From our perch here in sunny Southern California, visiting London in December is not exactly at the top of our holiday wishlist (unless it involves a house exchange where Jude Law comes over.) But the just launched Paddington Trail makes us wish we had booked a ticket across the pond.
Fifteen statues of Paddington Bear, each standing three feet and six inches tall, have been designed by notable British celebrities and can now be found at various landmarks throughout London such as The Royal Opera House, Museum of London, Horse Guards Parade, the Museum of Childhood, Selfridges (where the inspiration for Paddington was bought by author Michael Bond in 1956) and, obviously, Paddington Station.
The Paddington Trail is both a movie ad campaign (Paddington hits UK theaters on November 28 and US theaters on January 16) and a tourism campaign (You can hit up VisitLondon.com for the full Paddington Trail map and a list of the designers.) But also, it's just good holiday fun.
Can't make it to London before December 30th? Don't fuss, love. Here's a look at all the different bears. Our faves are Sandra Bullock's “Gravity Bear”, The Telegraph's “Good News Bear” and Andrew Lloyd Webber's “Paddington Lord Webbear” whose Paddington wears a “Cats” costume.
