London Pt 1

On Monday Walter, my Mum and myself went to London for the day sightseeing. I've been there many times before, so I thought I'd show Walter around!

First off we had to get the C2C train from Basildon Station. Walter said he was expecting some old fashioned steam train at the station seen as we were in England. I told him he was a very cheeky dinosaur!

Our first sightseeing stop was Tower Bridge and Tower Of London. It was packed there, as it was a nice warm day. There was no chance of going into the Tower as we would've had to queue for about 4 hours lol! While we were there we visited some gift shops and Walter picked out some London gifts and postcards to take back to Hilary in September. He made some good choices, I reckon!

Next was Big Ben, the Houses Of Parliament and the London Eye. Luckly all 3 places are right next door to each other, so we took all the pictures from the same spot! When walking back to the station we passed an American family; the little girl was pointing out the London Eye to her Mum. Hearing a familiar accent made Walter think of home, and he got a bit upset. He suddenly realised he was a long way away from his Mum! I gave him a cuddle and after a while he cheered up a bit.

By the time we got to Buckingham Palace he was much better. We stood at the side of the gates to take a picture as there were tons of tourists at the front of the gates, and you couldn't get there if you tried! We even spotted some guards in the palace grounds! Not sure if the Queen was in or not; we couldn't see her!

Next: Trafalgar Square. There we got pics of Nelson's Column, lots of statues and fountains, the National Art Gallery and Admiralty Arch. I wanted to get a picture of Walter sitting on one of the Lion statues at the bottom of Nelsons Column, but there were already people posing there, so we left that.

Piccadilly Circus and all it's lights were next, then I took Walter to see Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital. I was treated there when I as a child many times; it's a special place to me and it was somewhere I wanted to show Walter. Also the tube station of Great Ormond Street is Russell Square, which was one of the tube stations targeted in the London bombings on 7th July 2005. It's sad walking through that station knowing what happened there :o(

It had been a tiring day, and we were happy to get back on the C2C train to Basildon. On the way back we passed Canary Wharf in the far distance. So we got a picture of that too. Walter was so tired he went to sleep on the train!

We plan to go back to London to do more sightseeing after our holiday :o)

Ikea And A Scarf

I know it's not scarf weather, but I thought I'd make Walter one to take back home with him! He said he wanted a blue one, so that's what I made! He said he likes it!

Yesterday we went on a shopping trip to Ikea, in Thurrock. Yes, we go on a lot of shopping trips, I know lol!

I love Ikea; I was even offered a job at this branch a couple of years back. I was gonna work in the textiles department, which suited me fine!

We had a good nose round the showrooms; Walter was fond of a few of them so I took his picture along the way. He chilled out in the living room department, went on the computer in the office department and had a tea party in the kids department! He even made some friends in the form of some fellow cuddly toys!

He even helped me pick out a new bookcase. He was very helpful! I didn't buy the bookcase there and then, I need to clear up my room first. It's a tip. Walter said he'd help me with that too, but I said he was a guest and I wouldn't make him clean my room!

On Monday we plan (again) to go to London. I'm gonna take him to The 02 Arena, Wembley Stadium and Arena and a few other places. 'Cos London's a big place, our sightseeing trip is gonna be spread over 2 days. The second day will be after our holiday, which is only 2 and a bit weeks away! Walter's excited!

Langdon Hills

It was warm today (which is weird!) so we decided to go for a stroll at Westley Heights, in Langdon Hills. It's a massive big park, with woodlands and meadows and stuff.

When we first arrived, there was a sign saying no horses or bikes allowed. It didn't say anything about dinosaurs, so we walked on! On our way round we saw some local wildlife; including lots of rabbits and some cows. Walter wasn't keen on the cows, so we didn't stand there for long.

After Westley Heights we went to One Tree Hill, on the other side of Langdon Hills. There were some great views there of the Thames Estuary. We thought we'd go and see the big sun dial they have on one of the hills, but when we got there some one had nicked it :o(. We had a good walk round through, saw a lagoon, more rabbits and a massive rabbit hole! Seriously, it was BIG!

At one point we had to go up these steps into the woods; and it was at this point Walter got a bit scared; at the time they looked a bit gloomy going off into the woods like that. But I reassured him, and he was very brave.

At the bottom of the stairs were these statues carved out of wood; one of a monk asleep and one of a snake. Walter thought they were funny so had his picture taken with them.

When we got home it was still really warm, so we had an ice lolly and sat in the garden. A pleasant day!

B&Q And Matalan

This evening Walter, my parents and I went out looking for holiday clothes and garden furniture. Weird combo, I know! Walter said he'd like to go along for the ride so we went.

We had to drive past Basildon Town Centre; he said he couldn't wait to visit there; especially the clothes shop Punky Fish. I've told him alot about that shop and I think he's quite eager to take a look round!

First stop was Matalan; which is a big clothes store over on an industrial estate near Pitsea. We were mainly there for my Mum to look for dresses for holiday, but Walter didn't think much of looking at dresses. We went down the socks aisle and Walter wanted his picture taken with the excellent novelty socks they had. I have a thing for novelty socks myself, so it's nice that we have that in common!

Quick stop at the supermarket Sainsburys, then on to B&Q to look for garden furniture. B&Q is a hardware store which also sells garden and household stuff. We were looking for new garden chairs as our ones broke the other day. Walter picked his favourite and said could I take a picture of him with it. So I did. At that point he said he needed the toilet, so we stopped off at the bathroom department so he could use the loo. When you've got to go, you've got to go, right?!

On the way home we passed Bas Vegas; Essex's answer to Las Vegas. Minus the casinos. I wasn't quick enough to get a picture, so I said we could stop off sometime soon.

Instead Of London...

Seems Walter's found a nice spot in my room to sit; right up in the corner were he can keep an eye on things! I said he could sit up there if he wanted to, but to be careful as it's quite high up...

Walter and I were gonna go to London today, but it's been postponed. Instead we stayed at home, and he helped me with my latest crochet project. He was very helpful!

Later on we went on the internet and checked out Craftster. He was eager to see how everyone else was getting on on their adventures, and to see what Hilary was up to. I think he's a little home sick, bless! So to cheer him up I gave him another bit of cake. He's becoming a big fan of English cakes!

Walter Meets Nora

Walter met my pet hamster, Nora, yestrday. Nora was very interested in the new visitor! Walter was a bit scared of getting bitten by Nora, but I kept him far enough away from the cage so she couldn't reach him!

Today I was gonna take Walter to the town shopping with my Mum and me, but it was rainy and dark today so I didn't. On Monday I'm planning on going to London with my parents to the Tiffanys and Co shop. No doubt Walter will be going along for the journey! He told me he's looking forward to going to London!

Arrival!

Walter the dinosaur has arrived! The postman delivered him this morning. My Mum answered the door when he knocked and instantly knew it as Walter! She was just as excited as me lol!

We welcomed Walter in to the house; he was very shy to begin with and didn't want to leave his envelope. But we said he could have a bit of my Mum's birthday cake and a glass of coke and as he was mega hungry he came out!

His first day has been very calm and everything; no adventuring yet as he's still settling in. I've set this blog page up for him, and I'll keep it updated regularly :o)

At the moment he's watching me type this out; just sitting on my desk. In a little while I'm gonna introduce him to some new friends, including Xek, who is a fellow American himself. They should have something in common!