London 2011

Having survived several natural disasters, Henry’s four-year-old birthday party, and a new school transition, we were ready for a break.  Fortunately, we had a superb family vacation lined up.  In early September we traveled to London to see the sights, drink good beer and visit with old friends.  As an added bonus, Mimi Pauline joined us for the week!  Below are pictures and a detailed account of our journey.

Day One: After several hours’ delay at Dulles Airport (note: never travel on the anniversary of September 11th), we finally boarded our Virgin Atlantic flight for London.  Henry and Vivian did great in the airport, and the one upside of the delay was that, by the time we finally departed, it was so late both kids fell asleep right away.  Henry had his own seat, but Vivian was still sitting in our lap for the journey, which meant Bryant and Elise didn’t get much rest.  We awoke (or at least opened our eyes) in London and made our way to Bayswater, where we had rented a flat for the week. 

Day Two: At the flat we met up with Mimi Pauline and spent the first day settling into our new surroundings.  The flat was ideal: just a few blocks from Hyde Park and Notting Hill, with lots of space (by London standards) and even a small courtyard in the back.  The owners had made the place as kid-friendly as possible: we had toys and children’s books at our disposal as well as a high chair, pack-n-play and stroller.  However, as we unpacked, we made a terrible discovery.  Apparently we had left our entire collection of children’s DVDs (about 75 in total) on the plane from Washington.  Bryant made a round of frantic calls to the airline and Heathrow lost property, but no one had any helpful information. We resigned ourselves to the grim possibility that our DVDs were lost forever.

Later that day, we took the kids to the nearby Princess Diana Memorial Playground, which is designed around a Peter Pan theme.  A few weeks before our vacation, we rented the Disney animated film version from Netflix so the kids could get familiar with the story – and London.  Both Henry and Vivian fell in love with the film and watched it repeatedly before our trip.  At the playground, Henry couldn’t wait to take off his shoes, splash in the water with the crocodile, and climb the wooden pirate ship. He and Bryant spent most of the afternoon pretending to be Peter Pan (Henry) and Captain Hook (Bryant), chasing each other around the ship and occasionally rescuing Wendy (Vivian).

 

In the evening, after the kids were washed and fed, Bryant met up with his friends Matt Rees and Sean Flanagan for a pint (or two) at the local pub.  It was great to catch up, reminisce about old (A&O) times, and reflect on how much has changed.

Day Three: We spent our first day out in Westminster.  While Elise and Pauline toured the Abbey, Bryant and the kids visited the London Aquarium, which was surprisingly good.  Both kids were mesmerized by the floor-to-ceiling tanks of sharks, rays, crocodiles and even penguins.  We were fortunate to have near perfect weather all week—high 60s and lots of sunshine—and this day was particularly nice.  In the afternoon, we met up for lunch at Giraffe restaurant, strolled back along the river and ate ice cream.  We hadn’t planned to ride the London Eye but got inspired by the fine weather and took a quick turn on the giant Ferris wheel for some amazing views of the city.

 

 

Day Four: We headed into the City on day four to visit the Tower of London.  Elise and Pauline joined the Yoeman Warders for a guided tour of the tower grounds, while Bryant kept the kids occupied watching the royal guards and chasing the famous tower ravens.  Pauline particularly enjoyed seeing the crown jewels, while Henry’s favorite was the castle armory.  After lunch at the castle, the weather turned blustery, and we had a cold and wet ride back to Westminster Pier on the Thames water taxi (it turns out the “covered” boat wasn’t exactly weatherproof).  Fortunately, the sun quickly returned and we spent the rest of the afternoon at the “Peter Pan playground” (as the kids now called it). 

 

 Day Five:  We left the flat early and made our way to Buckingham Palace for a tour of the State Rooms.  Before the tour, we had a morning picnic at the Queen Victoria fountain.  Then it was off to the palace (by the side door, of course) to see the Grand Staircase, the Throne Room, the Ballroom and an endless series of drawing rooms (Blue, White, etc.).  It was a lovely fall day, and the palace staff had opened up the windows to let in the fresh air.  About halfway through the tour, as we were admiring Kate’s wedding dress, Henry announced that he had to poop.  Apparently the Queen doesn’t share her bathroom with visitors, so Bryant and Henry made their way to the temporary toilets in the rear the palace.  After the tour, we all enjoyed tea and ice cream on the palace veranda and took a stroll through the gardens.  We caught the changing of the guard (which Vivian really enjoyed; see below) on our way back to St. James’s Park (where we found yet another great playground).  In the evening, we visited our friends Sean and Joy Flanagan and their daughter Iyla at their flat in Pimlico and swapped parenting war stories over curry takeaway.

 

 

Day Six: We headed to Waterloo Station and caught a commuter train to Hampton Court to visit the renaissance palace of King Henry VIII.  While Elise and Pauline toured King Henry’s apartments, Bryant and the kids explored (and soon got lost in) the palace hedge maze.  After lunch, the children napped in their strollers while the adults enjoyed some quiet time walking in the palace gardens.  As you can see, the weather was absolutely gorgeous that day.  We lingered until almost sunset and then prepared to head back, only to discover that Henry had dropped his silky (blanket) somewhere in the palace.  The helpful staff put out an APB over their two-way radios, and we soon recovered the missing blanket, narrowly averting disaster. Later that evening, after the kids had gone to bed, Pauline kindly manned the fort while Elise and Bryant slipped out for a drink.  It wasn’t exactly like old times in London, but it was close.

 

 

Day Seven: For our last day, we decided to stick around Kensington.  In the morning, we all walked to the Peter Pan statue near the Serpentine.  Afterward, Bryant, Elise and the kids visited the Natural History Museum while Pauline did some souvenir shopping.  On the way back from the museum, the kids napped in their strollers and Bryant and Elise enjoyed some adult time in the park.  We met up with Pauline at the Peter Pan playground and spent the remaining moments of our vacation watching the kids play.

 

 

Day Eight: Our stay in London was over too soon.  We packed our bags and headed to the airport, where we said good bye to Mimi Pauline and prepared to board our flight to Washington.  On a whim, Bryant asked the check-in attendant about our missing DVDs.  After a few telephone calls, the airline staff determined that our case was in the Heathrow lost property office!  Bryant made a mad dash to the basement of the terminal and, after some tense back and forth, finally recovered the DVDs.  Thanks to the abundant entertainment options, the kids were (mostly) content on the flight back, and we arrived home safely and soundly…and promptly fell asleep at 7pm.

Click below for more photos from the trip: