Europe 2014: London

The one thing I was anxious about our trip to Europe was the 10+ hour flight. Thankfully the boys did well. They ate, watched a movie and then slept. Lucas had a difficult time getting comfortable on the seat so initially I held him in my arms. Once he was in deep sleep I transferred him to his own seat. If he woke up I would hold him again until he fell asleep. Because of this cycle I didn't get much sleep. But considering the alternative I will forgo sleep any day.

After settling into the hotel we decided to walk to Picadilly Circus. We stopped in the M&M store. Instead of walking back we took the tube back to our hotel where we got room service,  watched some tv and went to bed by 7pm. We all woke up around midnight. The boys were hungry and so I fed them crackers. Around 3:30am I forced us to all go back to sleep and we slept until about 8:30am. 

It was Valentine's Day and Jamie booked some spa appointments for us and a babysitter for the boys. The babysitter took the boys to the Science Museum and had lunch there. They came back to the hotel for a nap. After our spa appointments we decided to take a walk. During our walk it rained a lot. We stopped at a pub for some food and drink. Jamie mistakenly forgot to pack some undergarments and so we had to stop and pick some up somewhere. The first stop we went to was J Crew. Can you believe a single set of boxer shorts was 25 POUNDS!!! Seriously?? J and I argued a bit about buying them. I argued that we could find some cheaper elsewhere and he argued what if we don't? We settled on buying two. A block or so later we found an H&M where a 3 pack cost 6.99 pounds. We had planned on returning to J. Crew to return the ridiculously expensive boxers but it never happened.

Strongbow cider

At the Science Museum

 We returned to the hotel to freshen up for our date night. We planned on going to dinner and to see Matilda. By the time we got to the show we were both wondering if we were going to make it through since we were still getting over jet lag. At intermission Jamie suggested we leave and I said no we can power through. We are so glad we did. The second half was so good. It put the whole story together. The young performers amaze me and I love hearing their British accent.

The following day we met up with the Lahey/Jaffe family at the London Transport Museum. It was great to see them all. We had not seen the kids and Josh since they moved. I absolutely loved hearing C and K talk with their British accent. It was a great way to spend the morning. C invited us over for the afternoon but the boys were on the verge of a meltdown and desperately needed a nap. I would have loved to see their new house. After nap, C really wanted to see Big Ben. First we went to Westminster Abbey but it was already closed. We walked from Westminster Abbey over the bridge to see Big Ben and the London Eye.

On one of the train cars

They loved hearing Big Ben chime

Westminster Abbey

 The next day we were set to take one of the hop on/hop off double decker tour buses around the city. Our destination was the Tower of London. Jamie woke up not in the greatest spirits. Right before we were to get on the sightseeing bus, Jamie announced he wasn't feeling well and wanted to puke. And with that, the boys and I were on our own with no camera. We hopped on the bus and transferred to another that would take us to the British Museum. The boys expressed interest in seeing real mummies (thanks Plants vs Zombies). Caleb was especially curious to know if the mummy was a boy or girl. I think the tally was 3 girls(including Cleopatra!) and 2 boys. Even after seeing a mummified cat they weren't spooked by it all. After the museum we found an Italian restaurant nearby and had lunch. We hopped back on the bus and headed toward the Tower of London. By the time we got there it was late afternoon. I asked them if they wanted to go inside and they said no. I didn't push the idea. We took some pictures outside and hopped back on the bus to head back to the hotel.

At the British Museum - Caleb's "mummy" face

Not at all creeped out that he's taking a picture next to a mummy

Tower of London

When we arrived back at the hotel, Jamie said he still wasn't feeling well. He said he threw up throughout the whole day. We left him alone, ordered room service and tried to go to bed at a decent hour since the next day we were supposed to take the Eurostar to Paris.