Ruminations upon Sunday August 11, 2024 in London, England
Sunday morning was slow and easy. We had one goal. Visit the Royal Air Force Museum. Then we learned that several kosher pizza options were available down the street. Even though the boys all had breakfast around 10AM they were already hungry at 11:30 when we left Emily’s house for our day trip. Chaim and I looked at each other and knowingly nodded. A change in schedule was required. First the pizza, second the museum. The boys chose to try out Pizaza. A ten-minute walk away. The internet informed us that Pizaza did not open until 12:00PM. “But I’m starving!” cried Shai, who is always starving. “And I need pickles!” called Amichai who had been craving pickles for days.
As it happened, there was a kosher grocery store right next to us. In we went and pickles we found. Israeli pickles for Eitan and Matanel, and dill pickles for Amichai and Shai. “But Ima! Where do we eat these pickles?” they wondered. I directed them to a stoop. At first, they thought I was crazy for telling them to sit on a random stoop. At my insistence and as their pickle cravings intensified, they all shrugged their shoulders, sat down, and enjoyed their pickle feast. Our timing couldn’t have been better. Just as they finished, Pizaza opened. They all approved of the pizza and fries. Then, they spent most of the time comparing Pizaza to the other two pizza places we frequent back home. Of course, their eyes were bigger than their stomachs. Chaim and I learned very early on not to order anything and enjoyed half of the pizzas and fries the boys were too stuffed to even touch.
Bellies sated, we took a bus and a nice walk on a very hot day to the Royal Air Force Museum. We arrived with just enough time to catch a free show on important trailblazers in the air industry. Frist, the show explained what makes a trailblazer a trailblazer. Then, it highlighted four individuals: Amelia Earhart, Bessie Coleman, Howard Hughes, and Amy Johnson. The kids thoroughly enjoyed and learned plenty of history through these four perspectives. They thought it was especially neat to learn that Tony Stark’s character in the Marvel comic books was inspired by Howard Hughes.
After the show we spent plenty of time wandering through the different exhibits. The boys found the exhibits with “old” music from previous decades the most enjoyable. They had a blast playing a game where they had to test their 1980s and 1990s trivia knowledge. The goal was to sort the movies, TV shows, and music shown on the screen into the correct decade’s box. It was the first of many times in a museum that would make me feel old and like my childhood was already fossilized. I will say, we have certainly schooled our children in the music and movies of the 1980s and 1990s. They got most of the questions correct.
In the end, we spent three hours at the RAF museum and could have spent more. We were literally kicked out by one of the docents who maintained a distance of 0 steps behind us to usher us out exactly at 5:00PM. After stopping for a quick refreshing drink, we took the bus back to Emily’s house to say goodbye and meet Carine who kindly drove all of our luggage to her flat. Finally, after several goodbyes, we walked a short mile to Carine’s house. Thanks to our friends, and some very well-timed pickles, it was an easy, breezy Sunday.
