Today we are heading out to one of the “London Villages”, Hampstead. It shows up on Instagram quite a bit and thought it would be nice to be out of the crowds.

It was quite a long tube ride but it went out from one of our two close stations so not a long walk. The first stop was Gail’s Pastry shop. We both had flavored croissants. I had ham and cheese, Val had almond. They were both delicious. I will say that the cheese is more cheese sauce not just melted cheese but still good. I highly recommend checking out Gail’s if you are in London, there are several locations.

Hampstead was quaint and there was some nice shopping but not as great as I was hoping. I think it would be a good place to stay although the tube into city attractions would take a bit of time the pace in the morning and evening would be nice. Hampstead has a lot of bakeries and cafes which makes it good for lazy days if that is what you are looking for.

It did make for a nice day although I don’t know that I would go back.

We got back to the hotel had the other half of our bagel and headed back out to see Oliver. I had intended to dress up but since we were using the tube I had to wear my tennis shoes. We had passed the theater while wandering the other day so we knew where we were going so it went fine getting there. It was one of the smaller theaters and off the beaten path over in SoHo so not a long trip. It did take us through the Chinatown.

The show was good but the theater was too hot. We only made it to the intermission. We had great seats but we were in the middle and there was just no air so we decided to cut out before the end.

We stopped at Shake Shack to get an ice tea. I am going to have to support them once I am home. They are the only place that sold ice tea. I had been hunting ice tea from day one and had no luck in Wales but hopeful that I would have more luck in London. I thought all the fast food places might cater to the Americans with an ice tea but that was wrong. Only shake shack came through.

I was afraid I couldn’t take my large cup on the tube so I hid in my purse. I hadn’t seen anyone else carrying cups other than something that had a screw on lid so I thought I shouldn’t risk it. I didn’t want to have to give up my treasure so I awkwardly walked through the station with one hand in my purse holding the cup upright. Sitting in the train with one hand in my purse my mind went crazy thinking that people probably thought I was hiding a gun or something so then I was trying to balance the cup so I could show both hands. My imagination was running wild all so I could have an ice tea. Of course no one was looking at me but I still kept it hidden all the way out of station.

Sadly I didn’t take any pictures in Hampstead and only the one at the theater so not much for today’s post.