European Adventure, Here's London

We began our new year with quite the adventure! I'd spent the whole of the previous day packing, packing, packing. The kids are good flyers but we'd never taken a flight so long. 11 hours from LAX to London Heathrow Airport. We took a red eye, 7pm in the hopes that they would sleep. They did but only a little. Thank goodness for free on demand shows and movies in flight. I took a screen shot of the coin currency for the UK, they use Pounds. Elsewhere in Europe they use the Euro. Both of which are depressingly worth more than the dollar. I had to stop thinking of the dollar equivalent... and just enjoy the trip.

Determined to live my life in a culinary adventure I found a little place near the Tower of London called the Kitchen At Tower. It's situated directly next to All Hallows Church and serves homemade British Food. Kids had eggs and toast (Heabug is a runny yolk gal while JT prefers his scrambled). Hubs and I tried the Full English Breakfast. Mushrooms, Beans (which are apparently a staple!), fried egg, roasted tomato, a sausage and bacon/ham. It was great. I have only learned to appreciate mushrooms as an adult but I'm never one to refuse trying something. It was only on the warning of our waitress that I resisted ordering Black Pudding. Next time. The food was terrific, the vibe was great and it gave us a fine start to the day.

We found our Big Bus tour and hopped on. The red line has live commentary by a guide and took us right through the city to see the awesome and traditional sites. Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, The Tower Bridge, Kensington Palace... It was probably the coolest way to see the most things and we got seats on the top, right in the front.

The Big Bus is a hop on/hop off as you please. Busses run throughout the day so we only ever waited 5 or 10 minutes. We hopped off at Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. We were in luck as during the winter, it only happens every OTHER day at 11am. As we waited among THOUSANDS literally we walked through St. James Park, and tossed coins in the Victoria Memorial Fountain.

It was also terribly cold so the guards wear their gray winter coats over their traditional bright red uniform. The very subtle differences on the uniform distinguish which of the five regiments of the British Army the guard is a part of (presence of a plume, the color, button spacing etc). There are the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards, Irish Guards, and Welsh Guards. It was fantastic to witness events carried out with such ceremony.

We were also glad to visit Westminster Abbey. SO much history in this place that has been home to Benedictine Monks, coronations (since 1066!), baptisms, funerals, weddings (aghh Will and Kate!), and the final resting place of royalty, scientists, play writes, poets, writers, saints, martyrs, and more. We did a children's scavenger hunt as well as an audio tour. We wandered through the beautiful chapels and looked for clues, answering questions on paper and from our children. The beauty of this building is unmatched. There is an inscription on the front that reads: "May God grant to the living grace- the departed rest- the Church and the world peace and concord- and to us sinners eternal life"
As we left the Abbey, the kids turned in their worksheet and received a Golden (chocolate) Coin as a reward!

One of our favorite visits was the Tower of London. We could have stayed there ALL DAY! There was so much to see. It was once a palace, a prison, a stronghold, a military base and a royal mint. There's just SO much. We were led on a tour by one of the Yeoman Warder, the traditional care takers of the Tower. He shared stories of treachery and love and blood and torture and more. We were able to view the Crown Jewels, the very jewels that have been used in coronations of the past. There were also the ewer that has been used at the baptisms, scepters and swords... It was seriously amazing

We really enjoyed our time in London. We ate British food, locals seemed polite (we had several offers of help as we tried to navigate the tube with our luggage and kids from the Airport to our stop at Tower Hill). Things close early. But who really needs Starbucks at 10pm? What I've noticed in Europe so far is the lack of extreme convenience. There are a WHOLE lot of stairs. People seem to do a lot of walking. Vegetarian options are completely the norm on restaurant menus. When you walk or ride a bike, you see more. You manage your time more wisely to get to your destinations. Now granted, it's like pulling teeth to get your drink refilled but you also aren't expected to tip an exorbitant amount as many places include a small service charge on your bill. It's a country deeply steeped in its traditions, they've been through quite a bit in the last 1200 years. But still it stands. A place I'd be happy to come back to and enjoy a nice cuppa.
Thanks London,
Love Mrs. B.