Monday = Down Day

It turned out that Mondays were our Down Days.  A day to hang out at home, catch up on laundry, play at the park, walk to the grocery store etc.  After days of trains, buses, museums, and LOTS of walking, the kids always looked forward to staying home for a change.

Our local launderette

We had a small clothes washer in our flat, but I walked to the local Laundrette to use their dryers.  The owner single-handedly runs this shop every day from 8-7.  He washed, pressed, or sat at the sewing machine all day long.  A very good person - I was very impressed at his hard work, dedication, and kindness.  I washed several loads of clothes at home and then took them all at once to dry.  Hot, fast dryers!  Stroller is helpful for transporting clothes.

"our" grocery store

a big deal because we visited this site more than any other - every other day

We were so lucky to be a short walk from a major grocery store (by London standards.)  Grocery shopping was a big hit on everyone's list!  On each visit the kids got to choose unusual foods to try out.  We loved reading the packaging and signs and figuring everything out. I guess we can all relate to food! We always had to be careful not to buy more than we could carry home.  Strollers come in very handy again!

 

 surprised when I pulled the British pork sausages out of the package

 

 Katie experimenting with a scone mix

 the final result with jam and clotted cream- not bad

We had a beautiful park and playground just a 5 minute walk away! Play grounds here are very different from the US.  It seemed to us they have larger play equipment to entertain older kids.  There is a section for small kids too.  Lots of things spin around.  Fewer swings than we might have.  In general, more dangerous than we'd find in the US.  The kids all loved it!

We walked through this park area or the adjacent playing playing fields 

to get to the playground section

Katie and Abbie could barely reach this one.

Both people hold on, run, and spin each other around.

 

spinning in the little kid's section

 

We called this the Flying Saucer.

It swings and spins around at the same time and goes quite high when it gets going.

 

spinning