London

"Flowers are as common in the country as people are in London."- Oscar Wilde

Our weekend in London was actually pretty uneventful despite the coke on the table incident at Burger King. We only had one more incident that would have been considered out of the ordinary really. While we were at a pizza place a woman came in begging for money. She was promptly asked to leave by the wait staff. When she left the restaurant she went up to a man to tell him she got nothing (or that was what it looked like). It was kind of strange. Having lived in DC for several years when I was growing up it was normal to see street performers and the poor panhandling but I had never actually seen anyone enter a restaurant and ask for money from the patrons.

While we were in London we did the normal touristy things. We saw Parliament, Big Ben, West Minster Abby and road on the London Eye.

By the end of the day we were exhausted. We went back to our hotel room. The bed was lumpy and really low to the ground. But it was a bed. The next day we woke up semi refreshed and ready to take on the big city once again. We rounded up the girls and found a little cafe for breaky. Belgian Waffles yummmmm. It was really good, but really slooooow service. I think I could have gone behind the counter and made breakfast quicker than I got it. There was another traveler behind our table who ordered coffee. It took them 15 minutes just to bring him his coffee. I am pretty sure they had to go to Colombia to get the beans.

Next we headed to Kensington Gardens. There was a pond in the middle that had loads of swans and ducks. The girls loved feeding the swans bread and running around in the park.

I think this was actually the girls favorite part of the whole day. They loved being able to run and play. KiKi loved that I didn't have to hold her hand. Those busy streets make me nervous with her. The Underground was so crowded that I was afraid that I would lose her on the platform or she would fall onto the tracks. So I was holding her hand or was carrying her a great deal when we were in London.

Funny/gross story about the Underground though. We were on the train coming back from one of the museaums, LaLa was sitting next to my mom and a younger professional woman. They were all holding onto the same rail to stedy themselves. The next thing my mom knows she hears the lady say "Darling, you shouldn't lick that pole!" LaLa was sitting there licking the pole she was holding on the Underground. Ugh! My stomach is turning just thinking about all the germs that were on that pole. It is a wonder the child didn't get sick.

We went to the Science Museaum and the Natural History Museaum, but they were so crowded that it was hard for us to enjoy ourselves.

We decided to high tail it out of there and go back to Kensington Gardens so that the girls could see the swans. They seemed to enjoy that the best anyway. Overall we had a really good time in the city. It was fairly easy to navigate, people were fairly helpful when you would ask about directions or certain attractions. I plan on going back soon, when I don't have to tote the kids along.

Here are a few more pictures I took in London. Enjoy.
Mom and Dad with the girls in the background is Big Ben.



London seen from the top of the London Eye.


Kensington Palace.
Princess Diana's home for 15 years. Also where Queen Victoria was born.