Learning the Travel Pivot

 Day Five - Wednesday, December 24, 2025

The family is now getting weary of my early mornings. And plans are starting to break down, hence the need for a pivot. And Gary is getting anxious to see our old haunts that neither he or I are very skilled at relocating. 

Much to my better sense of judgement I bought us tickets for the London Eye, the massive ferris wheel constructed a couple decades after I lived here. It promises unbelievable views of London from up high, but long lines to get on. I was regretting this stop on the tour.

Fortunately for us, our push to arrive places early paid off. We got to entirely skip the line and jump aboard the Eye. And lucky for us the weather was spectacular. We could see all the monuments of London and even saw Windsor Castle in the distance. The ride lasts for 20 minutes but really helps give a sense of where you are in relation to all of the sites. 

Landing back at the Thames we went in search of parks, streets and restaurants recommended by friends. This took us to St. James Park and Buckingham Palace where we saw a Christmas parade with the British Guard. The weather was gorgeous but the wind was biting. I think we were wandering the streets in 20 degree weather. And hunger was taking over. So we hoped on the Tube to Camden Market in search of shopping and food. 

A block away from the Tube stop we tried to order food but given the proximity to the train we learned it would take over an hour to get anything to eat. So we strolled through Camden by the street marketers and found a quieter and less crowded pub for sustenance. From there we walked through Regent's Park just alongside the London Zoo. The boys found a zipline but it was COLD so we kept on walking and landed in the cutest neighborhood - Marlyborne. (Turns out this was next to the neighborhood where our classrooms were 36 years ago.) The street was packed with last minute of shoppers. Madelyn took us to Daunt's a stellar bookstore. Sadly we were running out of time to do any more browsing, and hopped a bus back to Vauxhall Park. I had to grab a coffee from Kennington - our first time coffee stop because the travels were continuing to wear on me. So Gary, Madelyn and I stopped for a quick Joe.

Well this is where the pivot comes. As we landed at our abode I received an email letting me know my Christmas Eve dinner reservation at the Punch House was cancelled. HUGE BUMMER. I had planned Christmas Eve mass and Christmas dinner around this plan. Additionally, our Thames Christmas Day cruise was cancelled. Things were looking dire and I was not happy.        

We started a full court press to find food options, mass options and Christmas Day next day options. The hero in the drama is Gary who found a local pub serving a traditional English Christmas dinner. A pub we could walk to, a critical fact since no trains or buses operate on Christmas Day.  

So with the pivot to Christmas dinner now planned to go out to the Duchy Arms, we decided to try our first ever family Midnight Christmas Mass in London at the Jesuit parish called Farm Church. The event sea change required the heating up of the Sainsbury dinner which was a mix of salmon Wellington, cheesy cauliflower, salad, bread and berry trifle for dessert. Overall, the family gave the meal a 10 out of 10. I did too because it was the easiest Christmas dinner ever made.

We hopped the #2 bus to Farm Hill church in Mayfaire. Knowing all Tube and bus transportation shut down at midnight we lined up a car service to collect us from the church around 1:15 am. The service started with carols and readings and then duplicated those readings again. Every prayer was the extended version so when our ride texted just before 1 am he arrived I knew concluding this mass at an appropriate time was a lost cause. After a confusing exchange of location our driver found us, drove us 15 minutes to our flat and we were done with Christmas Eve night.