Before we had the children we used to make regular trips to Covent Garden in London's West End, especially in the summer months. The market was one of my favourite places as well as some really brilliant shops and cafes. Shannon has been wanting to visit a shop called ArtBox for a while now - they sell Japanese stationary and homeware as well as sweets and clothing.
So, on a chilly Sunday morning we jumped in the train to Victoria and just a few stops on the Piccadilly Line and we were in Covent Garden.
My kids are big fans of anime, kawaii style and they are a bit partial to Pocky and Hello Panda biscuits. Artbox is on Shelton Street just a short walk from the station - Shannon had birthday money to spend and picked out a few goodies including a Totoro water bottle, Tokidoki notebook and a squashy cat. Fin - not wanting to feel left out got a Rilakuma bear and some mango Pocky.
We took a stroll down a few streets - saw some yummy cupcakes and just had to have one, then wandered down towards the Piazza Square and watched some of the street performers.
The Apple Market and Jubilee Market are both amazing places to mooch around. We took a little look in the Moomins Shop before heading into the Jubilee Market - the kids ended up at a stall selling fossils - the guy was really friendly and spoke to the children for ages - they came away with a shark's tooth and a bit of dinosaur bone which he gave to them for free.
Continuing with our wanderings we ended up in Charing Cross where I found a little old-fashioned sweet shop called Hardy's - couldn't resist getting some pick n mix from here.
The sky was unbelievably blue, but at 2 degrees it was pretty chilly (we have snow here today). We past the National Portrait Gallery and had a sit down by the fountains at Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square before heading back to the train station.
We are very lucky to have London in such easy reach and we are hoping to go back for some more adventures next month.
Have you visited London? Do you have a favourite part?
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