London with Kids

Today we had a non-tourist day. Started a bit late because of snoozing Bryce & Kyle (Connor was up first!) Took the tube to King's Cross / St. Pancras to time the journey and to get our eurostar tickets. Then the boys wanted to go to the Muffin Man for muffins and the Science Museum. So back to High Street Kensington. Had the boys order and pay themselves. They had 3pounds a piece (thanks to Uncle Greg's coin collection) and they budgeted money wonderfully, remembered to pay at the till and put in something extra in the cleverly worded tip box ("service not included in total").


Then we walked to the Science Museum stopping once to purchase 1 postcard each for 10 pence. Tucked behind Royal Albert Hall and various schools & colleges (Bryce remarked "why do the schools look like courthouse?"), we found the building. Hooray, admission was free! After many good yet pricey meals and admission fees, it was a nice change. Don't remember how many stories in the museum - it could be 5 or 6, they seem to be 0-relative here (where 0 = Ground Level). It was a good day and we had to tear the boys away! Walked over to Harrods (bleck tooo fancy schmancy) before catching the tube at Knightsbridge.

Connor on London

Today (June 16) we are going to go to Buckingham Palace. We will be back in SD. on June 28.

(editor's comment: we are? it's good that someone has a plan...still waiting for the other two boys to WAKE UP)

London Congestion Tax

My brother has been experimenting with London law. Basically if you drive in central London during the week, you are required to pay a 8pound congestion charge. With cameras all over London, if you don't pay this, they will catch you. Greg has first hand experience. He has been caught 4 times so far and has racked up 240 pounds of charges (it is 8pound 1st day, 10pound 2nd day, and 60pound if you forget...Greg falls into the last category). So 60-90pound is now being taken directly out of his weekly per diem.

See http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/congestioncharging for more information.

More Sunday photos

The Churchill Arms...

Father's Day in London

Today is Father's Day. We didn't wake up until after 9:30 so we got a late start. We went to Hyde park to spend the day. We ended up taking out paddle boats, having lunch at the Lido, swam in the Serpentine, walked Baywater and looked at the artists' paintings, and finished the day at the Churchill Arms...back at the apt to make dinner and let the kids rest (see photos in next post)

London at Night

It is amazing to walk around London at 10pm feeling like it is just 7:30pm. We had dinner at an Indian restaurant in S. Kensington and then took the tube to the Embankment. Walking along the Thames on a mild night, I was surprised when Kyle announced that it was 10:30! Here are some pictures from our evening out.

Signs of London

The signs say it all...

Saturday in London

We seem to have adjusted to London time without a hitch. Got up at midnight (8am here) and after Greg's driver picked him up for work, we headed for the Kensington High Street tube station. From there we went to Earl's Court to transfer to the Piccadilly Line. That was our first experience being really truly in an underground station -breezy and warm air blowing all around.




Rising from the Piccadilly Circus underground, we were immediately accosted by someone trying to sell us the London Tourist Everything Pak. We found we could buy tickets for the tourist double decker bus tour directly from the driver. This tour included a boat tour also. We traveled by bus to the London Eye and continued by boat on the Thames until we got to the Tower of London, then walked across the Tower Bridge catching the bus to Trafalgar Square, then back to S. Kensington by tube.




This day was the Trooping of the Colours... which is a fancy way of saying the Queen's birthday observed. Some of the roads were closed. We saw part of the parade but didn't opt to stand with the masses to see the shingdig.

First Impressions

We lucked out. Look at the neighborhood we are staying in. What a walkable city, we spent hours this afternoon walking without destination. On the road, cars are on the left...that rule is not apparent in pedestrian traffic. Still need to figure this out.

Today we are going to do more touring about London.

Made it to London

We've arrived!
Travel at a glance: Left San Diego at 1pm Thursday; arrived LA before 3pm! No traffic. Left LAX at 6pm and arrived Heathrow at 12:24pm. Took the loooooooong walk to customs (probably will find out that there is a quicker way) then the looooooooooong walk to the trains. Took the express train to Paddington and then the tube to Kensington High street. Bought an Oyster card - kids are free but good luck getting them through the stile. Got my rolling luggage stuck and set off the alarm; meanwhile, I have 1 kid with me and 2 on the other side. Need to learn to blend in more. Arrived on Iverna Court in S. Kensington - a short walk from the tube station. Found my brother Greg's place very easily...wow it is pretty here. We are taking a refreshment break and then we are going out to explore. It is 3pm now so we'll see if we can get to Hyde Park and Tesco (the local grocery). Greg expects to be home after 9pm - I barely slept on the plane so I will be struggling to stay up.

About the plane trip - many of you know that I loathe air travel. Well this was non-stop turbulence until we passed Greenland and was over the Atlantic. Had one of those frantic plane shakes followed by an abrupt lift and a concerning fall. Bryce thought it was cool. Kyle slept through it. Let me tell you ... Kyle is our traveler. He fell asleep right at 8pm and slept through all but the last hour ... even through the bad bouts of turbulence.

Interesting trivia - Kirsi was on our flight. Saw her at the line for the loo (yes, loo I am in England now) on the plane. She is on her way to Finland. So, we weren't the only one's grabbing our kids from school and then dashing up to LA to catch a nonstop to London!

OK everyone is itching to explore....

South Kensington

Click for a map of South Kensington, London.

The Tube Turnstiles

OK, so we are allowed carry-ons so we can navigate the tube turnstile with 3 kids in tow. Let's take a look at that omnious place...

My new 22" carry-on bag

For a 2 week trip, we are bringing 1 carry-on each. Admittingly, I freaked when I saw my tiny luggage ration. I started to panic when the stench hit my nose - not only will I have limited clothing, they will all smell like BO from the start. I know - "so very Euro," but those that know me will understand the NIH mentality that I fully embrace. Any stench eminating from my body is something of my own making thank you very much.

So I went out and got myself a 22" Eddie Bauer carry-on case (see image). It has a removable hanging toiletry kit!! Plus mesh shoe pockets (so the stench of my shoes can permeate the rest of my clothing). I know what you are thinking - I am anything if not pampered.

It is all about getting through the tube turnstiles (see next post).