The Stairs

536.  That's the number of stairs at St. Paul's Cathedral to walk to the top.  We did it.  I'm glad we went early in the morning before the crowds got too big, and before it warmed up too much.  It was hot when we did it at 9:30 am, it would be really uncomfortable later.  One of the stops on the way up to the top is the whispering gallery.  This is where you can be on one side of the large globe top and someone directly across- they whisper into the wall and you can hear it on the other side.  Pretty cool! After 536 steps to the top, we were rewarded with beautiful city views, then back down, which is actually I think trickier than going up.  While we were touring St. Paul's, each person gets a iPhone type device and can guide your own tour around the castle.  They had a family version which I did with the kids- this was a great way to get them to have fun while learning about the Cathedral. Touring has certainly come a long ways from simply reading a pamphlet, or even the audio tour of press a certain number at a certain spot.

With Aunt Emily at the top.

The stairs on the way down. 

After St. Paul's we walked over to the Millenium Bridge, a pedestrian footpath across the Thames.   When Matt and I were here in 1999, they were just building this bridge, as well as the Millenium Dome.  Walking across it, you get some great views of the city. 

Who's that photobomber?

There was a rare moment when we were alone in the middle of the bridge.  Quick, get the camera!

After a bite to eat at Pret a Manger, we decided to go for a long bus ride across London to get to the Natural History Museum.  The bus is my favorite way to see the city.  It can take awhile, but we went all across the city, at no charge, other than our Oyster Card.

The Natural History Museum was on our list to see, mainly for the dinosaurs.  Did you know that most of the museums in London are free?  We went to the British earlier on our trip and today the Natural History, all free. 

Here we are going into the earth.

Checking out the dinosaur fossils. 

Treat stop.  Abby had the dinosaur eggs and ice cream.  John had a milkshake, which was quite terrible.  Why are there some things the British get so wrong???  That, and ice water, impossible to get in England.  And when you can get ice, it is rationed to a couple of cubes per glass.  

Here is John's entry into the contest at our treat stop, create your own dinosaur.

Next up, we headed to Regent's Park to meet Emily's friends, with a quick stop at 221b Baker Street.  Any other detectives know why this is a famous stop?  Use clues and your powers of deduction to help you solve the case... It is the home of Sherlock Holmes.  A fun stop to see.

We had a very nice evening having a picnic in the park and meeting all of Emily's friends.  

A little tag. 

Abby... a little exhausted.

One of our favorite bus routes... "Warren Street."

Abby and John chilaxing in the front seat of the double decker bus.  Always a treat when we can score this spot. 

If you would have told me we would have done all of this in one day, I wouldn't have believed you.  But the kids have been troopers on keeping up and having a good time.  Two more days to go!

The Lovely Sunday

It was a lovely Sunday in London.  It was warm and sunny, but not hot.  We had a leisurely morning, including waking up after 9:00am (nearly 13 hours of sleep for me, catching up for the last couple of days).  Our hotel has breakfast, so after a big English breakfast, we were set for the day.  Our first stop, Harrod's.  The shop where you can get anything.  The kids fun in the toy department, with a salesman/magician who totally sold John on a set of magic toys, something he had to have.  After that, we headed to the Lyceum Theatre to see the Lion King.  We saw the junior version of this play at the "West End" in Quincy, and now the full version at the London West End.  It was a great show- costumes, singing, stage... all of it.  Especially the British accents for all the characters.   After a stroll through Covent Garden, and a stop at delicios Ben's cookies, we headed to Emily's local pub, The Harrison, and had a traditional Sunday roast.  I saw this on a video about London before leaving, so this was another great place, and extra special because it is Emily's local hangout.  The Sunday roast was delicious, and so glad we got to get this in, because, ya know, Sunday roast is only available on Sundays.  Now, back at the hotel, Aunt Emily reads another chapter of Harry Potter to the kids and John practices his new magic trick.  A lovely Sunday all around.

John and Abby are mapping out the day with the tube map.  They are getting pretty good at hopping on and off, walking on the left, and standing on the right of the escalator.  Although, none of us like how hot the tube is during the hot days. 

Harrod's!

The magician at Harrod's, which got got John hooked on the magic set he had to have.  Ask John about the magic lights when we get home and he'll show you his new trick. 

The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. 

Abby and John using the binoculars at the Lion King.

All five of us ready for the show. 

And we stumbled on this amazing cookie shop- my favorite, the Ginger Ginger. 

Cute Abby!

Yum.

John wanted his photo taken with his drink as well, a water. 

The Sunday roast- delicious. 

Emily and I outside the Harrison. 

The Miserable Morning

To quote John this morning, "Mom, I'm miserable."  And we were all feeling kind of the same way.

Last night we left Scotland from Edinburgh, via the Caledonian Sleeper train.  We boarded the train about 11:20 pm and departed at 11:40 pm, scheduled to arrive in London at 7:00.

Here we are waiting in the train station.  Some more rounds of Exploding Kittens.

A bit later in the evening, everyone tuned into their own device.

Abby enjoying some hot cocoa and a game on her Kindle. 

Once we got on the train, we got ready for bed.  It was actually very comfortable and we were all tucked in for the night. 

The train arrived to London early, 6:00 am instead of 7:00 am.  Normally, arriving early is a good thing, but this meant an hour less sleep.  The kids did really well with sleeping on the train.  The adults not so much.  I enjoyed the sleeper train, but just couldn't ever quite get to sleep.  We did get breakfast on the train and here's John enjoying breakfast in bed.

We took a taxi to drop our bags off at our hotel, but being that it was 7:00 am we weren't able to check in.  At this point is when John said he was miserable.

We took a bus up to Emily's flat, showered and Matt and the kids conked out for a morning nap. 

Once we made it to the hotel later in the afternoon, we unpacked, happy to be in one place for the next five nights.  Felling refreshed and reenergized, we went to the British Museum.  Oh, and did I say that it is now hot in London.  We are unprepared for this.  All weather reports indicated cool weather and rain.  It is now hot, which makes the tube and the museum hot.  Ugh.  And, did I mention it's the PRIDE celebration in London?  This involves so many people that the tubes and buses are incredibly crowded and detoured because of the parade. 

We did make it to see the Rosetta Stone, 

and the Parthenon.  John  is not to enthused, but I wanted to document how amazing it is to see these pieces of history. 

Group shot in front of the British Museum. 

Another John photobombing shot.

Popsicle treat, trying each others.   Abby chose cherry and John chose Blackcurrant. 

We stopped for a pint at one of Emily's favorite pubs, the Holborn Whippet.   After sampling several beers, I settled on a Snakebite, which the bartender made "black" by adding blackcurrant.  Delicious.  

We then trudged around London and finally we were too tired and London was too crowded with the PRIDE fesitval going on to do any more sightseeing.  We made it back up to our hotel, had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Wagamamas.  Emily and I then picked up cupcakes from this bakery that I had seen on a YouTube video about London before we left.  And I realized most of my check off list things to do in London were related to food, while Matt's were related to museums and learning.  Hmmm...