Tuesday 24fh September - last day

With a 10:30pm flight, we still virtually had an entire day. We considered doing a walking tour, but decided we just didn't have the energy. As we had to check out of the hotel by midday, we decided a matinee show in West End would be a good way to spend the afternoon. There aren't many matinees on offer on Tuesdays, but we were happy to get tickets for Top Hat.

So, after we had showered and basically packed, we headed off to the Leicester Square ticket office. We stopped in the area at Pret a Manger for breakfast, then had no trouble getting good seats for the show. We made our way back to the hotel to do final packing, check email one last time, and place our bags in the luggage room.

Back in the Covent Garden area, we had a few options for lunch, and decided on Porters Restaurant - with a pub like atmosphere, it was a little different to other places we had eaten. So, we ordered the traditional English meals of fish and chips and pie. The food was good, and so was the service.

We then made our way around to the Aldwych Theatre. The show was going well, wasn't going to be a favorite, but entertaining none the less. But, about an hour after it started, a piece of the ceiling fell onto the stage. There was a delay while they considered options, but they could not go on, so the show was cancelled. As we had bought our tickets from the Leicester Square booth, that meant we had to go back there to arrange the refund. We then found ourselves at a bit of a loose end.

After consideration, especially taking into account that we did not have a lot of energy! We decided to go back to the Parisian pastime of people watching while drinking. There are several cafes on Leicester Square which have outdoor dining with a view across the park and fountain in the square. We picked one, sat and took our time with cappuccino and iced tea - a very pleasant way to finish our holiday.

Picked up our bags, onto the Tube in peak hour - talk about sardines!! The carriage was really full, we pulled into a station and 2 passengers got out, but 4 more got in!! No idea where they found the room!

Heathrow wasn't as overwhelming as I expected, but security check took ages, they were really slow, and were unpacking and checking about 1 in 5 bags for residue.

After all our adventures, we will be glad to be home.