European Adventure: Part III
London
The last part of our voyage took us on another train ride under the English Channel to London. We were surely glad to hear proper English, and the accents were a delight! Our hotel this time was directly across from Kensington Park, home of Kensington Palace, a gorgeous recreational area and Princess Diana’s Memorial Playground. Our rooms again were lovely, and Evan was lucky enough to be roommates with “Ting” in her soft grey suede digs. Mom, the baby & I made a rushed trip to Harrod’s our first afternoon there while the hubby and big boy napped. Running though at nearly top speed, we only managed to drool in two very small sections of two floors (there are 6 floors I believe and the store spans an entire city block….ohhhhh emmmmm geeeeee!!!!) Our purchases were modest, a mere dozen of the loveliest cupcakes EVER and we were out the door again to reunite with the sleepyheads.
President Obama’s arrival happened to fall on the day after ours. His presence in the city, which was very close to our location and most of our scheduled itenerary, had us making last minute changes but ended up allowing us to see a few things not on the initial list for this trip that we may not have ever seen. We visited gorgeous Hampton Court, the summer home of King Henry VIII (and all of his wives). It was fascinating because he built a Tudor style palace and someone after him (I cannot remember who at the moment) added on, building an entirely separate Baroque style palace and joining them in one corner. The courtyard between was pretty, but the seemingly endless acres of sculpted English gardens all around were astounding! We got a reader’s digest version of a history lesson while strolling through the open portions of the palaces and lands, and Evan led us through a hedge maze with only one dead end (our guide told us there were 7 dead ends total, so we were impressed with our kiddos natural instincts!)
We eagerly partook in the fish & chips tradition, we saw the priceless crown jewels at the Tower, went on the London Eye (much cooler than we thought it was going to be), witnessed a flash mob of dancing roller-bladers near Piccadilly Square, wandered through Westminster Abbey – I loved seeing all of the tombs there…Charles Darwin & Geoffrey Chaucer & Isaac Newton got me in a tizzy. Really, that doesn’t even begin to cover the monumental amount of history there ~ kings going back hundreds and hundreds of years…we just don’t have that kind of lineage here, it is truly engaging.
All in all it was a dream trip. Our little boys were better travelers than I ever could have hoped for, I loved experiencing Europe with my mom and my husband, and I’m so excited that the doors of the world have been opened for my children! This will not be our last adventure abroad – just the last one for a little while 
Maybe we’ll tackle Disney World next. Who knows?
We’re at Hampton Court ~ Where’s Evan?
The corner where the two palaces join at Hampton Court. Left – Tudor, Right – Baroque
London Bridge was definitely upright and stable.
Fish & Chips with mom at the Goat Tavern. Yum yum, y’all!
On approach at the London Eye
Evan and his big truck in a pod of the London Eye. Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in the background.
Cupcakes from Harrod’s…just as tasty as they are good looking. There was even glitter. I INGESTED glitter. Now my innerds are sparkly, too!
