October 2015 Half Term

I have a love hate relationship with the kids' school half term breaks (See what we did for October 2014 half term).  I love the chance for a decent break before the usual Christmas & Easter times.  We get a chance to sleep in and stay up late.  It also provides for another opportunity to travel Europe.  When we stay in London, the best part is that I get to take my kids out into the city to experience the amazing things I see when they are in school.

There is one piece of half term that irks me - everyone else.

All of the schools in England (and possibly quite a large percentage of Europe) are off at the same time.  So that means the museums are beyond packed.  If you can book something in advance, you had better book it six months ahead because the Brits are planners.  Despite my annoyance with crowds, we try to cram in everything we possibly can.  This October, I let the kids help decide some of the itinerary.

Saturday: MC Escher exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery.  I've known his art for a long time, but I never knew it belonged to him!

Sunday: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - The autumn leaves are in their full glory, and we were happy to spend the day amongst them.  It's a UNESCO World Heritage site, too.    

Monday: Ai Weiwei exhibition - I left the kids home with Matt so I could see it.  Phenomenal show by a great artist.  There might also have been some walking in the city since the sun was shining.  We needed a top up of tea from Fortnum & Mason.  

Tuesday: Tower of London - My annual pass expired at the end of October, so we had to visit what we could one last time.  We brought one of Oldest Kiddo's friends along so that made for a really nice day.  The weather cooperated so much that everyone in England decided to go to the tower as well.  The Tower of London is another UNESCO World Heritage site.  Matt left for a week in America so I'll entertain the kids for the next seven days.  Wish me luck. 

Wednesday: Oldest Kiddo went for a sleep over at a friend's house in the afternoon.  I took Youngest Kiddo out for a dinner date to the ever exciting mall.  A little Five Guys & Cherry Vanilla fountain Coke makes me happy.  Some window shopping at Lego makes him happy.

   
Thursday: The day after a sleepover usually necessitates a rest day for her.  No one complained about watching movies in our jammies all afternoon.  A friend dropped her toddler off for a few hours while her older kiddos had swim lessons.  He was more than happy to play trains the whole time.  

Friday:  We had a big to do list to complete today to get ready for a few weekend birthday parties.  So we went back to the mall for lunch and a little shopping.  We barely made it home before the sun went down.  

Saturday: Halloween in London is super low-key.  Oldest had a birthday party in the morning and Youngest had one in the afternoon.  Then we all went out trick or treating with friends in the evening.  They received some interesting candy.  A few houses passed out marshmallows, single unwrapped marshmallows.  Ew.

Sunday: We had a full week to complete homework, but did we do it?  Heck no.  After pain au chocolat, the kids labored through their work.  When I say kids, I mean I played referee through each task because they could not have cared less about doing it.  As you can see from out the back window, there was nothing to see anyway. Pea soup out there, it was.

Next week is back to school for them (YAY!!), and I'm back to my real job - touring the city with some brunch mixed in for good measure.  

A4 Update - October 2015

We changed the clocks back an hour, and now the sun goes down at lunchtime.  You think I'm kidding?

*Holly & Oldest Kiddo took a day trip to Paris.  It might be one of Oldest Kiddo's favorite days of our whole time in Europe.  

*The kids went to various birthday parties.

*Matt & Holly went to a taping of the Graham Norton Show, which is one of our absolute favorites.  

*Matt was gone from London only 8 days during the month.  That's not too bad.  

*The kiddos had a half-term break.  We split our time between seeing the city and movies on the couch in pajamas.  
*Holly saw the incredible Ai Weiwei exhibit at the Royal Academy 

*The kids trick or treated.  Halloween isn't observed by all households, but from the noise on the street past bed time the older kids loved it.  

*Oldest Kiddo continues to love middle school (weird).  She attends different clubs each day after school, such as art, drama, and orchestra.  

*Youngest Kiddo is obsessed with building everything with Lego.  He likes the prepackaged sets, but he's having a blast with creating his own ideas.  

A4 Update - September 2015

Now that a majority of the tourists have left London, the daily touring has resumed!

Oldest Kiddo started secondary school.  She looks quite smart in her new uniform.  I think she might be one of the few kids in the world that actually likes middle school.  She takes the city bus to and from school each day with heavy texting in the morning to coordinate bus times with friends.  Her school goes through high school so there are some really big kids in the lunch line; she was a bit disturbed that several of the boys sported a mustache.

Youngest Kiddo is now in Year 2 (1st grade in the US).  Since his sister leaves earlier, I have about 45 minutes of time with just him in the morning.  He still is not a fan of leaving his toys to catch the bus, but it's certainly less hectic with only one kid to get out the door.

While the weather is still nice we've ventured way out of our end of town.  The first journey was to Crystal Palace to see Waterhouse Hawkins' dinosaurs.  I've had this picture book for years, and I was happy that we could see them.

On another sunny Sunday the kids enjoyed the massive slides at Victoria Park.

Holly took another tour of Buckingham Palace, The Geffrye Museum, and The Ben Franklin House.

The final series of Downton Abbey started!  

Whirlwind Week in London - Touring Tuesday

The Manor was host to two of our very good college friends for a week.  They'd never been across the ocean before, so they were up for anything!

We did not spend hours in any one place.  I tried to take them in for the highlights so they could get a flavor for all that London has to offer.  I had to keep track of time to return to our borough to retrieve Youngest Kiddo, so you could actually spend more time at the venues if you so choose.  I think our itinerary proves that you can just about see it all in one week (I listed the day's starting tube station in case you want to try our itinerary).

Sunday - arrival day Tube: Westminster

Pick up at Heathrow
Lunch at home
Westminster sights (Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, London Eye, River Thames)
Walk Whitehall to Trafalgar
Walk Trafalgar to Covent Garden & Seven Dials
Pub in Covent Garden 

We created a loose plan for the day since we had no idea how much (or little) sleep they had on the flight.  Luckily they had a few hours and were game to get out into the city.  I think the Westminster area is a great first stop because you see so many iconic structures in one spot.  A few drinks in the pub was a nice way to end their first day.    

Monday - Tube: Knightsbridge

Harrods

Victoria & Albert Museum

Natural History Museum

Walk to Kensington Gardens (see Royal Albert Hall & Albert Memorial)

Tour Kensington Palace

We chose to spend some time in Knightsbridge & South Kensington for their first full day of touring.  I thought it would be best to start at Harrods right at opening to walk the food halls, see the Egyptian staircase, and handbag department before the other tourists even finished their coffee.  The architecture in many of the museums is part of the charm.  The main lobby of the Natural History Museum is beyond gorgeous.  We had to queue outside the museum for about 20 minutes, but that gave us the chance to see all of the different tiles, gargoyles, and motifs on the building.  

Tuesday - Tube: Green Park

Changing of the Guard

Take away Pret sandwiches in Trafalgar Square

Tour Buckingham Palace

As much as I love the royals, the Changing of the Guard is not actually something you need to do.  Prior viewings had a well choreographed entrance of the fresh guard and an amusing concert with everyone's favorite God Save the Queen (also known as My Country Tis of Thee for the Americans out there).  Sometimes they throw in a contemporary tune or even the James Bond theme.  This particular day was uncharacteristically abysmal.  The band played sporadically, and it was just a big let down.  So we chose to waste no more time on that.  However, we did get a great view of the outgoing guard as they followed us down The Mall toward Trafalgar Square.  The highlight of the day was the summer opening of the Buckingham Palace State Rooms.  This year's theme had the ballroom set up for a state banquet; I'd sure like to be invited to one of those!

Wednesday - Tube: Kings Cross

Walk through Kings Cross & St. Pancras Stations to see the architecture & Platform 9 3/4
Camden Market (big thumbs down)

Walk to Primrose Hill and pass by Regent's Canal (big thumbs up!)

Piccadilly Circus to see favorite shops (Liberty, Fortnum & Mason, etc)
Self-guided pub crawl thanks to Yelp recommendations

I never get up to North London during the week because it's not the easiest to get there and back in time to pick the kiddos up from school.  So I was happy that the guests wanted to see that part of town.  Primrose Hill's view of the city is worth the gluteus maximus work out to get to the top.  Skip Camden Market and go for the fun shops off Piccadilly & Regent Streets.

Thursday - Tube: Monument
View The Monument (climb the 311 steps if you feel adventurous)

Tour Sky Garden (prebook your FREE tickets)

Leadenhall Market (Diagon Alley scenes from Harry Potter movies)
Borough Market 
British Museum

The Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street is one of my favorite spots in the city (tickets are FREE, but you must prebook your time slot).  I highly recommend this over the London Eye due to cost and ambiance.  Then we walked to nearby Borough Market to see its lovely, historic food market with many diverse food options.  Be sure you bring cash if you go as not many stalls take cards.  We ended our day at the British Museum for my favorite must see items: Elgin Marbles (George Clooney's wife is trying to help get these returned to Greece), Egyptian Mummies, and the Room of Enlightenment.     

Friday- Tube: Tower Hill

Tower of London
Tower Bridge
Walk across Tower Bridge to St. Paul's
Pub in Richmond for dinner without the kids

We sent our guests to tour the Tower of London and met them for lunch at Wagamama Tower Hill.  Our walk from the Tower Bridge down to the Tate Modern gave a great view of the city.  Please admire the great view of St. Paul's before you cross the Millennium Bridge.  Since we spent so much time in the city during the week, we picked a pub out in Richmond for dinner so they could see another facet of Greater London.  

Saturday - Tube: Hammersmith

Fish & Chips @ Kerbisher & Malt

Bishop's Park for playtime and see and hear the Fulham stadium crowd

home for Pimms and dinner

Our guests' final day in London was certainly less eventful than the previous days.  We went for lunch at our favorite chippy (British for fish & chip shop), and ended the day with a stop at a park on the river.  Everyone took a turn playing on the equipment (although the adults realized that spinning rides aren't for us anymore) amidst the sounds of the nearby crowd as Fulham played Brighton and Hove Albion.  We spent the rest of the evening at home, eating, drinking Pimms, and laughing with our friends one last time. 

Then the week was over.  Their cab arrived at 5:30 Sunday morning to usher them back to Chicago.  It was a memorable week that I know none of us will forget.
  
What didn't we do?  I know it seems impossible that we missed anything.  Here's what I'd add with a few more days:
*West End show - There are always great shows in London, but I just never get around to booking tickets.
*National Gallery - Ran out of time
*River Thames boat ride - Ran out of time
*Afternoon Tea - I could have made it work, but I still can't stomach the £35+ per person at a proper spot for tiny sandwiches and a few bites of cake.  Yes there are cheaper options, but I feel you have to do this right or not at all.  
*A picnic in the park - The sun really never came out to make this a worthwhile event.  Sunny picnics in the park have the best people watching.  
*London Eye - Skipped this on purpose because the Sky Garden is free and they have snacks!

A4 Update - July 2015

Happy Summer!

The kids had their last day of school on 17 July.  That officially started #our48daysofsummer!!!!

Oldest Kiddo was one of the leads in the Year 6 production We Will Rock You!  She played a very sassy Scaramouche, and her hard work paid off as she rocked it for three shows!  The rest of the family is ready for a break from Queen songs for a while. 

On the last day of school we left for a get away to Northern Italy.  Matt used up all of his holiday time on our last trip to Italy, so he worked from our Airbnb home for the week.  No one said working from home had to be your own home.  The kids swam everyday, and everyone ate way too many carbs (if that is such a thing).

Matt was only in America four days for the second month in a row!

Holly and the kids watched Back to the Future at Royal Albert Hall with a live symphony.  Aside from the lack of air conditioning, we loved being inside the great building to watch one of our favorite movies.

Matt went to the Formula 1 race in Silverstone.  

Holly braved the queues to see the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum.  It was such an amazing show, and I hope it tours the world.  

August is set to be jam packed with fun while the sun is still shining into the evening hours.........  

Just Call Me Cruise Director - Touring Tuesday

I have to pat myself on the back with the itinerary I planned for my sister & eleven year-old nephew's visit at the end of March.  Maybe my new name should be Julie McCoy. 

Day 1 (Monday) - The kids and I picked them up at Heathrow.  Thanks to the real-time data on the Flightradar24 app, I knew exactly when to leave The Manor.  We only waited for a few minutes before they emerged from passport control.  We spent the day back at The Manor trying to keep them awake with a trip to the park, a quick shop on the high road, and a few games of Chutes & Ladders.

  

Day 2 (Tuesday) - There's no better way to get over jet lag than to get out into the sunshine!  Our day started with a spin around The London Eye (be sure to buy your tickets online for a discount).  We grabbed lunch and walked up to Trafalgar Square so the kids could climb around on the lions.  Then we walked up The Mall to Buckingham Palace.  Our day ended with a walk through Hyde Park so the kids could play pirates with sticks.  

Day 3 (Wednesday) - Youngest Kiddo got sick overnight and was down for the count on Wednesday morning.  I did not want our guests to miss out on a day in the city so I gave the reins to my understudy, Oldest Kiddo.  She was elated to play cruise director and navigate them to South Kensington for a day at The Science Museum & Natural History Museum.  She also happened to suggest a stop for fro-yo on their walk back to The Tube.

Day 4 (Thursday) - The boy was back on track so the whole crew could head back out into the city.  We started at The Tower of London to hear about various beheadings and see the gorgeous Crown Jewels.  Since we were so close, a tour of The Tower Bridge was a no brainer.  The new glass walkway is stupendous.  

Day 5 (Friday) - Youngest Kiddo was left at home with Matt so we could have a day of magic at The Harry Potter Studio Tour.  It's a bit out of town, but public transport is very convenient.  The studio recently opened a new section with a Hogwarts Express steam train which was adorable as they set up some of the cars with memorabilia from the movie.  You must prebook tickets if you decide to visit this phenomenal place.  We met Matt and Youngest Kiddo back in London for dinner to round out the day.

Day 6 (Saturday) - Youngest Kiddo was back to not feeling great so he stayed home with Matt again while we made a day in the city.  Our first stop was the Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street.  I cannot emphasize how lovely this FREE spot is to visit.  The views of the city really show off how London is a mix of old, old buildings and new, new buildings.  Across the street from 20 Fenchurch is Leadenhall Market, which was used for some of the Diagon Alley scenes in the Harry Potter movies.  To round out the day, we went full on tourist and went to Piccadilly Circus for a stop at a crap from London store, Liberty, Fortnum & Mason, and Hamley's Toy Store (not recommended for a Saturday).  

Day 7 (Easter Sunday) - This was our only day of rest.  The kids had fun playing games and consuming Easter candy while the adults enjoyed time on the couch.

Day 8 (Monday) - Matt joined us today as Easter Monday is a day off for the UK.  The day began at the British Museum to see the mummies, Elgin Marbles, and Rosetta Stone.  We grabbed lunch at Wagamama in Covent Garden then trekked to Paddington Station to show them a proper European train station.  Since it was a gorgeously sunny day, Youngest Kiddo and I played in the grass while the rest of the family toured Kensington Palace.  We hurried home for dinner because my sister and I had tickets to see Shakespeare in Love at the theatre.

Day 9 (Tuesday) - On their last full day in London we visited St. Paul's Cathedral and climbed the 200+ steps to the Whispering Gallery.  We also made a quick stop at The Museum of London to see the exhibitions about the city.  This museum is certainly a cool spot; I especially like seeing the Olympic cauldron and the elevator from Selfridge's Department Store.  Our day ended with a stop at the shops for British candy to go back to America.  

Day 10 (Wednesday) - This was leaving day for everyone.  My sister & nephew had their flight back to 'Merica, and our little family had a flight to Berlin!

We crammed a lot into their visit, but I know they will always remember it!

Walking in Whitehall - A Perfect Day in London

Our first Perfect Day in London starts at Westminster Underground Station.  Revel at the views of Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminster Bridge & the River Thames when you return to street level.  It's pretty fantastic that so many iconic London structures are within a 360° view.  If it happens to be near the top of the hour, do hang out to hear Big Ben serenade you.  Westminster Abbey* is just a short stroll toward the traffic signal along the Parliament fence.

Turn right at this intersection (Westminster Abbey will now be behind you) to begin walking up Whitehall.

The first thing you notice along Whitehall is that the buildings are stately pieces of architecture.  In just a few blocks you will walk by 10 Downing Street; this is the Prime Minister's residence.  Do not be alarmed by the presence of police with automatic weapons patrolling the sidewalk, they are just protecting the leader of The United Kingdom.  While you are near the nice policemen, turn around and face Whitehall for a dandy view of the London Eye. Go on, take a photo. 

Keep moving down Whitehall until you happen upon some handsome horses guarding the entrance to Horse Guards Parade. Walk between the guarding sentries through to the open space beyond the arches. This pad of land is used for state functions, such as the recent welcoming of the President of Mexico and his wife to London.  The Queen and all of her horses and men dusted off the royal carriages to put on quite the fanfare.  This space is also where the athletes played beach volleyball during the 2012 Olympics.  (Side note, the President of Mexico and his wife are gorgeous.) 

If you are at Horse Guards around 11:00 during the week you should stick around for a changing of the guard; it's not as flashy as the one at Buckingham Palace.  In my opinion, it was a lot of the horses just standing in formation, and I think the two guys in the middle were talking about football to pass the time.  Like I said, if you are already there.....  

 

Now you have a three choices for what to see next, and it should all be based on when you get hungry. 

1.  If you know you'll be hungry soon, tour the Household Calvary Museum (£7/$10.50) that is right by the arches you walked through.  With the abridged version of the audio guide, 30-45 minutes is all you need.  You will learn a little history of the calvary and maybe even see a few horses through the glass partition.  If you are a lover of useless facts, look for the display that explains the origin of The Riot Act.  

2.  If horses aren't your thing, walk across the street to Banqueting House (£6.60/$10 - slightly cheaper if you buy online).  The thing to see here is the gigantic ceiling painting by Peter Paul Rubens. It's quite impressive when you learn the ceiling is the only painting of its kind in it's original installation space - the fancy art term for this is in-situ.  Banqueting House provides comfy beanbags to use when staring at the ceiling and listening to the audio guide. It provides a great history of the building and the famous beheading that happened outside. 

3.  If you've packed a granola bar in your bag or ate a hearty breakfast, you can wait a little longer for lunch.  Backtrack a few blocks down Whitehall to the Churchill War Rooms (£18/$27 - yes a bit steep but completely worth every pence/penny).  Winston Churchill directed the war from the very rooms you'll tour. Fair warning that some of the mannequins are lifelike and sometimes cause a little jump when rounding the corner.  

You've got to be hungry by now.  One of my favorite lunch spots is up at the top of Whitehall where it runs into Trafalgar Square.  

Take a few minutes before (or after) lunch to admire more amazing London landmarks in this square. Check out the fountains, the lions & Lord Nelson way up on the column, the National Gallery, and the long view of Big Ben.  Trafalgar has four plinths (aka platforms) for statues and art, and the Fourth Plinth is a rotating art installation. They've just removed the blue cockerel and replaced it with a horse skeleton sculpture. If you visit in 2016  a hand with a long skinny thumbs up is said to replace the horse.  As with most tourist spots in London, a group of buskers (usually magically floating characters) shall beg for your coins as you walk through.  

Back to food....

Face the National Gallery and look to the right. St Martin-in-the-Fields church is across the street.  Walk over there and find the glass-dome entrance to the left of the main building. That's where you are eating today. Yes, in the crypt.  Trust me on this one. 

The Café in the Crypt at St. Martin-in-the-Fields puts on an amazing spread each day. From 11:30am they serve several lunch options: salads, meat main dish, vegetarian main dish, and my favorite - soup. I particularly like the soup because they frequently have a deal for soup & fruit crumble for £6.95/$10.50. An absolute deal for lunch in the heart of London. 

One thing you'll notice as you settle into your subterranean table, the clientele is on the older side; at my age of thirty-something I'm totally skewing the age average.  The double bonus of this lunch spot?  The Crypt has clean bathrooms, which is a win-win for the day. 

Depending on where you toured before lunch you might be exhausted or ready for more!  The Crypt puts you in good proximity of many Underground stations if you need to call it a day: Charing Cross, Leicester Square, and a little further down Tottenham Court Road or Embankment. If you have more energy, you can walk back over to the National Gallery (free!) to see a few pieces of art or wander the streets of nearby Chinatown & Covent Garden for some good old people watching.

No matter what you decide it's a Perfect Day in London!

Every day can be a Perfect Day in London as long as you are prepared.  Always have a collapsible umbrella in your bag. No matter the weather, dress in layers.  The shade-filled streets and parks can be significantly cooler than the sunny sidewalks.  The museums tend to keep a cooler temperature as well.

*I recommend avoiding Westminster Abbey during any high tourist season. It's just my opinion, but the abbey is so jammed that you really can't experience its true beauty.