London Zoo & Harrod’s (3 May)
Today was the London Zoo! I went there as a child a little younger than Chayton. What I remember is riding a camel and crying (just a little bit). Unfortunately for us (but good for the camels) you can’t do that anymore. But we did see a whole bunch of neat stuff!First off was Kaija’s choice the giraffes – which we were able to see them eat a snack of carrots inside and then walk around outside. (I think I kind of remember doing this as a child, too.)
Next up we went to Chayton’s favorite – the tigers. The Zoo had just opened a new exhibit for the tigers. At one point, there was a tiger laying right next to the glass and Chayton pretended to touch it. Too bad I couldn’t get my camera out fast enough for that photo.
Chayton did use his £1 that he got from the Tooth Fairy to donate to help the tigers. It was quite cute. And for his donation he received a tiger button – he wore it all day.
Next spot was Nazeriah’s pick – the monkeys and gorillas. It was snack time for them, too.
Then we went into the Reptile Room. After a quick turn around the building we came across the location that the Zoo/Boa scene was shot in the first HP.
Other things we saw was the tortoise exhibit – where even with all five of us on the scale we barely weighed the same as a large full grown tortoise. The butterfly exhibit was the most well-done that I have visited. What made it that way was more the docents than anything. We learned a lot about the caterpillars, butterflies and their eggs. Plus got to see butterflies in the process of hatching. Then we snuck into the penguin exhibit through the back door – because they were closing and we wanted to see something. We didn’t get to stay too long, but again was able to speak to a very nice zoo staff member and ask a few questions.
Pretty much everywhere that we’ve been (Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand and now England) everyone that we meet at the different exhibits and attractions really take the time to answer our questions. And most times not just answer but really engage in a conversation. It’s quite lovely to be a part of. And you should see how comfortable Chayton is in asking anything. If he has a question, he’ll just walk up and ask someone – no prodding needed from mom or dad. The girls are pretty good with that, too. But you have to take into consideration pre-teen feelings of embarrassment.
After the zoo, it was a quick tube ride to … Harrod’s. Nazeriah was in heaven. We went to every floor. The favorite was the Toy Kingdom and the super spy area: pens with hidden cameras and super sunglasses and lots more items.
