  There was also a nice museum on Churchill's life.  We all learned something new about Churchill, like he never inhaled his cigarettes - just chewed on them.  He loved the one piece jumper and often wore a red one that was referred to as the Siren Suit.  He also liked to paint.  We enjoyed a picnic on the grounds of Saint James Park afterwards.  We've been lucky while in London because the weather has been perfect for site seeing, no rain and just a tad bit cool.  Sometimes it even feels like fall.

We were suppose to see a soccer game this afternoon, but our plans were destroyed when we got to the soccer stadium only to learn that our tickets had been voided because we bought them through a 3rd party ticket vendor.  Everyone was so disappointed, especially Eric.  Not only were we so excited to see a premier league soccer game, it was a bit of an effort to get to the stadium (an hour away).  To pour salt into our wounds, Emma lost her glasses on the way back to London so we returned home to boost our spirit with get a snack and to play some cards (and get Emma's spare pair of glasses).  The kids were troopers and quickly adjusted to a plan B.  Eric and I were just glad we had purchased the tickets on our credit card so we can get a refund.

Tonight we had our last sabbatical dinner out at a wood fire pizza place in the theatre district - then we were off to Mousetrap - an Agatha Christie murder mystery that's been playing in London for the last 64 years.  It's an institution here.  The crowd was a bit older and conservative and we felt right at home.  The kids got into the story quickly and even Charlie was trying to figure out "who dunnit" and was squeezing my hand when the plot became tense and scary.  The theatre was old, but nicely restored and our seats (although on the top, steep balcony) were great.  It was a perfect way to finish the day.

Churchill War Rooms & Museum