Day 9 say goodbye to London

Today was a sleep in day.  I then did 5 loads of laundry which is harder then it sounds with no dryer.

But we are trying to pack up before we head out for a late evening and  early morning.
In between loads we headed down the road and through a park to a tea shop for some early  shared lunch. They had cats sleeping in random chairs.

We headed out at 3:30 for an early dinner at Dishoom. Waited for quite awhile even at this early hour.  The food and drinks were so good.

As we left we got caught in a downpour. Everyone was trying to find cover under anything. It was pretty funny.  It's still pretty warm even in the rain.  Makes it feel muggy and gross.

 Then we hit a Harry Potter store before watching part 2 of our play. 

Then back to the flat where we finished packing and got to bed.  Its warm in the flat tonight. We are missing Americas AC.  

We have an early morning where we catch the Eurostar for Paris!

Only about 3,800 steps today! But don't be fooled we are still tired today and the Paris itinerary is jammed packed because we have so few days there. I'm hoping we aren't going to be exhausted at the end of it.

Day 8 Tower of London and Cursed Child part 1

This morning we visited The Tower of London very near opening.

 We headed up the hill to visit the Crown Jewels first before the line was unbearable.  No pictures allowed in here but wowzers! There are some large diamonds in her majesty's collection.
We were visited by one of the Towers 7 Ravens living there now. (They have back-ups just in case one dies or flys away. In fact they had some baby ravens born a few months ago. The first to be born at the Tower in 30 years!)

We then visited other areas of the Tower, including Bloody Tower and White Tower where the war instruments are held.

The Tower used to hold many wild animals to show off how wealthy the King was. 

The Cathedral in the White Tower.

We then headed to lunch at a nearby Pizza Express and found a bookstore for Ben and Alicia who already read the books they bought the other day and each needed the next one in their series. I was happy to oblige as the bookstore was in Leadenhall Market where Diagon Alley in the first Harry Potter movie was filmed. They used Borough Market where we visited yesterday to film Diagon Alley for the other films. 

It's quite amazing to see these old gorgeous buildings right along with brand new skyscrapers like the one Ethan is facing here. 

Then we took a taxi back and rested for several hours before heading out for some dessert as we are still full from lunch and see part one of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child."

If Ben has been most excited for Hamilton I was most excited for this play!

The play was interesting. The acting is cheesy but the special effects and the storyline are great.  It got better as it went along so I'm hoping tomorrow nights second part is even better. Taxi ride home and in our flat by 11.

Steps today: 8,300

I'll add more pictures tomorrow. Alicia has a few on her phone but she has to send them to Ben through their apple phones then he sends them to me.  I can download them when on data but Verizon is down tonight.  

Day 7 London Southbank

This trip has been mostly new adventures. We barely made a hit in the list of things to do on our list trip. Afternoon Tea at Fortnum and Mason and today's boat ride were the only scheduled repeats on this trip.
We started the morning at 10 when Borough Market opened. This is a food market. I can't believe that when I look at my pictures I only took one picture of all the stands and stalls and trucks! I bought spices and a juice while the boys went for meat sticks. Alicia got some dried fruits and a cinnamon roll for later and we got a meringue to share tonight.  They shared a rice bowl and we finished with some lemonade and watermelon juice.

The meringue ended up not being that great and we tossed most of it.

We then realized we had time to add in the Imperial War Museum nearby that the boys had never been to. 

We came back to the flat for a small break before an evening Thames River Rocket cruise. I enjoyed this so much last time and wanted to go again.  I still enjoyed it but I did spend the trip worried if Ethan was because I had forgotten he can get seasick.  But seeing the buildings from the water and feeling the wind in your hair as you zip along on the water was incredible.

Dinner at Honest Burgers, which has good gluten free burgers, and a grocery stop on the way home.  Now resting our weary bodies.  Today was a lot of walking. 18,000 steps.

Day 6 Hampton Court Palace

August 6th

This morning we slept as long as we wanted with no particular wake up time.  We then caught a train for Hampton Court Station where we started with breakfast at Henry's Kitchen down the road from our destination.  We all thoroughly enjoyed Hampton Court Palace. I bought a membership while in the states for their Historic Royal Palaces and this was included.  We walked right in and wandered the buildings and grounds for hours. It is very interactive and great for all ages.
 

 Swans, baby (toddler?) swans and deer to the far left.

My favorite palace or castle yet.
It wasn't crowded and the weather was perfect. It was pretty windy but not cold.  We also watched a falconry show which was enjoyable.

About 5:00 we headed across the street to The Mute Swan and shared two dinner dishes and  a British cheese plate so we would have room for desserts.  We've been too full so far to try desserts so we wanted to ensure we got to them today. The deserts arrived and in 5 minutes they were gone.  So yummy.

  Caught the train back to Vauxhall Station which is a 5 minute walk to our flat. Now we are in reading, playing on our phones and they are letting their eyes rest without contacts tonight.

Steps today 7,700. Low key day

Day 5 Royal Day Out and Afternoon Tea

Today is Ben and I's 19th Wedding Anniversary.

So I wanted to schedule things for today that were  a bit more fancy.
We started at 9:30 with the Royal Day Out. This allowed us to see the Queens Gallery, Royal Mews and the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace.
(Technically we started with a 40 minute walk in the rain where my hair became a huge frizz ball and makeup was in disarray.  I was not a happy camper and I'm sad that I was a mess because I wanted family pictures taken today.  Hopefully another day works out.)

The Queens Gallery is showing Leonardo Davinci's art works right now.  It was so impressive.  How he was able to draw such tiny lines in 1500 is incredible.

Then to the Royal Mews to see the horses,  which are actually in Holiday roaming fields during the summer,  and the Royal carriages. So opulent.

Then to Buckingham Palace where no photos are allowed.  This place is really incredible.  I loved the chandeliers in the Ballroom. 

We then walked to Fortnum and Mason for Afternoon Tea. But first a quick stop in at Waterstones for some book shopping. Then into F&M for more shopping and then our AT.  Our service was better last time but the food was still yummy.  I am on a mission to find the recipe for their curry chicken salad.  We LOVED those sandwiches.  Ben and Ethan may have had more then their fair share. They also enjoyed the tea they chose so we had to go back downstairs to buy the tea for home after we were finished. 

Gluten free for me! The desserts may have been a bit sad compared to the others but the scones and sandwiches were very yummy.

We were stuffed so three of us decided to taxi back while Ben wanted to walk off his food.

Now we are in for the evening doing laundry and reading our new books.

Steps today 12,600, though Ben probably got near 14,000.