Day 1, May 21
We left late on a Sunday night (after an extra-early morning at church for children's choir, of course!) and had a direct flight from Boston to LHR on Virgin Atlantic. There was not a lot of sleep. We promised the kiddos they could watch all the movies they wanted to on the way back to the US if they would just get on the plane and go right to sleep! Oh, they tried and Eden and Asher didn't do too, too badly. Even Owen and Dad caught a few zzz's.
Upon arrival...a lot of walking...more walking...and finally the immigration desks where the line moved decently, but not quickly enough for very tired children. But we finally made it, and then walked some more and took the underground into the heart of London where we dropped our bags off at our King's Cross B&B. This is budget London accommodation at only 150 pounds per night for a room with beds for 5. It was clean and came with a full English breakfast...even if we did share the bathroom in the hallway. (Right outside the door and no issues at all, but still, 150 pounds and a shared bathroom!)
We headed right back out to Diana's Memorial Playground for some sunshine and physical activity so as not to want to fall asleep!
After trying out some British candy bars, we headed over to the Royal Mews, home of the Queen's carriages and horses. No love of clean lines in the royal family, what ornate decor!
A quick walk by Buckingham Palace...
...and finally a longer-than-anticipated walk through Mayfair (ooh, la, la! so fancy!) to Marylebone to the Golden Hind classic fish and chips restaurant. It was excellent! Even if we accidentally ordered double what we should have...one 'fish' is 18" long...and the bill showed it :} We filled up for a couple of days.
This was THE cutest ribbon and trim shop you can imagine:
Owen began experimenting with the 'Photobomb' on this vacation :}
Made it back to our room where we were so bone tired that Eden and Asher and Dad went from bouncing off the walls to passed out in less than 5 seconds, and (as usual) Owen and Mom were too tired to sleep.
Day 2...
It's hard to believe how much money we spent in order to discover that the highlight of visiting England (for kids) is riding at the front of the double decker bus. We did a lot of that! I think we could have had bigger thrills for a lot less money? But hey, they loved it!
The would whoop and giggle with every brake and turn.
St. Paul's Cathedral was awe-inspiring! I especially loved the mosaic ceilings. The audio tour captivated the kids urging them to find locations around the cathedral. Unfortunately, the top was closed and we couldn't climb the promised 500 steps, but we did get to go to the Whispering Gallery which was not low!
You can see the construction that prevented our ascent!
In the rose gardens around the cathedral
That's a tomb we probably shouldn't have been climbing on come to think of it :}
After lunch we eventually made our way to the train station where we headed out for a special treat for Owen's birthday...the Harry Potter studio tour! We have one HUGE fan in the family, and he was excited (even if his little brother could not have been bothered and had to endure).
No one complains about a butterbeer, though!
Day 3...
Tower of London! Great historic reenactment/drama for the kids.
and the ravens are huge! (and bite!)
Scene of Anne Boleyn's (and others'!) demise...
modern/historic juxtaposition looking out from the Tower
Looks adorable in armor:
and on to the Tower Bridge
That's a bit of a way down!
kids loved it!
Other side of the Thames!
Over to Trafalgar Square:
And supper in Covent Garden. The street performers were a hit.
All the kids learned to love putting a coin in the street musician's instrument case!
Day 4...
London Science Museum
And a what-was-supposed-to-be one hour journey by underground to the furthest served London suburb, where we were scheduled to pick up our rental car at 3pm. Let's just say that with a problem (something with signals?) on the Picadilly Line, it was 5, the rental agency closed, and we were still standing in a non-moving train car. I absolutely could not get through to the agency after 5, so we had to spend on an unplanned 2 hotel rooms for the 5 of us. And then, when we showed up for the car at 8:30am the next morning, turns out we could have talked to the security guard on duty the night before and he would have called the rental agent. Who knew! Ah well, all in the past now :)
Next comes our journey to the Cotswolds...To be continued....
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