A4 Update - March 2016

We've worn shorts a ton in March.  Thought you'd like to know. 

 

The painter finished the hellacious job of patching & painting the living room, hallway, stairs, and main floor ceilings. Geesh that was a big job.  

Holly continues to volunteer at Youngest Kiddo's school once a week in the library & classroom.

We were supposed to have friends here for Spring Break but sickness in the house changed those plans. Once everyone was assuredly healthy, we hopped in the car for our first road trip to join our friends in Disney World. Oldest Kiddo was so happy that she could ride everything solo. The adults were just happy to be together.  

Youngest Kiddo started swimming lessons. 

We finally bought furniture for the living room. It should be delivered in just ten short weeks. Until then we continue to hobble by using a card table as a TV stand.  

Matt traveled a bit this month to Alabama & Indy.  

Matt's doing a great job working projects around the house. He built new shelves in the garage to replace the awkward ones we inherited. 

On the landscape front, a new surprise seems to pop its head through the mulch each day. There is quite a variety of plantings with no discernible theme, so Matt is formulating his master planting plan.

A4 Update - November 2015

Things are coming to an end in London.  While there is a lot going on behind the scenes, it really doesn't look like it in the month recap.

* Youngest Kiddo had a friend birthday party, 6 months late.  His birthday falls during a school break so we've just kept them a family affair.  However, when he sadly asked if he was ever going to have a party with his London friends I had to set something up.  The best part?  Another school mom was behind on her child's birthday too, so we threw a shared party.  

* The landlord listed our house with a realtor which means we have to deal with people traipsing through our house.  While I am not vested in whether or not it gets rented I still feel it's nice to make sure there are no embarrassing piles of dirty laundry hanging around.  Youngest Kiddo has a way of getting his dirties in the most random places.  

* The family took one last trip before the movers arrive.  We spent a long weekend in Oslo, Norway.  It was not as cold as we anticipated, but the exchange rate was way more expensive than we anticipated.  Good thing the beauty of the city took the sting off the Norwegian Kroner to US Dollar conversion.  

* We're trying to make the best of every last weekend.  Everyone has made a Before We Leave London Bucket List.  My list is pretty short since touring the city was my job for the last two years.  The rest of the family, however, has a lot to see.  Matt took Oldest Kiddo to the Churchill War Rooms and loved it. Youngest Kiddo wants to ride the Emirates Cable Car and take a Thames River Boat.  Oldest Kiddo wants to tour the HMS Belfast war ship that's docked near the Tower of London.  The rainy weekends have kept us from doing this, but we have a few more days to try.      

A4 Update - August 2015

It's almost back to school time!!!

Two of our very best college friends visited us for a week!  We showed them just about all there is to see in London.  

Holly and the kids took a day trip to Brussels with another mom and her kids.  We did not do a ton, per se, but we saw the highlights and ate frites, waffles, and chocolate.  

Matt spent a few days in America, but not too many. 

Holly and the kids went to a production of Bugsy Malone.  My kids loved that children made up much of the cast.

Several sites from the must see list were seen: Kyoto Garden in Holland Park, Primrose Hill's view of the city, the houseboats of Regent's Canal, and the Magnum Ice Cream Pop Up shop in Covent Garden.  I'll let you guess which spot the kids loved the most.

We had a great picnic in Hyde Park with quality people watching.

Summer is just about over, but thankfully the weather has been great to be outside!  The month ended with a day trip to Cambridge.  

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 - May 2015

The days are getting longer!

The Colosseum in Rome 

Our friends from America finished up their visit the first few days of the month.  We sure loved having them stay with us. 

Oldest Kiddo celebrated her birthday with her friends on a guided Harry Potter walk of the city.  The guide was phenomenal, and my girl was so happy to act out a scene from the movie with him.  The video takes place at Leadenhall Market which doubles as Diagon Alley.  They are acting the scene where Harry asks Hagrid how he is to obtain all of the supplies for Hogwarts.  Listen closely for her British accent, it's adorable.  

The kids continue to be busy at school.  Oldest Kiddo's grade took their standardized tests, and she's happy they've ended.  The British schools sure spend a lot of time revising (British for reviewing) for the tests. She's pumped for a two-night outdoor trip in a few weeks.  Youngest Kiddo's reading is taking off, and he is still in love with Legos.      

  

The kids had a week off for the half-term break, and we spent the week in Florence & Rome.  Posts on that gorgeous trip are on the way.  Now we need to start planning for summer, which does not start until the middle of July for the kids.  

Matt and I have returned to finding ways to keep the sun from waking us when it peeks in our windows at 4:30am.  We sure don't complain when the daylight sticks around until almost 10pm.

Bring on the summer!

Paris Times Deux - Touring Tuesday

Last fall I had the pleasure of going to Paris. 

Twice.

The two-hour Eurostar train ride from London's St. Pancras Station couldn't be easier.  If you book your ticket well in advance, you can get a round trip for £79 ($120).  Another bonus to the Eurostar is that when you disembark from the train at Gare du Nord Station, you are already in Paris and can get started with your touring immediately.  If you fly it can take well over an hour from Charles de Gaulle Airport to get into Paris via public transport.  No one has time for that on a short visit.

The first of my trips to Paris was with my mom.  She was planning to visit Paris with some of her friends, but unfortunately that trip fell through.  So Matt knew that she'd appreciate a short side trip when she came for a visit in September.  He booked us for one night at a hotel close by the Arc de Triomphe.  The goals of our trip consisted seeing as many iconic structures as our feet could handle and eat along the way.  We lucked out with gorgeous weather.  With our limited time we only went into the Musée d'Orsay, and I am so glad we did.  The museum is a beautiful old train station, and the art is gorgeous.  We liked the place so much we decided to have lunch in the cafe, and it was delicious.  

It may appear that a majority of our caloric intake was from sugar, but we did have four square meals while in Paris.  Breakfast in the hotel was standard European pastries, muesli, coffee, and fruit. One lunch was at a terrible cafe a few blocks off the Champs Élysées, but dinner completely made up for it.  We ate at a little place where we could see the chef cooking our meal and practically licked our plates. 

I can't share mom's trip to Paris without showing you this scary van.  Stay away children, stay away.

The second visit to Paris was with two mums (that's British for moms) from school.  This trip was planned for the first weekend in December.  It's not the most ideal time to go, but we were willing to take our chances with the weather.

The thing that was different about this trip........we went to Paris for the day.  

We left on the 6:30AM train and returned on the 10:30PM.  We did not tour any museums, but we sure saw a lot of beautiful spots.  Even though it was the first Friday in December, not all of the trees had dropped their leaves.

Notre Dame is a stunning building.  The bridges covered in locks are not as stunning.  I think the concept is a smidge overdone, but that's my opinion.  

The Christmas market was up and running along the Champs Élysées, and we made a pit stop for a glass of champagne.  It gave us enough buzz to keep walking to get to the  Eiffel Tower.  Once we made it to the spot in the photo above, our feet refused to move much further.  We hopped on the Metro in search of dinner.   

One of the moms talked to the French man sitting with us on the train to tell us where we should eat.  At first he thought she was joking, but when she wouldn't drop the subject he gave us a few places he liked.  It did not cross our minds that the places he recommended would not open until 8PM so that did not work for us to make our return train.  We stumbled across a restaurant that made us all happy, and our feet thanked us for the short respite.  

Our ride back to London was significantly quieter than our ride into Paris, but we made the most out of our few hours.    

Would I go back to Paris?  Oui.
Would I do a day trip again? Oui.

As if you needed another reason to why Europe is great.

A4 Update - April 2015

April was filled with fun.

Both of our kids celebrated their birthdays. The small distance between their dates makes for a busy month. Thankfully they are easy to please; Oldest Kiddo was thrilled with books & clothes and Youngest Kiddo Legos, Legos, Legos.

Holly's sister & nephew visited for ten days around Easter. They got the full tour of London.  

After the family returned to 'Merica, we spent the last few days of the kids' Easter break in Berlin.

Matt was only gone one day this month, such a difference from last month's 15 days.  

The month rounded out with another set of visitors to the Manor from 'Merica.

Youngest Kiddo lost his two front teeth, but only one was available for the Tooth Fairy.  He swallowed the first one with his breakfast!

A Perfect Day in London - A New Series!

This spring the Manor is booked with many guests, and we could not be happier.  In preparation for our guests I've begun thinking about where I'd like to take them in the city.  That spurred a new idea for a new series on the blog - A Perfect Day in London.  

In the next few months I'll share some day touring plans that you can use straight away.  Some of the places you'll recognize, and some will be completely new to you.  If I know a good spot to grab a snack or meal along the way I will certainly share those, too.  

Be assured that the I'm cognizant of admission prices since costs can add up fast.  Some of my best days out are the ones that only cost a ride on the Underground and a latte along the way.  If you like what you read when the first one launches next Tuesday let me know, and I will share more Perfect Days 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.