Back from LONDON…with Paddington Bear!

Once the boys on an early spring break, we decided to visit Paris and London.

Once the boys were all geared up in the rain gear, we went all the way to 187 Piccadilly in the heart of St.James to the famous and most venerable Hatchard's bookstore.

Founded in the 18th century, this most beautiful place is fantastically located by both Fortnum and Mason ( best tea and very child-friendly) and the Royal Academy of Arts.

Once in, we stocked up on Paddington Bear books and other truly British Children books ( more in a later post).

On that very night, I read to the boys " A bear called Paddington" by the great Michael Bond, illustrated by R.W. Alley, which detailed how this lovely little bear, who comes from darkest Peru, got his very British name, why he loves his marmalade sandwiches and where is 32 Windsor Gardens...

The next evening, we followed-up with " Paddington at the palace".

Paddington Bear and his friend Mr. Gruber go and to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace and maybe Her Majesty the Queen too...

PS:If you are looking at getting some Paddington Bear books for your little ones, I recommend the picture books rather than the novels. Although, the very knowledgeable lady at Hatchard's assured me that the novels at the first ones, Mr. Bond wrote, I feel the our children prefer seeing Paddington up to his mischiefs around London.

Enjoy...

On the official Paddington Bear's website:

http://www.paddington.com/gb/home/

You can find all those great Paddington books at your Public Library

https://nypl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/20243366052907_a_bear_called_paddington

Or on amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Paddington-Treasury-Classic-Bedtime-Stories/dp/0062312421/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428080539&sr=1-2

The history of the Hatchard's bookstore:

https://www.hatchards.co.uk/history/