After our visit to the Imperial war museum we checked into our hotel for the final two nights. The Royal National hotel is one of a group of mega-hotels very centrally located in Russell Square. People from all over Europe are checking in and out of this place at all hours of the night and day. In the main foyer you could hear could hear just about every language except English being spoken. On this occasion as with most other times we've been here, the majority of travellers coming and going are Spaniards and Italians.
March 25th: Our first full day in town and after a bit of bus tour of the major sites we gone right down to business; dropped off on Shaftesbury avenue, just a stone's throw from Picadilly circus we all made a B-Line for the single most important stop in the city - Lillywhites!
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This is a sporting goods paradise and the boys took little time is spending their last few quid on everything from soccer jerseys to new rugby boots, flags, scarves, rugby balls and whatever else they deemed a must have. Prices on things such as good rugby boots are deceptively cheap considering the location. But that is what Lilywhites is known for and it's what brings people in from all over.
After a good 5 hours of sightseeing and shopping, we brought the boys to the Soho Pizzeria on Beak Street for our final team dinner. Excellent food and excellent value. It was great to finish off our tour this way; a great bunch of boys with their overworked coaches having a well deserved meal, talking about their experiences over the last 2 weeks and a few good laughs. A fitting finale to a great touring experience.
March 26th: Flight home. A few final purchases in the Terminal Five duty frees then off to Vancouver. Cannot help but remark with great relief at our luck. We came home in between the BA strike actions. Had our return trip been schedules for the 27th, we'd likely still be there...
Thanks to all parents for your support of our tour. We look forward to the next one.
