This November we took our family travels across the pond to
London and Paris. I’ve said this before in an old post about Rome, but there’s
something special about going back to a city for a second or third time and not
feeling like you need to see all the sights. It’s a chance to really experience
a city and not feel like you’re rushing around trying to get everything in
because who knows when (or if) you’ll come back. Maybe you take in some classic
sights, but you see them in a different way. It’s a lot calmer, relaxed, and in
my opinion, more enjoyable.
Thus, these were great across the ocean cities to introduce to
our children since Jon and I have been to them 1-2 times. Not only that, but
the ONLY day flight from the U.S. to Europe is to London – my kids are pretty
sleep regimented and there’s no way they would fall asleep on an overnight
flight. It also helped us NOT transition them over completely to London time
since we were only there for a week. We all eventually transitioned about 2-3
hours, which ended up being perfect. Another pro for London is that my cousins,
Denise and Dave, with their three kids live in London and they put us up for
three nights. Thanks for saving us $2,000! The first week in November is also
the perfect time to travel – in New Jersey it’s teacher’s convention week and
our schools only have two ½ days that week. The fares are so much cheaper and
there are way less tourists.
We left from JFK airport and settled in for the relatively
short 5 hour 45 minute flight. The kids were great – honestly, they zoned out
to their tablets and our phones or I-pads most of the time. Occasionally they
would play with stickers or read their books, but a long flight is no time to
regulate screen time. You do what you need to do to survive!
Our cousins live in the area of St. John’s Wood in a
fabulously huge house with many floors. Dave, Sophie, and Sam had mint tea
waiting for us and we caught up and let the kids run around.
We all woke up around 9:30am and had a leisurely morning. We
took a nice walk to Little Venice where we caught the 12:15 waterbus to Camden
Market. The 50 minute ride was nice and it wasn’t cold at all. The kids got a
little restless, but overall were pretty good. I didn’t realize the waterbus
lets you off right in the middle of the market… it was a little chaotic! It
took us a moment to figure out where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do,
but we just started walking around admiring all of the different shops. We did
some shopping - not as much as we wanted since I felt like if our eyes weren’t
on the girls at every second then we would lose them in the maze of paths and
stores. We ate lunch outside, right next to the Amy Winehouse statue that for
some reason Julia kept groping when taking a picture.
Later that night we were treated to a fantastic meal at Duke
of York near Denise and Dave’s house. Fish and chips for the win!
Abbey Road is just down the road from their house so we
couldn’t pass up an opportunity to create the iconic shot. Plus, we had two
Abbey Road pros with us watching out for traffic and taking pictures. We went
at a great time (it was about 9pm) when it wasn’t crowded and full of tourists
and traffic.
The next day we took the tube’s Jubilee line to the London
Bridge stop and walked to the Tower Bridge, passing the Shard on the way. Jon
and I had been to the Tower of London before, but never went to the top of the
bridge. It was empty, which made it so much more enjoyable. The kids loved the
clear glass atop the tower, allowing them to see the buses, cars, and water
beneath them.
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| The Shard outside the tube |
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| Great arts and crafts kids area |
We walked back to the tube and got off at the Waterloo stop.
We had fast pass tickets to the London Eye, but first we needed to find some
grub! Our cousins recommended Waga Mama, which is a fantastic Japanese restaurant
with some delicious ramen, udon noodles, dumplings, etc. It was very kid friendly;
they had an extensive kids menu, crayons, things to color on, kids chopsticks,
and loud acoustics inside. The kids loved their dumplings and udon noodles, and
Jon and I both got a spicy beef ramen dish that was amazing!
We headed over to the Eye and were able to walk right up
with our fast passes, though because it was the off season we didn’t need to
spend the extra money. But you never know and I really didn’t want to wait in
line with the kids and be bound to a time. Our pod only had four other people
in it so it wasn’t too crowded at all. It takes about 30 minutes for the pod to
go around once. The views were great.. we had fairly clear skies and could see
for miles and miles! We had a great view of Big Ben (which unfortunately had a
bunch of scaffolding on it), which J had been wanting to see. M had a little
meltdown when we wouldn’t let her lean on the only door that said “Do Not
Lean”, but it didn’t last too long.
After we spent a meal’s worth of money on our Eye family
photo, we took the girls to the Jubilee playground nearby. This is a cute and
unique playground. We loved the different climbing logs, nets, and other
equipment that we don’t usually get in US playgrounds.
Moving onwards, we walked over Westminster bridge with an
ice cream cone, ice cream cup, a hot mulled wine, and a spiced apple cider.
There was actually no complaining on this walk since J very much wanted to see
Big Ben. And she loved the view of the Eye from across the way. We made the
decision to keep walking (instead of taking the tube) to Buckingham Palace. On
the way J became excessively interested in the red phone booths and had to go
in each one.
We walked along the edge of St. James Park as the sun was
setting, about three quarters of a mile from Parliament. We watched the guards
briefly, took some pictures, and then walked through the park to get to the
Green Park station in order to take the tube back. Forgetting that it was
around 5pm on a Monday, we squeezed into one of the cars, stroller and all, and
went the 3-4 stops to St. John’s Wood.
That night my cousins’ kids (or first cousin’s once removed
if you want to get technical), Sophie and Sam, offered to watch the girls so
the adults could go out to dinner. They took us to their favorite fish and
chips place; a truly authentic local experience!
One of the things that J wanted to do while in London was
ride a double decker bus. So the next morning after we packed some things up we
caught the 139 bus around the corner and went for a ride. This route takes you through
Picadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square and is a great route to take to see some lovely
parts of the city. About halfway through we were able to snag the most coveted
seats on the bus, the ones in the front row on the second floor. Both girls
loved this ride and I’m so glad we were able to do it! We got off at the South
Hampstead stop in Covent Garden and walked to Dishoom, an Indian restaurant
highly recommended by Denise and Dave. They met us there for lunch and we
ordered a smattering of dishes, each one better than the next. Truly great
Indian food!
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| Waiting at the bus stop |
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| Funny sign |
We tubed it back to St. John’s Wood and went back to the
house to finish packing our things. I wish I could say we traveled light for
this trip, but we did not. We lugged a ridiculously large pack and play (not
your standard size, but much bigger) with us, plus two large suitcases – one
filled with clothes and one filled with gear like travel blackout curtains,
sound machines, small blankets, some diapers, and other things that hopefully
we can weed out over the next few years. Plus, a backpack each and the airplane
snack bag I had over-packed. Oh yeah, and the travel stroller…
The New Yorkers turned Londonites sent us off in a cab and
off we went to San Pancras Station. This whole process was fairly easy, except
for all of our stuff and two young kids. I had chosen our seats when I
purchased the tickets, so we were able to sit in a foursome with a table
between us. I always love the ease of traveling via train in Europe. Everything
about it is so different than in the US… I wish our country would get with the
times!
We had such an amazing time in London and I wish we had more. Next up, Paris!
