Peaches Prattlings











We start with an 8am alarm, that’s not too bad, we woke up with the sun, which is better than the alarm, but the alarm kept us honest!

Start with breakfast, we gave ourselves two hours to get breakfast and get an Uber to where we were going. First stop of the day…The Tower of London! We had 1030am ticket times and we got there at 1022am, walked right up and in, it was perfect!

The first thing we did was speak to a yomen of the guard who showed us, on the map, where all the accessable and non-accessable points were, thank you very much!

We decided to start with the Crown Jewels, where else should we start! Luckily, the queue to get in was not long, still a lot of people in walking around, but wow! Shiny, blingy, shiny, and more blingy! If you haven’t seen them, go! Unfortunately, no photos at all, not even of the entrance sign! sigh…

There was one cool feature, it was a moving sidewalk near the last set of crown jewels, wish there were moving sidewalks near all the exhibits, then you might be able to see them all!

When we were finished, we went to wander around the grounds to see what else we could see and, while taking a picture, we noticed that Miss A was missing part of her hair bob concoction, the skull and rose, uh oh. So, they walked down the hill to retrace their steps and I went into where the crown jewels were and spoke to the guard at the entrance. He radioed and guess what…someone found it! See David, the guard with the hair bob! How cool!

We walked around, went to the new cafe, had a snack, then wandered around some more, headed to the gift shop and out to Tower Bridge. We took some photos and headed towards the Tower Cruises, we got a one-way trip to Westminster and The London Eye area. While we waited we chatted with a nice couple from Orlando who were here following a band.

It was starting to rain, so we were glad for the cover, then on the boat, it was a double decker, we were inside, I got us some tea and then the rain came down heavy and all the people from upstairs came downstairs, they weren’t feeling sitting in the rain I guess!

The captain was funny as we traveled he told us some history and funny stories, I’m sure some of it was to see if we were paying attention!

We docked and began walking in the rain, it’s London, of course it’s going to rain! We walked towards Trafalgar Square, then through the West End to Chinatown. It was still a little early, but we had to be at the theatre at 730, why not wander through Chinatown and see if maybe we get a very late lunch/very early dinner, it was about 430 when we got to Chinatown and we began to wander.

It’s such a cool neighborhood, lots of people, shops, restaurants, and the entrances and lanterns let you know where you are. There was street performers to enjoy, sights to take in, and restaurant after restaurant after restaurant to tempt you!

We decided on China Modern, it had a great selection and was relatively empty when we got there! It got even better, they had  a healthy vegan section for me! Except for most of the dishes having chili peppers indicating spicy…I was set!

I ended up getting stir fried mock chicken with ginger and spring onion and veggie dumplings, the food was very appealing and tasty, I was set! I ate more than I normally to, but it was good and apparently we were hungry!

After eating, we ventured into Chinatown, stopping at Chinatown Bakery, which reminded me of the place that JCT takes me when I visit to get all sorts of Chinese treats! I was looking for Chinese almond cookies, but no one carried them, sigh…but I did get a few red bean bun items, so very excited to eat them on my flight home!

We stopped to hear a musician who was from Sweden, he was great, he put his own spin on Whitney Houston, Coldplay, and ABBA, we were set! We sat and listened to him for his last three songs, then moved on to wander through Chinatown some more.

Eventually, it started raining again, and we still had about an hour before we needed to get to the theater, and we were only about a 10 minute walk, if that… so, we went into Paul, a patisserie chain, which I love when I’m over here. They actually have a few locations in the states, it’s fun, but I prefer it over here!

We had some tea and just sat to enjoy the warm and dry, Miss A decided to take a nap on SDL, and we spoke with a family from Sweden sitting next to us, who had the same idea, since they were going to see Back to the Future, which it turns out was next to the theater we were going to.

About 715p, we got motivated and walked to the theater, they let us in a side entrance, then made a chair lift to lower Miss A and her chair to the stalls, where we were sitting! It was so cool! The taxi driver with the ramp and now the theatre with the list, we were spoiled!

Now…we’re seeing Six, the hit musical about the six wives of Henry VIII. This is the third time I’ve seen the show, first time in Boston in 2022 with Dad, LaLa, GES, and MGS. The second time in St Louis with PSM, and now, here in London with SDL and Miss A! We tried to go in NYC last summer but it was sold out.

It’s not a huge theater, but it was cozy and the accoustics were great! I sat in the middle of a row near SDL and Miss A, they were at the end of their aisle in accessable seating. The best part…I could hear Miss A when she started singing and really enjoying the show, it was awesome! I knew they would love it!

When the show was over, we grabbed a taxi, ramp out to roll Miss A’s chair right into the taxi, got to the hotel, they took showers and have gone to bed and I stayed up to talk to you!

Another fun and jam packed day! We’ve gone to almost all of the places on our list, at least the highlighted ones, some are  just a would be nice if we could do it, the rest, we’re getting them all!

Tomorrow is another jam-packed day, or I know it will be the way we do it! So…won’t you join me tomorrow! For now, I’ll say fare thee well! G’night!



Today is Chinese New Year! It’s the year of the Ox.

I don’t know if you fall into the category of believing in Chinese Zodiac signs, but I do. I enjoy learning about characteristics and traits and see if they match with the person I might know with that sign. I do it with astrological signs. That being said, if you are the year of the ox, and this is your year, let’s see if your personality and characteristics fit:

Oxen are honest and earnest. They are low key and never look for praise or to be the center of attention. This often hides their talent, but they’ll gain recognition through their hard work. They believe that everyone should do what’s asked for them and stay within their bounds. Though they are kind, it’s difficult for them to understand persuasion using pathos. Rarely losing your temper, they think logically and make great leaders.

Is that you?

I remember as a kid, celebrating with with a Pilipino family that lived down the street from us, our families were great friends. Their oldest son and I were the same age and their youngest and my sister were the same age, the middle kid, well, he was in the middle, ha ha, and we all played together. We would play after school, at holidays and over the summer, the family would come and stay at our summer house. AL, the oldest used to drive my mom crazy, he would make that dripping water noise with his mouth and cheek, it drove her insane, mostly because he would do it in the middle of the night. Ha ha.

Back to celebrating…They observed a lot of Chinese traditions, the boys went a Chinese school every Saturday, much to their chagrin, in Chinatown in NYC, how many of you wanted to go to school on Saturday to learn a new language, on top of going to school during the week. The most fun was celebrating Chinese New Year with them. Foods, traditions, stories, the red envelopes. Oh yeah, the red envelopes.

It is tradition to give the gift of a bright, beautiful red envelope (known as 紅包, hóngbāo) to friends and family. It’s not just any old envelope…The red color symbolizes good luck and prosperity in Chinese (and other East Asian) cultures. Here are 8 Things You Should Know about the Lucky Red Envelope.

I was a kid, so of course, I looked forward to getting those red envelopes and they always had money in them, but it was usually $2 bills! I know you won’t be surprised, I probably still have a few of those envelopes, might even have the money in them. But even then, as much as I enjoyed getting money filled envelopes, I knew they were special, not just because of the money, there was history behind them, I knew there was something.

As I mentioned, with the envelopes, there was laughter and joy, their house was always full for the celebration, so many people sharing moments, food, and stories. What more could you want?

I’ve been in different places for Chinese New Year to see the celebrations, including the fireworks, dragons, dancing, parades and so much more. There is nothing like it! I hope to travel the world to see more celebrations! We saw some celebrations in Hawai’i, I remember a celebration inside a mall! I’ve seen them in New York City, and Philadelphia, PA, it’s not something you ever forget and I hope sometime in your life, you get to experience the wonder and splendor and come back and tell me all about it!

I will leave you with a traditional Chinese New Year greeting: I wish you a year of abundance and prosperity. Xin nian hao.



et cetera