As usual, our first stop was the aquarium, which is a draw for both girls, who were mesmerized by the sea anemone type section of the aquarium. I can't figure out what the zoo is doing with the aquarium, as it seems to have been under construction the entire time we've lived here and still has some temporary ceiling and is very temporary feeling and cave-like. But the fish are nice. I am a little spoiled, having experienced the New Orleans Aquarium many times and I haven't actually been to the London Aquarium, so I probably should stop having such high expectations for the zoo...because zoos aren't all about aquariums anyway...
they're obviously about merry go rounds! This is Evie's first solo merry go round ride. She wanted to go on the big one, but I couldn't take her, so she had to settle for the little one. Clearly it was ok!
Millie watched from the sidelines:
She was also thrilled to pose next to the penguins, who were basking in the rare London sun:
Despite her history with butterflies, Evie insisted on going to the butterfly tent and her reaction was the same as usual: hysterical shrieking when a beautiful blue butterfly flew near her face. Here she is on high alert:
Millie finds the butterflies to be less alarming. These butterflies were called glass wings because they had wings that we could see through:
We had a picnic on the zoo green, along with about six thousand school children. School ends in a few weeks and as part of the final push all the kids are getting to go on lots of school trips. Millie was ecstatic to be out of her buggy and on the grass. Now that she is moving, she is less tolerant of just riding along.
Going to the London Zoo during the summer definitely offers more opportunities to actually see the animals. Today we saw lions, tigers, monkeys, camels and lots of other animals out and about. The last time we came, they were all hunkered down inside to stay warm. My personal favorite is the Pygmy Hippo (named Thug, seen from behind).
We also enjoyed the Galapagos Turtles and when I asked Evie if she could believe that Dirk, the oldest, was born before Lala and Nana, she said, in amazement, "Noooooo....." That made a lady near us laugh (sorry Moms!).
After getting in big trouble for biting me while pretending to be a lion, Evie has turned her pretending efforts towards being a dragon. She was a little confused that this giant lizard is an actual dragon. I think she was expecting the fire breathing variety, but when she heard that it eats things like baby crocodiles, she got interested fast.
But her all time favorites are always the giraffes, who I think she feels a special connection with because of her adoration of her Dou Dou. I am looking forward to when Millie can be more interactive at the zoo and tell us what she loves, too!
We ended our trip to the zoo with a visit to the owls, of whom we also are fond. There were some babies and some dead mice lying around for them to snack on, which was fascinating for little eyes. The nice thing about having a membership to the zoo is that when you've had enough, you can just leave, knowing you can come back whenever you feel like it again. Next time I want visit the bats and I'll bring everyone's bathing suits so they can play in the paddling pool area. Maybe we'll just spend the whole summer at the zoo!
