tour of london

Not too long ago we got back from a short trip to London.  In part I was ready (nearly desperate!) for a getaway and it was Andrew's birthday.  My sweet husband is now entering the mid-30s.  Which by association makes me getting older too! :)

We had our share of ups and downs on the trip, but I'll try not to make it too long and post the good pictures.  London is supposedly one of, if not the, most expensive cities to vacation in.  We definitely felt that! Even for dumpy hotels it was nearly $200 a night or more.  Nicer hotels were $500+ night! Anyway, after we got our jaws off the floor and realized planning the week before would be harder than we realized, we started getting creative.  We shifted our dates around and shortened the time we'd be there.  Then we started looking for short stay apartments instead...that would help us so we could cook for a few meals but still enjoy a good location in the city close to all the must-see sites.  AFter several days of scouring the internet we finally found one we could make work and we were pumped.  We booked it and had our train tickets.  Two days later we took a morning train to London and around lunch we got to the apartment.  Only no one was there and we couldn't find out what to do next. After calling a few times, the company informed us that we had only made a request for the stay, though they sent us an email confirmation (or so we thought) and took all our payment info.  Well, apparently that morning while we were on the train, they emailed us to tell us the apartment was booked earlier and wasn't available to us.

So here we are.  Pushing our hungry and ready-for-naptime twins, Andrew with some luggage, standing on a street with no where to stay! Well my thankfully cool under pressure husband began going door to door for hotels.  Praise the Lord there was a small park nearby to keep the boys busy and happy.  A while later Andrew comes back and said every single one of them is booked because Wimbledon is going on. We were in the Paddington area, near the Underground, next Hyde park and not far from where Wimbledon was going on.  The only place he could find was a not so ideal hotel.  But in the end we booked it so we could have somewhere to stay and the boys could get a much needed nap in.  Then we searched for a hotel for the next night and eventually found another one close by, with much better standards, but still for around what we would have paid for the apartment.  Anyway, despite the hotel fiasco in the beginning, it was a great trip.  It made me so thankful for Andrew! What a trooper! He is so great under pressure and held it together for me!  Also, though our boys are a little crazy at times, they too can be super flexible and help keep me grounded in more stressful times with their smiles.

On the 2 hour train from Sheffield to London

After finally getting into a hotel the first day we headed to Big Ben

Westminster Park next to Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey! 

Playing in Hyde Park on Daddy's birthday, our 2nd day, so he could explore his dream of visitng Churchill's War Rooms

Stunning St. James Park

Watching the duck 

Watching the changing of the guards at the Horse Guards Parade...G and J liked the "ho-ses"

Buckingham Palace

We headed to Borough Market for lunch and I found this incredible Paella. It was amazing!

Delicious looking oysters!

So much fresh fruit...of course we got some local fresh blueberries for the boys too!

 

After lunch and naps, we took a boat cruise to see more of the city in a new way

On the Thames...Tower Bridge and an old war ship

The London Eye in from of the former Town Hall

A replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theater from the river

The Tower of London

After the cruise, we ate at a pub Shakespeare frequented and then walked along the river at sunset.  The Capital looking building is St. Paul's CAthedral- one of the only buildings to survive the intense bombings of WW2.  

 On our last day we headed to the nearby Hyde Park for G and J to get some energy out!

My two boys and me at Kensington Gardens in Hyde Park

While waiting for our luggage the boys "played chess" outside our hotel.  Note the black and white pattern and line...they did that by themselves!

After that we were off to the train station and back to Sheffield.  I think taking the bus, the boat and the trains were maybe the boys' favorite things. And of course whenever they go to "wun 'round" in parks.  They did great, but we're all glad to be back after a busy few days!