Day Three

Day Three: We lay in some provisions

On each of the previous days, we dropped about thirty GBP at the local TESCO Express, a mini-supermarket in the style of those in Manhattan. Tiny aisles, long lines, not good selection, but enough to feed us for a few days.

Hubster decides we need to make a huge supermarket run. I have been touting the wonders of the 02 Center up on Finchley Road, which contains a giant Sainsbury's Supermarket (this is the chain that owns Shaws/Star Market) a cinema, a Ben and Jerry's ice cream store, a chinese restaurant, a Starbucks, an Indian restaurant, a furniture store, etc. We decide to hike about a mile north from here, the back way up Loudon Road to Fairfax Rd to Finchley. On the way we pass a Woolworth's and a Waitrose Grocery store, the latter of which tempts us, but taskmistress Mom urges us on. We find and enter the 02 center to find that the Supermarket has been closed for necessary renovations to bring us a new and better shopping experience, and that it will reopen on Wed. Aug. 20th. Unfortunately, it was Tues. Aug. 19th at the time. Teen and I console ourselves with Ice Cream from B & J's.

We retreat in chagrin to Waitrose, which provides us with a very satisfying although not quite complete shopping experience. For instance, they do not carry toilet-cleaning brushes or other cleaning needs that we require. We do a huge shopping, filling the cart with 8 or 9 large plastic "sacks", knowing that we will not have to lug them all back one mile, as Hubster has decreed that we are going to Splurge and take a taxi back. This costs us an additional 5 pounds, but is well worth it, as our knees and feet cannot take much more on this day.

We get home to discover that our haul just about fits into our euro-fridge, which is about half the size of what we are used to. See photo