On the last leg of our whirlwind adventure, we journeyed to London. Like I said, the train to get there was a fiasco and if there is another train line besides Eurostar, I would highly recommend you try it.
The apartments we procured were exceptionally clean and well appointed, though they did take a bit more of our budget than I liked. That seemed to be the norm in London however. The tube was much more expensive than the metro in either Paris or Rome. We bought the Oyster card, which you could reload if you needed to. I needed three passes and I put 25 pounds on each. I got a very small amount back at the end of our three days there.
On our first morning, we ventured out to the nearby Borough Market to get some breakfast food for the next couple of days. It had all the charm an open market should have and I enjoyed our leisurely stroll from stand to stand. After a late breakfast, we headed out to the London Eye. The weather was overly wet, even for London. Many of the tube stations were closed due to flooding. (Peter had come up with a great way to see the sights...for him. For me, my arms and back are still feeling the effects. He would walk for the first little bit and then request to be carried. Then, he would fall asleep while we waited in line for tickets, waking only when the fun began.) He was disappointed at the slow speed at which the London Eye went around, when he awoke mid-ride. We had planned to make the British Museum our next stop, but the weather was not cooperating. We would have about a 20 minute walk in the heavy rain. So, we stepped inside a store out of the downpour to make a new plan. We could see Hamley's Toy Store without such a long walk. Of course the kids were most happy with the change in plan. After thoroughly exploring every nook and cranny of the toy store, we headed to Chinatown to find dinner. My sister's family is vegetarian and they are more adventurous in their cuisine, so my family went to a more traditional style restaurant and we met back outside to find a street band playing "Hit the Road Jack". It went on for at least 10 minutes and everyone who passed by could not help doing a little jig. We then walked toward the theatre district and were paused by a street magician. He was quite entertaining. Then Jack turned to see that a theatre across the street actually had on display the Ecto 1 from the new Ghostbusters movie. He just finished building a Lego model of the original one, so he was thrilled to see this one.
The second day, we decided our legs needed a break and got on the Hop on-Hop off tour bus. We hopped off at the Tower of London and toured there. We hopped back on and rode until we needed to head to the train station for our Harry Potter Tour. My niece is a huge Harry Potter fan. So is Olivia. Anna has read only the first book so far. (When the older girls read these books, they were just being released, so they grew up along with Harry. They read the first book around age 11 and the last when they were 16 or 17.) I am making Anna read them the same way, much to her chagrin. The tour was interesting in the fact that I had no idea how much work it takes to make a movie and this really showed how they made every little prop and set. On our train home, it broke down just outside the station and we sat there for quite a little bit waiting for it to be repaired.
The last day, we packed up our bags and headed back to the Borough Market for breakfast. I really wanted to sit down to a nice breakfast since most of meals the whole trip were on the go between sites. The place I chose did not disappoint. It was the best food I have had in a long, long time. The table was situated on a balcony overlooking the market. Perfect. We then finally made it to the British Museum so that Anna could see the Egyptian exhibit. We also saw the Rosetta Stone. The clock and watch room was amazing too. Not wanting another fiasco when travelling, I gave myself plenty of time to get to the airport. Turns out I needn't have worried. Our flight was delayed and we ended up sitting in an airport restaurant for nearly three hours. When we finally saw that our plane was boarding, I paid the bill and headed for the gate, which was yet another train ride. I got in line and went to get our tickets and passports, only the tickets were missing! I checked every bag, beginning to panic. The woman behind me suggested I step up to the counter and let them know so they could be looking it up. There were my tickets, sitting on the counter! The waiter had found them and then had them sent to the gate. If only I could thank him! When I stepped through the door in the airport to see Tony waiting there for us, the relief that our journey was over filled my heart. Truly, truly, there is no place like home!
The apartments we procured were exceptionally clean and well appointed, though they did take a bit more of our budget than I liked. That seemed to be the norm in London however. The tube was much more expensive than the metro in either Paris or Rome. We bought the Oyster card, which you could reload if you needed to. I needed three passes and I put 25 pounds on each. I got a very small amount back at the end of our three days there.
On our first morning, we ventured out to the nearby Borough Market to get some breakfast food for the next couple of days. It had all the charm an open market should have and I enjoyed our leisurely stroll from stand to stand. After a late breakfast, we headed out to the London Eye. The weather was overly wet, even for London. Many of the tube stations were closed due to flooding. (Peter had come up with a great way to see the sights...for him. For me, my arms and back are still feeling the effects. He would walk for the first little bit and then request to be carried. Then, he would fall asleep while we waited in line for tickets, waking only when the fun began.) He was disappointed at the slow speed at which the London Eye went around, when he awoke mid-ride. We had planned to make the British Museum our next stop, but the weather was not cooperating. We would have about a 20 minute walk in the heavy rain. So, we stepped inside a store out of the downpour to make a new plan. We could see Hamley's Toy Store without such a long walk. Of course the kids were most happy with the change in plan. After thoroughly exploring every nook and cranny of the toy store, we headed to Chinatown to find dinner. My sister's family is vegetarian and they are more adventurous in their cuisine, so my family went to a more traditional style restaurant and we met back outside to find a street band playing "Hit the Road Jack". It went on for at least 10 minutes and everyone who passed by could not help doing a little jig. We then walked toward the theatre district and were paused by a street magician. He was quite entertaining. Then Jack turned to see that a theatre across the street actually had on display the Ecto 1 from the new Ghostbusters movie. He just finished building a Lego model of the original one, so he was thrilled to see this one.
The second day, we decided our legs needed a break and got on the Hop on-Hop off tour bus. We hopped off at the Tower of London and toured there. We hopped back on and rode until we needed to head to the train station for our Harry Potter Tour. My niece is a huge Harry Potter fan. So is Olivia. Anna has read only the first book so far. (When the older girls read these books, they were just being released, so they grew up along with Harry. They read the first book around age 11 and the last when they were 16 or 17.) I am making Anna read them the same way, much to her chagrin. The tour was interesting in the fact that I had no idea how much work it takes to make a movie and this really showed how they made every little prop and set. On our train home, it broke down just outside the station and we sat there for quite a little bit waiting for it to be repaired.
The last day, we packed up our bags and headed back to the Borough Market for breakfast. I really wanted to sit down to a nice breakfast since most of meals the whole trip were on the go between sites. The place I chose did not disappoint. It was the best food I have had in a long, long time. The table was situated on a balcony overlooking the market. Perfect. We then finally made it to the British Museum so that Anna could see the Egyptian exhibit. We also saw the Rosetta Stone. The clock and watch room was amazing too. Not wanting another fiasco when travelling, I gave myself plenty of time to get to the airport. Turns out I needn't have worried. Our flight was delayed and we ended up sitting in an airport restaurant for nearly three hours. When we finally saw that our plane was boarding, I paid the bill and headed for the gate, which was yet another train ride. I got in line and went to get our tickets and passports, only the tickets were missing! I checked every bag, beginning to panic. The woman behind me suggested I step up to the counter and let them know so they could be looking it up. There were my tickets, sitting on the counter! The waiter had found them and then had them sent to the gate. If only I could thank him! When I stepped through the door in the airport to see Tony waiting there for us, the relief that our journey was over filled my heart. Truly, truly, there is no place like home!
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| view from the apartment |
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| view from the London Eye |
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| a dizzying view |
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| not enjoying the view |
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| "It is not going fast enough" |
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| Hit the road, Jack |
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| obligatory photo of phone booth |
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| cousins at the Tower of London |
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| Car from Harry Potter...who is driving this thing? |
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| How we all felt by the end of the trip |
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