Galindafied

The next day, our last day in London, we saw Wicked.  It was a complicated process.  From everything we read beforehand, we thought we would just be able to find a show we wanted to watch, buy some tickets, and go see it.  Easy, right?  Well, we thought that Lion King would be better for the whole family, but realized, probably too late, that it was way too expensive.  About 70 pounds a ticket.  And since we left seeing a show to the last day, we were lucky there was another one that we all wanted to see.  So we decided we would try and get tickets for the Wednesday matinee of Wicked.  So in the morning we were off to find the tickets.  We got to the ticket booth and found out there weren't 7 tickets together for that show.  So we had to think about what we wanted to do.  Out of line.  We had more questions about the rows, and how many we could get together.  Back in line.  There were 3, 2, and 2 in the cheap seats.  Hmm... out of line to think.  Do we want to sit apart?  Is it worth that?  Back in line to ask about more expensive seats.  There was a group of 7 seats together in two different rows, but 3 of them were a bit more than the cheap seats, and 4 were even more than those.  We needed to think.  Back out of line.  Ok, we'll do it.  Back in line. 

We bought the tickets, and since it took so long, we had to go straight to the theater.  We grabbed sandwiches on the way (Tesco!), and we were in such a hurry I remember making G take big bite after big bite before he could even swallow.  We made it to our seats after a super rushed bathroom break.  We had to run because we heard they won't let you in after it starts.

It was awesome.  So awesome.  We all loved it.  Even the boys were rapt.  It was relaxing and entertaining, and it was a perfect way to finish up our time in London.

On the way home, we did a little shopping, and stopped by a Indian food restaurant.  Then we took one last walk through Green Park and went home to finish laundry.

Love London.

There Was A Moat

The next day we planned on going to the Tower of London, and the British Museum.  We walked along the Thames an across on the London Bridge.

I really wanted to take the tour from this guy, but there were just too many people there.  We didn't think we would be able to hear what he was saying anyway.  He's a Beefeater.  And I'm sure he would have given us a very entertaining tour.  Maybe next time.

Inside the Tower of London.

The boys in the armory.

The Tower of London also houses the Crown Jewels.  We saw those too, but there were no pictures allowed.

Tower Bridge.

Laura was able to join us that day.

We were on the way to the museum, and we needed lunch.  Yes, we got sandwiches again.  At Tesco Express.  But the funny thing about this trip was that after we grabbed the food, we took it to an alley to eat.  There were delivery trucks and plenty of exhaust.  But it was delicious, and we had somewhere to sit.  We even got fruit and vegetables at that stop.  Hopefully Laura wasn't regretting her decision to come with us at this point!

Rosetta Stone.

The museum was beautiful.  I could spend days there.  But since we travel with kids, we have to take the brisk 1 1/2-2 hour breeze through.  We catch all the highlights, take a lot of sitting/bathroom/drink breaks, and that's it.  I still loved it.  I would always prefer to share museums with my kids than to go alone.

Mads was feeling the effects of jet lag and 4 very busy traveling days.  G was doing pretty much the same thing, but on the floor next to my feet.  I kept having to move him when he would edge into the walkways. 

Outside the museum.

We were making our way to Hyde Park.

We found an ice cream shop!

Laura had YW that night, and her church building is near the park.  We hung out there until it was time for her to go.  She invited the girls to go along.  Rhon and Dare went with her.  And that's pretty much how that day ended.  We wanted to visit the British Library also, but we ran out of time and energy.

Bubble and Squeak

Even though our Tesco Express breakfasts were delicious, we wanted a true English breakfast, a "full English breakfast" or "fry-up".  So the next day we sought out a cafe far off the tourist path.

On the walk to the cafe.

Houses of Parliament.

Here it is!

Beans and ham, fried tomatoes and black pudding, toast and potatoes, bacon and sausage, and eggs.

We got OJ instead of coffee or tea.

It felt like a real diner.  It was totally awesome.

This place was a bit of a walk to get to, and we were nervous because we read about how all the locals go there.  It is busy, and they don't want to mess around with people who don't know what they are ordering.  But it was totally worth it and awesome!  We got there at a perfect time.  There was no line, and the guys working there were super nice.  We easily found a table for our clan, and had a wonderful experience.

Then we went to watch the Changing of the Guard.

Waiting.

We were early.  We waited a long time.  But it was good because by the time it started, there were people crammed in all over us.

This ceremony is packed with details!  First they did an inspection.  They looked the soldiers up and down to make sure they looked acceptable.  Then they gathered and marched.  There was a band and they did all kind of other things that I couldn't see.  But it was fun to see all the uniforms.

Here are the Scottish guys.

This guy was like the head Scot.  He was cool.

Marching band.

Afterwards.
That grass was perfect for after-ceremony cartwheels and handstands.

Victoria Memorial.

Buckingham Palace.

Climbing a tree in the park.

Then we walked to Westminster Abbey.

I don't like taking pictures with a hundred strangers in them.  So picture taking was really hard in London.  There were always a ton of people everywhere.  Hence, things getting cut off, and weird compositions.

We took a tour inside, but there were no pictures allowed.  It was incredible.  We saw the place where Prince Charles (or William?) will become king and the coronation chair.  The tombs of Elizabeth I and Mary I are there.  Together.  And Poets Corner was cool.

We found a yummy cookie shop on the way to the Natural History Museum.  It was called "Ben's Cookies".

Here we are picnicking out in front of the museum.  One of my favorite picnics of all time.  I can't really say exactly why, but we were just enjoying ourselves.  Plus we were starving.  And we had those yummy cookies.  And fun sodas to try.

If we weren't eating sandwiches from Tesco, we were eating sandwiches from Pret a Manger.  We had a lot of sandwiches!  I think this is when Nate described our vacation as "21 days of sandwiches."  Let's face it - it's just not practical for a family of 7 to have a sit down meal all the time!  We felt very grateful those pre-made sandwiches made it so easy for us!

My camera was dying in the museum.  I got a couple of pictures, but they are all bad.  The museum was fun.  Mads especially liked the deep sea section.  And the big blue whale was a hit.

After the museum we went to Hyde Park.  I'm so sad I wasn't able to take any pictures.  The kids loved it there!  The fun started by rolling down any and every hill they could find.  We played at the Peter Pan themed playground for a while, but their favorite part were the patches of grass where they let it grow really long.  It was about thigh-high to most of the kids.  They loved just running through it.  G would get down and act like a predator.  Such a beautiful park! 

Gather Gather

The next day we did the tour bus thing again.  We may have gotten a little bored this time...

We did not use those for our ears after that.

Then we took the boat tour on the River Thames.

We were all a little chilly, but the guy on the microphone kept us entertained with his dry humor and his dramatic pauses.  I don't think he thought anyone on the boat could understand him.

Tower Bridge.

Just out on the streets of London.

There was a Harry Potter walking tour included in our tour bus tickets.  We were totally into it!  That's what we did next.

That is our guide.  He was very enthusiastic.  Most of the places we saw were in Deathly Hallows Part 1.  He is pointing at Rhon because she just got one of his questions right.  He asked what almost happened to Harry, Ron, and Hermione after they disapparated at the wedding.  She knew.  :)  And that's right where we were standing! 

We also saw the cinemas sign.

And here's where Ron looked back at Harry when they were on their way into the Ministry of Magic.  We tried to recreate the scene. :)

I found some more phone booths.  Nothing to do with Harry Potter, but one of my favorite pictures.

My beautiful kids.  Plus, this is apparently one of the streets J.K. Rowling would stroll along and gather inspiration to write about Diagon Alley.

One of the stops on the tour was this sweetshop.  They had Harry Potter themed candy.  Ridiculously expensive chocolate frogs and things.  But we went back later to get some of the other, less marked up, stuff.  We stood there on the street and tasted the most sour candy any of us had ever tasted.  It was the best.

I Have a Friend Named Ann Butcher

I'm doing it.  I'm actually going to blog about our trip to Europe.  I figure if I just do one post a day I'll be done in 3 weeks.  Yes we were gone that long!  Woohoo!  It was so awesome!

Day one was actually when we got to London from Beijing.  Our flight left at about 2 in the afternoon, and it was about 9 hours.  We decided to take the cheap, long way to our place.  It was fine.  We got a good feel for the subway system and we got our travel cards to get us through for the next 6 days.  We had to stand on the train, and a drunk lady almost fell into me a few times.  It was awesome.  Mostly because of her accent.  She asked me where I was from.  It is a tricky question, but I went with Arizona.  She kept asking me how people live there because it is so hot.  She was genuinely concerned.  Or her alcohol was concerned.  "Your skin is so fair!" she kept saying.  But it is a fair question.  How do people live there?!!

It was supposed to be a short walk from the tube stop to Zoe's house ...

*Quick side note:  Zoe offered her house up for us to stay in.  So so so nice.  We only had one city left to make hotel reservations for and it was London.  It was a bit trickier because of location and cost.  Then we got her most wonderful offer.  We were (and are still!) so grateful.  It saved us a ton of money, and the location was great.  And we got to hang with some old friends and find out more about London.  

... but we took a wrong turn and walked around her neighborhood for about an hour.  It wouldn't have been that bad because it was nice out, and it was fun to look around.  The one problem was that at that time, none of us had slept in about 22 hours.  Of course no one slept on the plane!  Actually I think the boys fell asleep an hour or so before we landed.  Which is actually less helpful than no sleep at all.  But we made it, and they were so nice to share some dinner with those of us who could stay awake that long.  I went straight to sleep.

The first picture I took in London.  I got a huge smile when I saw this sign.  So iconic!

The next day, which was actually day two, but really day one, we decided to take the bus tour around the city.  But before that we had breakfast.  Nate and I got up pretty early (jet lag) and we decided to run out to the grocery store.  We got Tesco Express breakfast!  The first of many many meals in London from Tesco.  But it was awesome.  Awesome.  Bread and cheese and yummy jam and yogurt. Oh the yogurt was delicious!  And the cheese!  So many varieties and so affordable.  It doesn't take much for people who are living in China to be happy.  Dairy.  That says it all.

So, the train ride...

By complete coincidence, we happened to be in London on the Queen's birthday.  Or fake birthday.  I guess the weather is better in June.  Anyway, they have a celebration called the Trooping of the Color.  There's a parade and other traditions.  We didn't see any of it.  Just this at the gate as we were driving by on the bus.  I thought it looked pretty cool.

We got off the bus and went to Hamleys toy store.  It was okay.  We got to see a life size Queen Elizabeth made out of Legos.  You don't see that at every toy store.

We walked around some more.  Found a phone booth...

... and made it to Covent Garden.

Where we had fish and chips.

And ice cream.

Walked back to Trafalgar Square.

Took more pictures.

I thought it would be fun to take this picture, but then it just made me nervous.  There isn't that much stone around that lion.  And the boys were climbing all over it.  If they fell off, they would go straight to the ground and it was high.  It was taller than me.

Then we walked to St. James Park and Green Park.

I love this picture of the taxis all lined up.

It's not a trip to Europe without chasing some pigeons.

So wonderful to have so much green in the middle of the city.  London is beautiful.  I loved every second of the first day.