Yesterday Tabby and I got up very early and set out to go to London. Due to the train strikes we ended up getting a coach into London. The way there went well, the coach was on time and everything went smoothly. We arrived quite early and walked from Victoria Coach Station and into central London to go book shopping. Everything was so empty, due to how early it was which was really cool.

One of our first stops was to go to the Hotel Chcolat shop to get a hot chocolate with cream, which we’d seen last time but hadn’t bought. It was so good, but even the small amount we had was too much. It was so rich and sickly that I don’t think I could drink another hot chocolate anytime soon. I would definitely recommend it, but go for a small size. I had a regular, and am so glad I wasn’t tempted more for the large. After that we went for a little aimless walking, without using a map, and got a little lost. We did find Covent Garden Market, which was pretty cool and something new to walk around. There was a lot of things related to Punch and Judy there, which is something I haven’t thought about in years.

My main aim was to get the new volumes of Asadora! and Zom 100 that came out earlier in the month. The first store that we went to didn’t have either, but I did find a few other books. Heaven by MIeko Kawakami, which is about two schoolchildren who bond over being bullied, as well as Beautiful Star by Tukio Mishima, which I bought purely because I liked the front cover. I’d seen Heaven previously while book shopping so had it on my list already. The second store that we went to, Forbidden Planet, I managed to find both Asadora! and Zom 100, and they were in the 3 for 2 deal as well, so picked up the next volume of Beastars that I wanted. I also bought Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout. I’ve really enjoyed her books about Lucy Barton, so had to get this. I’m looking forward to reading them all soon.

The main reason we were going to London was to go to the Abroad in Japan Ultimate Christmas Party show at Picturehouse Central. Chris Broad is one of my favourite YouTubers, so when the show was first announced I bought tickets instantly. The show itself was so good, and more than worth the trip to London for it. It was very funny, and a great night out. After the show we got to meet Chris and Natsuki from the channel, which was also brilliant.

After the show we had quite a wait until the coach back home, which wasn’t so bad, except the coach left late even though it was sitting there for ages beforehand. Every stop the coach reached was a little later than expected and on top of that I was feeling incredibly travel sick. I didn’t actually throw-up, but it’s the closest I’ve been since I was a little kid. It was horrible. All I wanted to do was curl up on the floor. We finally got home at just past 2 in the morning, and I slept right through until about 10. Even with that almost 8 hours of solid sleep, I’ve been very tired today and have taken a couple of naps.

Overall, yesterday I walked, according to my watch, 29607 steps/14.34 miles. I’ve worked really hard on getting back into shape over the last year as during the pandemic I put on a load of weight and could barely walk for half an hour without my feet hurting. I’m so glad to have made good progress on that.

Thanks for reading, I’m off to go and do some reading.