Storytelling

The main objective of today was to visit the National Gallery. We had an early lunch then walked over to Canary Wharf pier to catch the clipper; I wanted to take the buggy and the boat guarantees level access. Orla was not Orla on the boat, she was "Mean Orla". It was quite amusing up to a point, but she got a bit carried away and I eventually had to remind her who was actually calling the shots.

After a brief play in Trafalgar Square, we headed for the cafe in the Gallery. Very pleasant it was too, I thoroughly enjoyed my "builder's tea" and the slice of carrot cake Orla and I shared. We collected an activity book from the front desk of the Gallery and used it to guide us around. It made things much more interesting for both of us, having a small handful of paintings to focus on and discuss. She absolutely loved it and we were in there for a good couple of hours.

We got the clipper back to London Bridge and met Ed there, then had dinner in Zizzi's at Shad Thames. Lots of lovely converted warehouses with exotic names like Cardamom House, reflecting the area's history as part of the spice trade. Conor fell asleep on the way home but then woke up again, so he got to listen to Orla's bedtime story too. We are reading Roald Dahl's Matilda.