19th - 21st January 2008

Back in London we check into the Mayfair, which is a really nice way to wind up our trip.  The concierge makes a booking for us at the “Wolseley” which he tells us is the place "to be seen".  In fact, the woman  next to us, after staring at us for some time, struck up a conversation but soon established that we were ‘just tourists’ actually exclaimed “Oh …… I wondered who you were!” then went on to tell us of all the famous people she’d seen there at various times, including Elton John.  I was still glad I had gone to the trouble of wearing one of my purchases from France! 

20^th January - With a full day ahead we visit Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guards, an obligatory trip to Harrods – what an amazing shopping experience – and buy tickets to see “Wicked” that night, which is amazing!    

21^st January - Our final pack!  Our flight doesn’t leave until quite late so we store our mounds of luggage and head out for our last day in the UK!  We stick to familiar ground and revisit the Tower of London, which we’d visited with the girls a couple of years earlier and then had lunch at the same pub.

This was our first trip ‘sans enfant’ and I would thoroughly recommend it!  We have taken the girls on the last four trips and in retrospect it was not a great idea.  The cost is considerable and I don’t think they really appreciate it when it comes so easily. And when you have your 14 year old exclaiming “Not Paris again!”  when I was planning one itinerary ... you know it's too much! Should have left them at home for at least two of the trips and paid for a ‘live-in housekeeper’.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you!