Off on a dream trip!
Hudson has ALWAYS wanted to go to London and Dubai :) Our seats were together on this flight!
We were loving the chairs by the gate! Way to go Switzerland for comfort waiting!
He got to see a double decker plane while we were waiting for our connection flight. That thing was huge! You can now guess what is on his list to fly on ;)
Our trip started by meeting some close friends who live in London. They took us to a challenge course. The kids had so much fun and it was nice to just walk around in all of that green!
Making it to the top is quite a feat! The views are fantastic
These two girls about to race up
Hudson wasn't so sure about all of it, but was so brave it did EVERYTHING!!! (Even the one that I wouldn't try)
These two got so comfortable with the course in the sky that the instructor put blind goggles on them. They did the entire thing without being able to see a single thing!
Racing his sister up!
Proof that we did it all, too!
They both made it to the top!!! Great job! (That platform on the left of the picture is the one that Hudson did that I did not! There may have been some tears on his part once he got to the top, but he never gave up. The pole sways in the wind. Once you are to the top, you have to stand up without anything to hold on to and just jump off. No thanks. Super proud! All three kids did it...and Lauren for grins asked if she could do a flip up there. Crazy!)
YUM! YUM! YUM! Wild blackberries EVERYWHERE!!! You can just pick and eat as many as you want. This may have been the highlight for many of the kids.
After visiting our friends, we took the train into London proper.
St. Pancras Station
He loves how many "undergrounds" there are! Fascinated by the map
Yes, we had to stop at Platform 9 3/4 just to say that we have been there. This family was taking the cutes picture! If you wanted to get a picture at this exact location, you had to stand in a VERY LONG line. We were fine just to visit.
WE happened to find a fantastic deal on a great hotel. We even had free ferry service across the river to Canary Wharf.
Mailboxes
We enjoyed some free putt putt
You can't beat free fun and hole in ones!
So many little and big parks in the city.
Nice tile work
Grocery shopping for breakfast and the kids fell in love with these single serving milk jugs.
They wanted a picture before we spent the money :)
Yeah for familiar donuts! :)
Just walking through London. She was in flower and plant heaven!
Random art in Canary Wharf
We were told that is was very lucky that we had such perfect weather while we were there.
on the Canary Wharf side
Hudson waiving to our hotel room
Big Ben in the rain
We had to have one "normal" rainy day in London....even so, it was a blast
Katherine-15
Lauren-14
Hudson-13
Trying to get a picture with the goose :)
walking to Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
The gates by the palace
The guards
Our friends came in to town to meet us to see all of the pomp and circumstance of the changing of the guards. It's a big deal!
We waited with the crowds for a couple of hours only for them to cancel it at the very last second due to rain. Oh well. At least we had good company :)
We saw the "rain outfits" for the guards that were being relieved, but no big ceremony.
Didn't stop all of the smiles!
Trafalgar Square
walking towards Chinatown
Yes, Chinatown was on our top things to do in London. The kids were really hoping for some authentic food!
Several little reminders of "home"
YEAH! SUCCESS! We finally found some place that serves authentic Lanzhou Niu Rou La Mian!
This was one content and happy crew!
We went into the London M&M store. It was fun to look around. The kids got a smooshed penny. It has become one of our most fun and cheapest souvenirs. The hunt for the machines is part of the fun. There aren't many out there, but we manage to find them :)
Piccadilly Circus...cool
Paddington Station
221b Baker Street...The Sherlock Holmes Museum...We didn't go in, just saw the actual location for the books.
Queen Elizabeth Gardens
A beautiful park with beautiful flowers
We really could have stayed here much longer, but there were so many things we wanted to try and see on our short trip. THree days is just not long enough!
walking the streets
The British Museum...FYI, all museums are free in London
This was a SUPER crazy busy time of day, but one of my favorite spots, the Borough Market. So so many great foods to try!
view from our hotel room
looking across to Canary Wharf
Our main splurge for the trip. We just HAD to try fish and chips while in London. We all really enjoyed it! We looked up reviews and traveled to a little neighborhood out of the touristy area to eat at this one place. It was worth it.
I really love street art. It's so much fun
The Shakespeare Globe Theatre
I don't remember the name of this church. It just looked so interesting as we were walking past, so we decided to go in and take a look.
It's definitely different from the churches in Rome.
Beautiful stain glass
WOW! WE were so fortunate to actually see the tower bridge lift to let a boat through! They only lift it once every 3-7 days. Boats that neet to pass have to schedule it in advance.
When we asked the kids what was on their "list to see" in London, Hudson immediately said the Shard. I truthfully, had no clue beforehand what it was, but yes, he got to see if from many different locations in town (and up close, too)
Seeing Big Ben and Westminster Abby from across the river (on a very windy day)
One of the desserts that we bought at the Borough Market, as well as the ones below...a fun snack filled lunch (cherry crumble cake)
We found a spot to sit and try our food
Scotch eggs
chocolate covered strawberries
didn't try this one
meat pie
Well, we tried to go to the Sky Gardens. It's free, and we got there before 10am but they were already not taking new visits for the day. Oh well. We tried.
The Tower of London with the Shard in the background
Someone offered to take a family picture for us, Tower Bridge behind Jonathan, Tower of London (castle) to our right
cute little mailboxes
great idea
walking across the bridge
Double decker buses
waiting for the bus
We stopped at a Papa Johns on the way to the airport for several reasons. One. I love Papa Johns. Two. It will be cheaper than airport food. Three. It should give us leftovers for dinner, too, because places will be closed in Rome when we land. Our Italian captain stopped Lauren as we were boarding the plane..."Is that really pizza?" Yes. "You do realize that you are going to Italy, right?" :)
He asked to use the phone to video take off and landing :) I think we might have a future pilot on our hands!
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