A London Adventure --Day 4

Day four was an extra special day. This was a special day because it was the day that Miss Ada had her first birthday party. She began the day opening a couple birthday presents. Miss K thought it was important to have a warm up!!

Opening packages

After the package opening, we did a little decorating for the party. Some of the activities included: blowing up balloons using a small helium tank; preparing the cake and snacks. Miss A dressed in her birthday dress. Then we met up with some friends for lunch at the Mayflower Public House. 

Birthday dress finery

On our walk, we passed the ruins of King Edward III's Manor house. Miss K liked reading about the site. I've found it interesting to have ruins in the middle of a modernish apartment building. In the states, the site would have been demolished and built over. Here, the Museum of London excavated the site to preserve the remains and this part of the foundation was left to mark where the building once stood. 

Reading the information about the historical site

We went to Sunday roast at the Mayflower pub. The pub is close to the jetty from where the Pilgrim's Mayflower ship sailed in 1620. Originally, the pub was named the Spread Eagle but it was renamed for the ship. It was surreal to be eating in an establishment that has been around for more than 400 years!

Miss K noting the sign

Nicole had made reservations for us in the pub as there were ten of us. It was a unique dining experience. The place is so popular that the outside dining area is reserved for walk ins. It was full even though it was a cold and rainy day!

The menu

The menu was written on the board. Most of us ordered one of the roast options. Miss K ordered Gnocchi. When the plates arrived, we all snapped photos of what we were eating.

Photo process of the entrees

We had planned to start the birthday party at the little park near Nicole's flat; but it was too wet, too windy and too cold! Instead, we walked back to the flat and greeted guests as they arrived.

Some of the Wonder Woman themed decor

Miss A has so many honorary aunties. These aunties hail come from a variety of countries. . .Romania, Sardinia, Portugal to name a few. All the aunties talk to Ada in their native language. 

The balloons were a fun draw

Then there are the parents in Nicole's birth group. These parents are from Ukraine, France and more. Ada's dad is Turkish. Ada seems to have an ear for language. It was so interesting to hear so many languages, including English, spoken in such a small space. There were five babies all born with a few days of each other and their parents at the party. 

Homemade chocolate cake
dusted with powdered sugar 

With so many kids and people, you might have thought that there would have been a lot of crying. Nope. . .no crying. Lots of playing and lots of visiting happened. The cake was delicious. It was such a nice party.