English Fair

We passed an old fashioned English fair and took a ride before the long drive home. Lilly was hilarious. She couldn't wait to get on the swings. We were the only ones on the ride and she giggled so loud everyone stopped to watch her. Talk about the simple pleasures.




Spencer, Olivia, Clara & Taylor opted for the human powered ride. I guess it wasn't the safest of rides, but they sure managed to pump their swings high into the air. That marks the end of our Christmas vacation to England. (If you want to start from the beginning go to the post marked Eurostar)

Warwick Castle

Last stop on the tour was Warwick Castle. It was a bit out of the way, but we were so glad we went. Of all the castles we have visited this is by far the most interactive & enjoyable for children. There were courtiers all over. They were chatty and fun and we felt very welcome.



I think I will invest in the stocks for those times that the kids start arguing. Spencer & Olivia didn't seem to mind it.

We visited the dungeon the great hall and state rooms. There were demonstrations of how knights armor was made and how they stored spices, nuts and food. Overall it was a fun learning experience for everyone.

Stonehenge

Driving through the English countryside is beautiful. I was relaxed and enjoying the ride, while Taylor had to worry about keeping the car on the right - I mean left side of the road. He was amazing. Thank goodness for GPS systems that help us navigate to any destination in the world. One fun thing we did while we drove on this vacation was to listen to several Roald Dahl books on cd. Many of his stories take place in England so that made it especially fun.



It is very cool to drive past rolling hills and farmland and then BOOM there is Stonehenge. How did those rocks get there? Who lifted them into formations and why? We listened to the audio descriptions, but still don't know the answers. It was an interesting stop and one we would recommend. The weather however was freezing so maybe if you go you should plan a summer visit.

WICKED

The grand finale of our time in London was seeing "Wicked" at the Apollo Theater. We had fantastic seats and the kids could see everything on stage. The show was amazing. I had to restrain myself from singing along with the cast, as I just LOVE the music from this show. All of us were mesmerized. Lilly's attention stayed with the entire story. She would turn to me occasionally and ask what a word meant, but otherwise she was following right along. I think it captivated Olivia most. She could not fall asleep when we got home and she just kept talking about the different scenes and songs. It was a "wicked" good show!

The Tower of London

The Tower of London is closed three days in the year. We chose one of those days to visit (New Years Day). So sad we didn't get to see the Crown Jewels and Traitors’ Gate. This place was an object of fear for 900 years. People who committed treason or threatened the throne were held & tortured here. It felt a little torturous since we didn't get to go inside. I guess we will have to go back another time. The "Beefeaters" (guards for the Tower) were standing watch and all smiles for a photo.

Tower Bridge

There are lots of bridges in London. Our favorite was the Tower Bridge. Seems like everywhere we go there is a photo opportunity. My kids named me the "mamaratzi". They feel like I am stalking them on all of their adventures. They will have to keep smiling because I'm not even close to packing up my camera.

Swimming with Friends

We were lucky enough to stay with our friends Jason and Stacey Wells. They are friends from the good old days at Wharton. Jason has been working in London for the past year and a half, but they are moving back to the states. Their house is just outside the city and it was a wonderful respite for all of us. When we first walked into their home the kids all said, "this is just like being in a house in America!" The added bonus was the indoor pool. On New Years Eve Ericka & Miranda were nice enough to take a swim with our kids. What a treat.

The water was a bit cold. No worries they had a wet suit to fit every body.























All fireworks are legal AND available in London. Kind of funny because you cannot have an electrical outlet in the bathroom, but you can let off fireworks from your apartment in the middle of the city! Jason was nice enough to put on a fireworks display. He & Taylor didn't read the directions fully and let off a firework that was supposed to be grounded. It flew into the air and created quite a show. Lucky for us it didn't land on their beautiful house. We were exhausted from all of our sight-seeing that day so we rang the New Year in early and had the kids in bed by 10:30pm. Thanks Jason & Stacey for your friendship & great hospitality!

Hamleys

You can't visit London with children and not go to Hamleys. It is the worlds oldest and largest toy store. We were impressed. There was an entire floor dedicated to plush toys, electronics, girls and boys just to name a few. Each floor had several employees demonstrating new and innovative products. Talk about great salespeople. The girls pulled their money together and bought a rainbow art set.

Platform 9 3/4

Harry Potter was the book of choice for Spencer and Olivia over the school break. They tried and tried to make it into Hogwarts but lacked the magic to break through the brick wall.

Picadilly Circus

Venturing into London on New Years Eve with a family of 6 was nuts. Picadilly Circus felt exactly like a circus. Crazy! People were everywhere. The subways were free so it was mayhem. It was very much like being in Times Square in New York City. I don't thing we would ever go to NYC on New Years, so why did we even try it in London? We are glad we did it as it was really a wild adventure.

Harrods

Ever since I was in High School and first heard about Harrods department store I have wanted to go there. Well I finally made it on New Years Eve along with the entire population of London. It was so crowded we thought we would never find our way out. Funny how now that I am a mother with 4 children my desire to shop is non-existent. It was fun to see the grandeur of Harrods, ride the Egyptian escalator and see the amazing food hall. Our Harrods purchase was made at the old fashioned candy counter. We bought HUGE gobbstoppers (jaw-breakers) for the kids.

Buckingham Palace

Of course we tried to visit the Queen. She wasn't home. We were hoping to stop in for a spot of tea but those darn guards were really blocking the doors! It's quite a production to see the "changing of the guard". We arrived early and had a great view from the castle gate.

The Queen's Walk

If you ask Lilly what she did in London she would tell you that she got to walk on the same street where the Queen of England goes for her walk. It was a very dirty walk. Garbage was everywhere and we could not figure out why. Later we learned that they do not have garbage cans in London because of the terrorist threats. Needless to say this is a huge problem. People just set their garbage on any level space and hope that the poor street sweepers will clean it up!

London Eye

Our first time into London was at night. We took a ride on the London Eye and had a birds eye view of many amazing landmarks like Big Ben, The House of Parliament & Westminister to name a few. They were practicing for New Years Eve and had countdown lights along with music piped all over the square. It was fun to see all of the excitement, but not have to be there on New Year's Eve. It was already way too crowded for us.

White Cliffs of Dover

First stop was to see the White Cliffs of Dover. None of us really knew anything about the cliffs, but Taylor had been "talking it up" so we took a little detour. They are a beautiful backdrop to a very rugged ocean. It was cold and windy and we were very glad that we didn't take the ferryboat. Found a terrific local fish & chips joint for dinner. It was amazing to actually order our food without any difficulty...we understood every word they spoke!

Eurostar

Today I'm playing "catch up" and trying to finish documenting our Christmas vacation. We left Germany on the night train and arrived in Paris at 9am. Everyone slept much better on the second train. We had parked our car in the Gare de Nord station so we hauled all of our luggage down several flights of stairs (the elevator was broken!), piled into the van and started our journey to England. While driving we saw two different rainbows...we truly felt like we were "somewhere under the rainbow". We arrived at the English Channel just in time to catch the next Eurostar "chunnel train" to England. It's a very slick way to travel. You drive up, pay your fee, drive through a security check & passport control and then onto the train (see photo below). Photos are not allowed in the train as they can inadvertently start the fire alarm. We had to roll our car windows down half-way, sit back and enjoy the ride. It was quick. We went under the water and popped up in England in about 25 minutes! Isn't modern technology amazing? How did they possibly conceive the idea that you could travel in a tunnel under water? Incredible!