Tuesday 24 June - David Attenborough exhibit & The Lion King

I made a conscious decision to plan a nice day for my last day in London so that I could maintain my ability to stay present to the moment and not get anxious or focus on staying up and getting to the airport early tomorrow.

Yesterday I had missed the opportunity to see the "Our story with David Attenborough" at the Natural History Museum so I booked a ticket for midday today and rearranged the other things I had planned for the afternoon. So mid-morning I set off back to the Natural History Museum and arrived with plenty of time.

"Our Story with David Attenborough" was stunning. A 360-degree projection on the walls and floors of the room starting with travelling through the galaxy to planet earth. The passionate message from David Attenborough is that as humans we have made mistakes and caused damage to our planet. But we are highly creative and intelligent beings and we are capable of finding and making changes so that the earth remains a habitable planet for many hundreds of years.

After the 50 minute presentation, I took the opportunity to view a few more of the areas within the Natural History Museum. It felt like there were more people than yesterday, and I chose not to stay too long. Plus I craved being outside and having some lunch.

After sitting outside under the east entrance trees, I caught the Tube to Holborn. I found the store I was looking for, but it didn't have what I wanted, so I walked to Covent Gardens Market. I love this market space. I meandered the different stalls/shops with unique and hand-crafted items. I found and bought a beautiful watercolour, pen and gold embellished artwork of a bumblebee on a red flower. Then not long after as I was browsing some hand-made jewellery, I spotted a ring that is exactly like my favourite ring I lost on Christmas day just six months ago. I couldn't believe it! And exactly the right size. No need to say, but I bought it, put it on and it will stay on forever.

I spent the next several hours exploring the rest of the market, watching a few of the street performers in front of Covent Gardens market, and wandered through the quaint streets and shops between Covent Gardens and Leicester Square. The other day Colin had recommended going to Seven Dials Market for dinner. It is kind of like a food hall, with loads of different food outlets with tables available to eat at. There were some food places in the 'lane' entrance, then two levels around an atrium with communal style tables and seats on the lower level, plus some bar seats and high counters around the upper level overlooking the lower area. The choice was wide and varied. I ordered a Sando from Lucky's Hot Chicken, with the country seasoning, and it was so delicious - crispy on the outside, melt in the mouth chicken and delectable Brioche Texas Toast.

I headed 10 minutes down the road to the West End for The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre! And what a performance it was! The costumes, the puppetry, the music, the songs, the lighting and choreography …. all truly spectacular and captivating. I thoroughly enjoyed the theatre performance of The Lion King. A fabulous way to spend my last evening in London.

A short walk to Embankment tube station, the District Line train to Kew Gardens followed by a walk from the station to Kelly and Will's was simple and easy. Once back I set about changing my clothes and packing my suitcase. Now I'm all set, with time to complete my travel blog before the taxi is due to pick me up in a couple of hours (at 2:30am).

See you soon Melbourne.