A year ago, I sat in my sister’s four story rented home and decided then and there our family of five would visit for Spring Break 2024. I monitored flight prices for what seemed like close to a year, sadly never getting the great deal I was in search of. Nonetheless, tickets were purchased and we took off Sunday evening March 24th and spent eight full days in London…visiting family and being tourists.
Departing Sunday evening made for a relatively stress-free time getting ready and packed. Taking the 11:00 p.m. flight left Justin and Emerson a little tired on Monday; Avery, Harper, and I caught a few z’s on the plane…enough so that we were able to push through the day.
Monday, March 25
We arrived in London at my sister’s by 11:30 am. We unpacked, went for a late lunch, and picked Noah up from school….he was so excited to see his cousins! We took the boys to the nearby park, popped in a few of the local stores for some breakfast food, took some power naps before dinner, and ate a delicious homecooked dinner of Thai peanut chicken made by Gabriel before an earlier bedtime.
Tuesday, March 26
We woke up relatively early to get a decent start on the day. The boys stayed home from school so they could spend the day with us. We took the train and the Tube for the first of many times during out trip. First stop was Burrough Market where we met up with Mila, who we hadn’t seen as a family in 4.5 years! We explored the market buying some cheese, salami, spices, cookies, bread and a brownie. We sampled cheeses and chocolate covered strawberries. As I was buying cheese, I got pooped on by a pigeon! While the food from the vendors looked delicious and smelled amazing, coordinating what 9 people want at those types of places was a challenge; thus, we opted to go to a Mexican restaurant right across from Borough Market. Food was okay but the fact that they could seat a table of nine of us so quickly was a win.
Light rain started after lunch, the first of much precipitation over the course of our trip. We walked leisurely to Tower of London and Tower Bridge. With the rain and needing to buy time before our 4:45 entry into Sky Garden, we hung out in Joe-the-Juice and explored Leadenhall Market, which was a beautiful open air market dating back to the 14th century. Sky Garden was busier than normal….that actually seemed to be the theme for all the tourist things we did as Friday and Monday were Bank Holidays in London.
The heavy rain closed the outdoor area of Sky Garden. Though closed, walking around the inside, we were still able to get a feel of the amazing views from every angle. The boys were being silly.
After Sky Garden, we said goodbye to Mila for the day and then headed back to Lauren’s home. The four adults went out for dinner to one of their local pubs, The Brown Dog Café. The food was good, ambience nice, and adult conversation even nicer. Meanwhile, Jen (the boy’s babysitter) stayed home with the kids, giving them dinner and putting the boys to bed.
Wednesday, March 27
This was day two of our tourist adventures, which we got to experience with our old friends Stacey and Cooper and their two girls Lindley and Brynn. The last time we saw them was for a whopping 24 hours, 7 years ago and before that, 3 years prior. They just so happened to be vacationing in London at the same time so we booked a tour together for Westminster Palace and the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. We followed Lauren’s transit directions and arrived via the train and Tube on time at our Westminster Castle meeting spot at 8:45 a.m.
The castle was beautiful and the history amazing. It absolutely amazes me to see the architecture and ornate details and intricacies of the design dating back to 1050, long before modern technology.
Lindley just turned 12 and is 5 ft 9 in. Brynn turns 10 this month and was the same height as Avery and Emerson. Tallies! Is that even a word….I say shorties all the time, I’ve never had to say the word “tallies” before!
After our tour we found a local pub. Food was fine, service kind of odd as you ordered at the bar. Service was also slow, but with it raining out, it was actually a perfect spot as it gave us more time to catch up. The four adults sat together and the kids sat at their own table, which was less awkward for them as the minutes went on.
The sun came out for a short time just as we were finishing up lunch. The girls found a local bakery in Soho area that we walked to for some treats. We then continued walking together through Soho to Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square and then finally Big Ben before saying our goodbyes. While the weather was crazy, the lighting at Trafalgar Square was amazing.
Wednesday evening Lauren and I went grocery shopping and picked up store made pizzas for the kids and grown-ups ordered pizzas from Base Face Pizza. The pizza was good, but since it was the same type as Puppatella, we knew the girls wouldn’t enjoy it.
Thursday, March 28
Thursday was our full day excursion visiting Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath. Our tour guide made it clear over and over that it was going to be a very rushed and long day; she really knew how to sell it! Similar to how Sky Gardens was packed, Windsor Castle was just as packed. We arrived at 9:00 and waited in the queue for over one hour before we finally got in about 10:15. That gave us less than 1.5 hours to explore not only Windsor Castle but also the town of Windsor. We opted not to get the audio as time was already ticking. The rooms, the décor, simply extradinary…I absolutely can not fathom being a part of or even associated with the royal family. The day started out nice and sunny and when we came out of Windsor Castle, it was raining so hard that umbrellas inverted as soon as they were opened and feet were drenched from walking in puddles. We took cover in St. George’s Chapel for a little bit as we strolled the perimeter; St. George’s Chapel was the place where Megan and Harry got married.
We then darted through the streets in the pouring rain through puddles to head back to town to grab a quick bite to bring on the bus. The food took so long that Justin almost left before it was ready so that we didn’t miss our bus. Meanwhile, I ran into a souvenir shop to buy two more umbrellas and a new pair of socks for Harper as her boot and socks were soaking wet.
Our next stop Stonehenge was an hour drive away, though we got stuck in traffic leaving Windsor Castle, making the drive about 1 hour 40 minutes. Upon arriving in Stonehenge, the rain had slowed down to more of a trickle, but the wind gusts were so intense that they literally could blow us away. We had to again wait for a shuttle bus to take us to the monument and it seemed way busier that the average day. We had basically five minutes to explore and take pictures before having to head back on the shuttle bus to get on our charter bus. It was so windy and cold and rushed that it was comical. It would have been nice to stay longer and enjoy the audio tour and a grab a few more pictures from some different vantage points, but we still got to go and experience Stonehenge and we can all say we have been there. Again, crazy to think that those monuments were there over 5000 years ago.
We had another hour drive in torrential downpour and flooded streets before arriving in Bath. We had less than an hour to explore the Roman Baths and grab a bite in town before having to head back for the three-hour drive back to London. We moved through the baths quicker than I would have liked, but again, we got to do it. The town of Bath was absolutely extraordinary as we drove in…we are keeping Bath on our list of places that we would like to go visit again, this time for a few days at a time.
Arriving home at 9:00, Gabriel had made pasta and meat sauce, which was awaiting our arrival!
Friday, March 28
After getting up early three days in a row, we all needed a slower day. We had originally planned on going to Brighton, a town on the coast, but changed our plans after seeing the weather forecast was somewhat rainy and very windy. The girls especially enjoyed a leisurely morning eating breakfast and hanging out with the boys. Gabriel and Lauren took the kids to the local cinema, where they saw a movie without talking. Justin and I took the time and went for a nice 90-minute walk followed by some local shopping for fruit, yogurt, waffles, wine, and a Gail’s salad for lunch.
Lauren and I took the girls and Noah for afternoon tea at Orange Peko, a local café in Barnes. While we aren’t huge tea drinkers or sandwich fans, the idea of high tea was still very exciting. We were given more pastries and sandwiches than one should eat in a week! The scones with clotted cream were by far the favorite! Doing high tea locally in Barnes versus going into the city where the price per person for a high tea was significantly more was definitely the right choice. I am glad we did high tea, though I think the full high tea experience is probably a one and done adventure.
Meanwhile, Gabriel, Justin, and Elias were at Whitehart, another local pub. The ladies and Noah joined them for a drink after tea as the weather turned out to be beautiful, especially in the sun.
We spent Friday evening at home…kiddos munched on some leftovers and what was around the house, while grownups ordered some Thai food.
Saturday, March 28
Saturday was a beautiful day, by far the best weather day we had in London. We spent the morning in Barnes first watching Noah play soccer, where he scored five goals. Watching him play is so much fun…he is eager and aggressive and knows how to celebrate a goal. After his match, we walked through Barnes and the local market buying some cheese, bread, and some subpar sausage rolls.
The glorious weather continued through the afternoon; we made our way to Whitehart again for the big Cambridge/Oxford boat race. It reminded me of Foxfields….tons of people, lots of drinking, and very little boat watching. The only difference between this and Foxfields was that this event featured kids!
We left the boat race after the women’s race, missing the men’s portion, and headed to Hyde Park to explore the park and meet Mila one last time. The weather was still gorgeous as we walked the park taking pictures along the way including at The Albert Memorial, The Serpentine Lake, and the front of Kensington Gardens. Mila brought us her famous chocolate balls and a few other of her local favorite treats.
Mila lives in Notting Hill, which is where exited Hyde Park. Last year when I visited Mila, Karolin, Mila, and I went to a pub The Prince Albert for lunch that had the best fish and chips. Since last year, I wanted to take Justin there for the fish and chips. We showed up at dinner time on a Saturday…we hovered around a few tables and luckily didn’t’t have to wait for more than 15 minutes before we snagged a table. Justin, Mila, Emerson, and Harper ordered the fish and chips. Three fish and chips came out; Justin is the one who decided to wait for the other; the other never came. By the time Justin asked about it, they had NO fish and chips left. Silence. Silent explicatives had never been louder. Speechless.
Justin was hungry hours before we went to the pub; he was so hangry. We cut our time with Mila a little shorter than we probably would have to get home; a juicy burger and brewski awaited him.
Sunday, March 28
Easter Sunday and another day in Barnes! The UK Easter Bunny left some Easter “bags” filled with chocolates for the kids.
Noah had an Easter Egg hunt at the nearby park with some of his school friends; the girls set up the hunt and Avery was in charge of giving the instructions to the kids, the last of which was to “have fun”.
We enjoyed a lazy afternoon hanging out with the boys. Late afternoon Lauren and Gabriel’s American friends Christine and Bryan and their kids Analyse and Julian came over and we enjoyed another Easter Egg hunt, a delicious lamb dinner, and several bottles of wine.
Monday, March 28
Our last full day. I always get a little sad on our last full day of vacation. Vacations always go by too quickly and this one was no exception. Monday was a Bank Holiday so we all got to spend the day together. Our destination was Richmond Park, a huge park with a playground and deer, who we mistakenly got very close to! While there were many signs indicating to stay away from the deer, we missed those until after we got up close and personal with them!
After strolling the park and letting the kids play on the playground for a while (while me and Justin snuck away for a walk), we had a very nice lunch at Petersham Nurseries, and while a beautiful atmosphere and good food, we almost had to remortgage our house just to pay for the meal!
Tuesday, March 28
Departure day….never any fun to leave, but always nice to get home and back into the normal routine. We had a 12:30 flight so thankfully did not have to get up at the crack of down or rush to get ready. Noah especially was very sad about his cousins leaving and since we have gotten home, he has sent the girls some very sweet messages about how much he enjoyed his time with each of his cousins.
This trip had been a long time coming. I’m so glad we were able to finally make it happen. And so blessed to have spent eight full days with Lauren, Gabriel, Noah, and Elias.