Simple joys of toys and roses

So I took a wee little shopping walk today. Got down to the circus before everyone else did. Yes, I said circus--all the really congested shopping districts are called circuses, or at least it seems so--Oxford Circus...Piccadilly Circus--anyway, I took a walk along Regent Street. And the first place I walked into was Hamleys.

Now all you parents--if you're ever in London, you have to take your children to this amazing place. It's FIVE stories of toys. Plush toys and game toys and Thomas toys and car toys and artsy toys and oh... it was so happy. They even have little stations where you can play--from the smiling guy who shoots the bubble gun at you as you come in, to the pile of packing air bubbles that you are invited to bounce on, to the lady that shows you this amazing art wand that paints rainbows---I mean there's a giant matchbox car hanging from the ceiling!! It's a magical place, I tell you. I bought a few things for some twin boys I know--who I know I love because I lugged those presents all over the city.

The rest of my shopping trip took me to lots of places I couldn't afford, and a few that I could. I found a bath store called Lush that my friend Terri always raves about, where I bought lovely things like shampoo bars and body butter bars...and ended up earning a jar of really expensive face moisturizer for free--score.

I also, because apparently I can't help myself, went into a few bookstores. The only thing is that there are so many really big new ones--and I have those in the US (okay, so maybe we don't have one that's five stories high close to where I live...) What I want is a really cool used book store. Still have yet to find one--but I really have to stop buying books--because I have to carry these books home. And I have a ways to go yet.

Speaking of buying--I really have to stop buying everything--everything I buy is doubly expensive in dollars--realizing this, around lunchtime, I decided to quit spending money. I headed to Regents Park.

I've discovered how Londoners deal with living in the bustling city--they have parks. And I'm talking huge parks. Regents isn't even the biggest, and it has room for football fields, and a lake, and lots of pathways, countless benches, flower beds, a cafe, an open air theater and the London Zoo. But what I discovered was a little oasis called Queen Mary's Garden.

In the movie, The Secret Garden, Dickon promises Mary that when spring time comes, there'll be curtains and fountains of roses. That's what I found here. So many colors, everywhere I looked were roses. As soon as I decided on my favorite, I'd discover another one that I liked just as much. Some of them looked like the pink was hand painted on, and the rain laid in perfect drops on the petals. I just went from bed to bed, drinking them in. I even saw one that had pink, orange and yellow and every shade in between--it was the closest I've ever seen to a rainbow rose. God really outdid Himself in perfection when He made the rose.

So, if I'm ever lost in London, and you can't find me--I'll be in the garden among the roses, blowing bubbles.