Day 91: Status Quo

Thursday. Venice is still sick. I slept with her last night, to be sure she had no "really" bad reaction to the medication and to help administer it during the night, and, of course, to offer any comfort I could. Poor thing.

Our view

Chris' work is going through some changes at the moment and there is a new deadline on the table (bad timing with our UK travels). But, as it looks like our day is a bit altered, as it is, he went into work for half a day. His time in the office will allow him to get a little work done and to say a proper goodbye to the London office.

Meanwhile, Xander and I have breakfast. Venice rests.

Chris returned home to have lunch with Xander and me. We decided to head out to Leatherly Lane for lunch, a place filled with farmers market vegetables and crafts, as well as, several food carts. First, we stop in at the market near HotelTonight and, this time, I find Vitamin water. Not fizzy, some vitamins. Maybe Venice can drink this stuff. I also picked up a few cups of jello (pre-made) for her to try. Meanwhile, Chris ran up to HotelTonight to return the keys he forgot he still had (doh!)

Then we walked to the carts. Here, we were able to pick up strawberries (the one food item Venice has been asking for), a smoothie (something else she's been wanting), and our own lunches. We also stopped by a coffee house for a quick espresso. We took our food and goods back to the aparthotel to eat lunch at home.

The carts on Leatherly Lane (left), Blue skies peaking through
Chris and Xander enjoying the coffee shop (right)

Venice tried a strawberry and a sip of the smoothie, but really, nothing was good for her tummy. Side note: Venice, after refusing for many months, decided she was finally ready to try my nasal rinse (think Netty pot), but... I must have sent home my salt packets because I can't find them anywhere. I searched EVERYWHERE and I think it is hanging out with my receipt from yesterday, dang it (but I used more serious words here). I swear, there's a black hole in our aparhotel.

After lunch, with Xander not excited for touring and such and Venice not up for going out and about, Chris and I decided to go out together. The kids stayed home. Xander agreed to take care of Venice and keep her company. Chris and I were able to get out and see a few places.

First, we had to "Top Up" our Oyster Cards (all pass to London's public transportation). We had paid for 7 days and those days are up, so we'll top them up for another 2 days. But, the machines do not like our credit cards and it takes us about 3-4 tries each to get them to work. Finally, we're both successful (each with a different credit card, if you're curious) and we're on our way into the Tube.

First up Covent Garden. OMG, another misnomer. There is no garden. It is a shopping area. Cute, beginnings of holiday decorations... but I had imagined us walking through a big garden. Along with shops, restaurants, and offices, there is an open air craft "shop" called the "Apple Market" (yes, I assumed it was Apple products, and there is an Apple store there, it's just not the "Apple Market).

Street (left), Apple Market (middle), Hogs Head, a "Gentlmens Venue" (right)

After Covent Garden, we walk to Leicester Square. Of course, by this time, the park in the middle is closed. The green spaces always seem to be closed and hard for us to find. Not like Berlin where there was a park every which way you turned. This is the entertainment area and there are a lot of theatres and big shops (including M&M World, which is high on the kids' list to visit, so we'll be coming back here with the kids, I suppose).

Street (left), Hippodrome (middle), Park in Leicester Square (right)

Next on our twilight tour is Trafalgar Square. Here we find The National Gallery, Canada House, and our first glimpse of Big Ben. We also stumble across two giant fingers. Strange, right? I looked it up later:

"Pointing fingers never solves anything, but that hasn't stopped someone making a sculpture of two giant fingers doing just that and plonking it in the middle of Trafalgar Square. The 25-ton sculpture is the work of Mexican artist José Rivelino Moreno Valle and is the first of four sculptures that will be popping up across the city as part of the Contemporary Mexican Sculpture exhibition. But soon the giant fingers won't be the only part of the human anatomy in Trafalgar Square, because next year David Shrigley's giant thumbs-up will be appearing on top of the fourth plinth. It's basically going to be a selfie-stick wielding tourist's dream." - By Isabelle Aron

Well, the author is right, it was a popular spot to take selfies (or regular photos), we did wait for our turn!

The Admiralty Arch (left), Big Ben in the distance (middle-left)
The Fingers (middle-right), Nelson's Column (right)

The National Gallery (upper left)
Canada House (all other photos)

Ok, check!

Next on the list is Big Ben and the London Eye (just looking). Just a few more blocks and we get better views. Unfortunately, we have lost the light and it is now nighttime. Excuse the photos as they get remarkably worse with the low light. Side note: The traffic around this area is horrible. At one point, to get closer to the river, we decided to just walk through all the stopped traffic (pedestrian lights were farther than we could see at the moment). And as we got closer to the intersection at Big Ben, it seemed like 4 cars could make it per light, then hoards of people would cross, then repeat. As you hear a siren approaching, it's hard to imagine how they get anywhere fast enough. We have seen emergency vehicles drive on the wrong side of the road on many occasions (traffic is stopped and there is no shoulder) and at other times, I've seen them wait until lights allow cars to move out of the way.

Westminster Abbey took on a cool look in the dark.

London Eye. Check. Big Ben. Check. Westminster Abbey. Check.

We had wanted to make it to Buckingham Palace, but it was almost a mile away and it was dinner time. We had to get back to feed the kids. So, we'll have to try another day, if possible. First, we down a cup of espresso (our first bad cup). Then, we duck into the Underground and hop on Circle line.

Google said to get off at a stop and walk about .4 miles to the next Underground station to catch the Central line. But, on the Circle line's map, the next stop shows you can transfer to the Central line. I wondered out loud why Google would send us one stop early and have us walk when we can just transfer at the next stop.

A local standing next to us overheard and offered some help. We can do either. If we get off at the first stop, we will walk above ground to the next station. If we get off at the second stop, we will walk underground, where, she advises, it will be better marked. Perhaps we could get lost if we were walking above ground. Ok, so we'll do the second stop.

Bad call! It was super crowded, sometimes not moving at all due to so many people, a turning stroller, or people waiting on the current-narrow platform. To our helper's credit, there were signs, but they weren't as frequent as you'd hope. It was a crazy labyrinth of going through rat-mazed narrow hallways and, at one point, going a level deeper (and so very much hotter). It took us 15 minutes of hot-hell to get to the next station. We instantly regretted it, but not knowing how long it would be, we had to keep on track. This is one of those mistakes that really sucks, but if you lived here for more than a few days, you'd learn from it and make a different decision the next time. As for me, I'm just dying of the heat and ready to be out in the open air.

Side note: Check out the photos below. I have not been able to take a really good one yet, as when we're in the middle of so many wall-to-wall people, I can't quite take out my phone to get a good photo without fear of being jostled and losing it... not to mention, I can't stop or I'd be trampled (exaggeration... sort of). The photo on the left shows how many people were remaining on the platform, AFTER those commuters, who were able to, packed themselves in. Chris is waiting in line. In Berlin, you just waited where ever. Here, you better wait right at the edge of the platform, or you're not getting in. The next photo shows a few people on the platform who did not make it on this train. You can see the gentleman who DID make it on the train, standing at an angle, almost sticking out of the doors (he better push in and duck more so as not to get hit by the doors). And yes, there are employees on the platform with paddles to signal the driver when it's clear to close the doors and pull away. There is also an employee on a microphone announcing to those of us left on the platform to remember that there is another train coming in 2 minutes. Ok, the last photo, on the right, shows how the commuters have finally ducked in far enough for the doors to be closed and are standing at a bent angle for the duration of their trip, while the rest of us wait for the next train.

The Tube at rush hour.

Our many sauces.

OMG, fresh air is so wonderful. I am so happy to be out of the Tube. And we weren't even as squished as some of those before us. Having missed one train, the next train wasn't as crowded. It was still wall-to-wall people inside, but we weren't slow dancing with full body contact. Anyway, I am happy to be out in the open with air and space to spare.

Down the block from our aparthotel, Chris and I split up. I go home to give Venice her next dose of medicine. Chris heads to grab take-away from the restaurant next to HotelTonight (we know we like it and Chris knows what to order).

Funny story. You need to use your aparthotel key to open the sliding doors to the building. Often, the person at the front desk will see you and open the doors for you. But in the event that they aren't there or are occupied, you can use your room key. So, I tried. Nothing. Try again. Nothing. Panic. And, oops! I was trying to use my Oyster Card (public transportation) instead of my room key. Doh! Only slightly embarrassing.

We enjoy a quiet dinner at home (while Venice drank juice in bed).

Venice is still not feeling better. It sure seems like the medication should have made a dent by now, but there's no difference. If anything, she feels like her tonsils are getting bigger. She is no longer vomiting, so that's a bonus. But, she's still not interested in eating or drinking. We're forcing her the best we can to get her to drink, drink, drink. I'm spending night with here again. Here's hoping for improvement tomorrow.

Day 90: Really Sick Day

Yeah, so "Best Laid Plans" strikes again. Last night, I admitted to Chris that I was feeling really bummed out about London. Here we are, a week out of Berlin, a week in the UK and we still haven't really seen anything in London. I was part of the planning out our week with Chris working in the office, but reality is feeling very different than the planning. It feels lonely to be in a brand new place without him being a part of it. I'm so glad he listened and heard me. He decided to take the morning off today. We talked about doing a few things on our list (Tower Bridge, Tower of London, and a Harry Potter walking tour). There are a few other buildings we'd see along the way, but those would be our three main points. We figured out how we could do it all, including lunch, and then he'd be able to go into work in the afternoon and into the evening (it's the night for the team to go out together). Perfect.

But, Venice woke up very sick from her medication. At least, that's how we're self-diagnosing it. Her poor body is not happy with the antibiotics. She is not interested in water or food. And, at the moment, it probably wouldn't stay in her body anyway. Obviously our day is taking a turn from the plan. I'm worried that we'll have to get help at some point, so Chris does a little work from home, but mostly helps find other pharmacies if we need to go in, brings lunch back to the room (there is a nice café in our building so he doesn't even have to leave the building), while I research antibiotic side effects and determine when is vomiting and diarrhea severe versus normal? Just so you know, one of the "normal" signs is lasting for 2-3 days while the body gets used to the medicine. Great.

Venice is in pretty good spirits considering
how miserable and frustrated she is.

Venice also had a rash the other day. We though it was just irritation to "something". She worried it was bed bugs from our first hotel. Now, I'm looking online and it could be scarlet fever and/or a strep rash. Again, we didn't have a definitive diagnosis yesterday, so I'm doing all my own diagnosis with the help of Google. The good news is that the rash will probably be covered by the antibiotics she's taking. The bad news is reading about illnesses online, we all do it, we are all told not to do it, but we do it. Some icky crap out there! But for us, I'm convinced the antibiotics will solve all our problems if we can just get it to remain in her system.

I headed out to the closes market we know. It's not like Berlin where we had three markets super close by and more just a few blocks farther. Here, I just know the one and it's small. I find rice, and I'm pretty pleased that I found some already cooked-instant rice, so when Venice wants it, it won't take half an hour to make. We're really looking for Gatorade or some kind of electrolytes. I do find a sports drink, but when we get it home, we find it's carbonated. Crap. It'll have to do. Oh, and guess what? That microwave in the kitchen? Isn't a microwave. It's an oven disguised as a microwave (it's tiny and above the refrigerator). But, it's an oven. So that fantastic 1 minute rice I found... just turned into an "on the oven cooking ordeal". Sigh. At least it's pre-cooked. I just have to heat it up. It's just a little more effort and dishes than I had planned for.

Venice wants to take a bath. This brings out her rash a little more. This also takes Xander's "blanket" away. He's been sleeping on the small couch and there are no extra "soft" blankets. So, he used a towel as a blanket last night (and a towel to sleep on). We'll have to find another solution for tonight. As hinted, there are extra blankets, but they're made out of wool, so they're too scratchy. Time to get creative (beyond using a bathroom towel).

Xander spending time on his "bed"

When it becomes clear that Venice's body is calming down (I've downgraded my concerns about needing to head to a hospital for more help). Chris goes into work a bit after lunch. Venice spends much of the day swapping time on her iPod and napping. Xander spends much of his day creating levels in Geometry dash. I spend most of my day doing laundry. Side note: OMG, I NEVER thought I'd say this.... I miss the washer and dryer from Berlin! At least I became to understand it. It's another combo machine and the clothes... come out beyond damp after drying for 2 hours. And, it's not clear, to me, where they want the laundry liquid to go... Sigh.

One thing that is driving me completely bananas is that I cannot find the receipt/prescription that I got from the pharmacy along with the medicine. I can see it in my mind (a coloured, I think pink, slip with our receipt stapled onto it). It is no where. We went to the market and then home and haven't left since. I can find the bag of the medicines and the two medicines. I've emptied my purse twice (and Chris went through it as well). I've tried pockets. I even went through all our trash, piece by piece. It's no where. All I can imagine is that it slipped out of a pocket or wallet on our way home. It's just vanished. So, on top of all of this, I have to wonder how it will all work on Saturday when we go to get her last bit of medicine without our paperwork. Ugh.

Dinner is easy as it's just Xander and me. We eat some leftovers and some of the items we have in our refrigerator. Venice pretty much doesn't eat. Chris is out with coworkers. It's a quiet evening. A day has slipped by.

Here are few lingering images and thoughts for you:

1) There are tons and tons of red telephone booths all over town, just like in the movies and TV shows. It's real. The funny part is how some have evolved. Many have half-naked women photos all posted inside with numbers to call (a special shout out to whomever puts those up). Some have additional free Wi-Fi available (Funny? Ironic?). And some aren't really booths, just made to look like one.

Phone booth in front of the British Museum, with naughty photos inside (left).
Photo booth that also offers free Wi-Fi (middle)
Photo booth, that's not a booth, but a phone and an ATM (right)

2) There is rubbish all over the sidewalks. I don't know what the protocol is here. Can anyone put trash bags in a pile? Is this how businesses put their trash out? I have no idea where all the trash comes from, but there is a lot of it on every block, just piled high. It's a definite eyesore. I keep thinking it must be trash day so it won't be there tomorrow, but it just seems to be everywhere. For those of you who are Monty Python fans, I chant in my head, "Bring out your trash!" (Instead of "Bring out your dead!") Don't say it. I know I'm weird.

Bring out your trash!

Day 89: Sick Day

What a wonderful night's sleep. Quiet. Comfortable.

Now to face the day. First things first... It is now our experience that hotels do not allow electronics in the bathroom. Maybe so you don't drop a hair dryer into the bathtub? There are no regular outlets in the bathroom, only one that is special to shavers (lucky men!) At the last hotel, there was no hair dryer at all. In our aparthotel, there is a hair dryer in the bedroom and a plug and mirror in the closet. I can dry my hair in the bedroom, but not the bathroom. I guess this is better than not being able to dry it at all. But what this means for Chris is that he cannot cut his hair in the bathroom (The hair cutters we use are from Germany and our converter will not work in the shaver's-only outlet). He must cut his hair... in the kitchen where there is no mirror... so I help.

Chris gets ready for his day at HotelTonight. Xander and I eat breakfast together, while we wait for Venice to wake up. As Chris leaves for work, he mentions that Venice is still feeling under the weather. And here's where our day turns....

In defence of a guilty mom:

1. When she had a few headaches, she had gotten up for several days at 7 or 8am, instead of her normal 11am-ish time. I chalked up the headaches to lack of sleep.
2. When she had a sore throat, she had just gotten over a cold. I chalked this up to a relapse and lack of sleep (also, some of us started experiencing more seasonal allergies, could have been that, too).
3. When she said she was tired. See above (lack of sleep) or all the walking we've been doing.
4. When she said she was hot and thirsty, I chalked it up to not drinking enough water because we were out and about and didn't always have easy access to water.
5. When she had a tickle in her throat. Well, she's had a "tickle" cough for a few months now, so I chalked it up to a continuation of that. 

But, for some reason, this morning, I decided to look into her throat (no real good excuse as to why I didn't look sooner). I used the flashlight on my iPhone to peak at her tonsils. And OMG. They are huge and have white spots on them. I flash back to when I was about her age (a few years older) and MY mom looked into my throat and saw the same thing! Yikes. 

I had aired my concerns that she might have strep throat several days ago, but her throat seemed to get worse, then better, then... up and down. Nothing seemed to go away, but neither did it escalate. But, after seeing those tonsils, I texted Chris and asked him to probe his coworkers as to where I could take her.

In the end (Chris' coworkers as well as my online research), it seemed best to walk into a pharmacy to get advice. They will either give me what we need, or direct me to where I need to go. So, I find a pharmacy online and Xander, Venice, and I head out the door.

The Angel shopping centre nearby

On the way to the pharmacy I had found, Venice saw another one, so we head into that one. The woman behind the counter had a thick accent from "I don't know, but I could barely understand her". When I explained I thought Venice had strep throat and that her tonsils were swollen with white spots, the woman said (and this is my best interpretation) to go to Angel station. Once we got to Angel station, to ask anyone where the walk-in clinic is around there. 

So, off we go to the Angel Tube station. Once we arrive here, I use Google maps to find the clinic (before asking someone for directions) and Google finds it. We got a few more blocks and we find the clinic (although, it has a lot of signs that read surgery, which doesn't help ease Venice's anxiety at all!)

Inside the clinic, I get in line. The woman says the first appointment is at 6:15pm (it is now a little after noon). I say, "Yes, please book us the 6:15pm appointment," but in my head, I'm saying, "WTF? That's crazy town. I'll take this appointment and then see if I can get a quicker one somewhere else." As the woman puts us into the computer, she asks who the appointment is for, I point to Venice and say, "My daughter." The woman didn't even miss a beat and said, "I'll put you in for 6:15, but why don't you wait and we'll try to get you in sooner." I get the feeling that it's because it's for Venice. That if it were me, I'd just have to come back at 6:15pm, but because it's a child, we get to wait. 

I need to fill out paperwork (it's really only a short piece of paper asking for date of birth, address, and complaint... not much more than that) and pay 50£ up front to be seen. I fill out the paper and am ready to pay. But, oh! They don't take credit cards. Cash only. I only have 40£! So, I leave the kids in the waiting room while I head back out to the ATM. The woman will enter Venice into the computer while I got out to get cash. 

When I get back, I pay and she said that she's put Venice into the system and the doctor knows to call her "next". So, we wait. 

While we're waiting, I take a look around the room. There is the front desk, where I've been talking to the staff. And to the right of this area is a pharmacy. I still don't understand why more U.S. places don't do this. You can get your prescription filled on your way out, no extra stops. Sounds logical!

I also notice others in the waiting room. It's hard to tell who's waiting for themselves and who's waiting for a friend. Meanwhile, I hear a "ring-a-zing" noise and a guy waiting in front of us looks above us on the wall, gets up, and walks down the hall. I look up to where he was looking and there's a digital board that says, "Mr So-n-So, please go to room B". Ok! Good tip! There is no nurse to call you to the back. The board makes a noise, it shows an alert, you read it, and take yourself where you need to go. Ok. Got it.

While we continue to wait, I hear other's walk in to ask for appointments. The woman behind the desk says the earliest appointment is 7:20pm. The next to come in asks and the woman says if it's an emergency (I didn't hear what to do), but if not, they'll have to come back tomorrow morning at 8am. So, I'm getting the feeling that this walk-in clinic is just that, a walk-in clinic. It's not an urgent care. I don't know if they have urgent care here? The difference? The walk-in clinic seems to be for travelers or someone without a regular doctor. You need a dr.? Come to the walk-in clinic to get medical help. It just so happens, that most of the people coming here are sick now, so it ends up being like an urgent care. But the urgent care in the U.S. isn't for normal dr. visits, it's for... urgent care. So, I don't know if we didn't get help here, if our only other option would have been a hospital? It doesn't sound like you can just "get in line" and be seen when it's your turn. We were lucky (or it's because Venice is a child) and were allowed to wait.

The clinic

Eventually, the board rings, we look up and it says, "Miss Venice Bailey, Please go to room A". So, we gather ourselves up, walk down the hall, find room A... and knock? And open the door? There's an office/patient room with a Dr. sitting down at his desk. At his desk is a computer and printer. There are two chairs to sit, he indicates one for Venice and one for me. Behind all of this is an examination table.

The Dr. asks what's going on? I explain that I think she has strep throat. Hmmm. He asks how she slept last night. Fine. I say I don't think she's had any fever. He takes her temperature, "She has slight fever." I say how her tonsils are swollen with white spots. Hmmm. He gets out his tongue depressor and light, asks Venice to stick out her tongue and say, "ahhhh."  I murmur, "If I can see it, he'll see it." And he replies, "Oh, bad throat." He then checks her breathing and has her cough a few times. 

At this point, he asks if she's allergic to anything, I say amoxicillin. He asks if she can take erythromycin. I say, I think so, just not amoxicillin. I swear, we went in a few circles about this, all the while, I'm thinking, "You're the doctor, you should know what she can take, not me!" Finally, he asks more clearly, "Is she allergic to erythromycin?" I say, "Not to my knowledge." He nods his head and prints out a prescription, "Take this to the pharmacy. Gargle salt water every day and drink a litre of water every day." And we're out the door. 5 minutes, tops.

Ok. 

The burgers were good!

We head back to the pharmacy desk and turn in our new prescription. The woman here says that they can fill it, but not right now, the pharmacist is out. Ok. He'll be back in 30 minutes. Ok, no problem! We'll just head out to lunch and come back to pick it up.

We head back to the Angel centre to hunt down a smoothie or milkshake, something Venice can eat with ease. We end up at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen. Perfect. Milkshakes and fries for Venice. Hamburgers for Xander and me.

When we got back to the clinic, we picked up Venice's prescription. Good news, the medicine is liquid (we weren't sure how Venice was going to be able to swallow big pills). Bad news, we only get half of the needed medicine now because of "freshness" (it appears as if they mixed it up themselves and so they'll need to mix up more in a week). But we leave on Sunday for Scotland, so we'll have to come back Saturday and explain to the pharmacist so we can get some earlier. Crazy news, I ask how much I owe for the medicine and the woman said, "Oh, you don't have to pay. No charge for children's medication." I am stunned speechless. First we get to wait for an appointment and now our medicine is free? I think the only reason we had to pay the 50£ (from what the woman told me) is because we're from the U.S. I'm guessing if we were from the UK, we wouldn't have to pay that.

Xander tries to hold up the crooked light.

Anyway, I'm still speechless. It's so crazy how a country could take such good care of their next generation! I say thanks and we take the bag and walk out in a daze. We're far away by the time I realise I didn't "check out". I don't know if I need to. I hope I didn't walk out on a bill that wasn't paid. I hope it's all good... I vow to ask at the front desk if I'm settled up when we go back Saturday to pick up more medicine.

What I also realise is that Venice was never weighed nor did they ask her weight or height. So, here's hoping the dosage is correct. They did have her age, but that was it.

We buy salt at the market and a few other items we needed and head back home. Still sick, still feeling icky, but with a bit of lightness to our steps as we've "gotten help" and we're on our way to being healthy.

By the way, I clocked it... the clinic is a mile away. So, that's 2 miles of walking to get into the dr. and back. When we get back to the aparthotel, we're all a bit wiped out and decide to not do anything else. We had plans, but we're scrapping them. Time for us all to rest, especially Venice, who has to take her first dosage (bad news, it's four times a day).

Part of my plan for today was to cook at home, a first in a very long time. But, now I'm not wanting to do anything. Luckily, Chris is willing to go to the market and get what I forgot and help me make dinner. I did put on a pot of water for the pasta, but he made the salad and did all the dishes. Thank you!

It is at this moment that I realise we really don't have a true diagnosis for Venice (maybe if I checked out properly, I'd have papers with information?) The dr. only ever said, "Oh, bad throat," which cracks me up every time I think about it. I don't know why. The dr. had such little personality in his manner. He never said the words "strep throat" or anything. So, our official diagnosis is "bad throat".

Well, it's time for Venice's second dosage for her "bad throat" and time for bed!

Day 36: Hooky Day

Chris woke up this morning feeling pretty icky (guess that's what happens when one drinks 2.5 litres of beer when one normally doesn't do such a thing). Welcome to Oktoberfest! He was supposed to go to a conference today, but instead, he worked from home. This was a nice change of pace for us, as we got to see him during the day and have lunch together.

Xander's cold has gotten worse. Poor guy is coughing and sniffling. He felt too tired to join us for lunch, so we decided to go out and bring hm back some food. However, we stopped at the Apotheke (pharmacy) as there is one on every block. I can only assume they are all similar, some with a wider set of products than others. The one located across the street from us is a very small one and when we walked in, I could see lotions and shampoos, but didn't see any kind of cold medicine.

I decided I wouldn't be able to find them on the shelves anyway, not unless they were the same kinds from home. So, we went to the desk and asked the women behind the counter. It was a bit of a pantomime to begin with. I could say, "Mein Sohn hat eine Erkältung (My son has a cold)." But that was it. So, then I went into the whole "looking like I'm in a commercial" charade of putting my fingers across my cheeks and nose, saying he was congested (because, if I pantomime it, she'll understand my English, right?) Good thing the other woman spoke English. She jumped in and helped us out, asking questions about his breathing and other symptoms. She gave us a choice of pill, children's liquid (flavoured) or regular liquid (un-flavoured). We chose the regular liquid, verifying how many drops per dosage.

Since we were right across the street, we ran back up to the apartment to dose Xander up. The drops were difficult to shake out, so we shook them into an espresso cup. Then they came out very small, so we added water to make sure he got all the drops. He downed it and we went off to lunch.

About the time we got to lunch, is when I started to think about what we just did (bad parenting!) We just gave our son medicine, of which we know nothing. I don't know what it is. Xander is allergic to Amoxicillin. I can't imagine that drug would be in an over the counter type drug. But I don't even know who we just talked to!? Were the two women pharmacists, doctors, or just two ladies wearing white lab coats? Even though I'm 99% sure it's not Amoxicillin in the medicine, what else could it be and what if it's something we've never had and what if he reacts poorly or what if... Dumb. On the other hand, with the drops being so hard to get out, what if we didn't even give him enough? Oy.

Be this time our food has arrived and it's wonderful hamburgers and fries. While we have only gone to an American restauarant once (KFC), this is our third burger joint (just in Berlin) that we've gone to. Because there seems to be a burger "thing" going on here, I don't feel we're eating American food, right? We're not cheating and eating "home" food, right? Here's another way to tell it's not American... all the french fries are served with mayonnaise. So there's that.

Behind the soda bottle is a man eating a burger and fries,
with a fork and knife. He cut it into 6ths, maybe.
BIG bites.

Side note: Before eating at this restaurant, Chris had shown me a funny meme about eating a burger with your hands NOT a fork and knife. I asked him who would do that? What do you know... the man sitting next to us used a fork and knife! I'm not trying to shame him. Really, I'm not. It was just so weird to see someone doing it and, might I say, he was cutting ginormous bites (although, he was super tall, maybe 6 ft 5 in, so I guess he could handle such a big bite). Also, he used his fork for the fries as well. We've noticed that a small-wooden forks are often served with basket of fries.

Another side note: Sharing table is not uncommon here. So, the gentleman eating his big bites, along with is VERY pregnant partner, came in and sat down next to us at a table already occupied by another couple. No one blinked an eye. Definitely common.

Xander enjoyed the burger and fries we brought back for him.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning the bathrooms, laundry, and rest. The kids rested. Chris made dinner (the best thing about him being home today!) And then early to bed in hopes that Xander feels better and the rest of us don't catch anything.