London: Days 1-2

I don't really know how to count day one since I think it got lost in the flight shuffle. Our flight was a couple of hours late, so we didn't take off until about 9:30pm on Aug. 25. The flight is between 9 and 10 hours (we were happy that both directions were direct flights for us). The focus for me was trying to get my kids to sleep. Cole ended up on the floor (we were in the bulkhead) where he could stretch out. All I know is that we got there on a Friday afternoon and that I was kind of in a bit of a jet lag haze for a couple of days. So, we get to London: Day 1.

Ashley and her kids were so kind to meet us at the Victoria station so we could get back to her home without getting lost. Getting to the Victoria station though.... I can navigate train stations, but navigating with little ones adds a little bit of difficulty, and then navigating with two big suitcases and a couple of carry ons makes it feel like mayhem. But we got there!

I had seen her house in pictures, but it really is a lovely little British abode. I thought it was fun seeing her neighborhood.

At Ash's house we dropped everything, got a little cleaned up and headed back to London with all 8 of us in tow to walk and sight see.

The London Eye. I have no desire to ever get on that thing. Jake and Tessa on the other hand...

The on again off again rain and sun provided some interested glares with our little camera, but here we are with Big Ben. Tessa was really excited to see this landmark.

Westminster Abbey. Jake and I went through the Abbey thoroughly during the brief couple of days we were there in 2005, so we felt okay about not touring it with the kids.

There was plenty to see while we roamed.
That evening Ash and I went to the local supermarket, Tesco, to gear up for the next few days. Then we crashed.

Day 2

On the train:
We started with Portobello Road and the street market. The place was packed and had a really fun energy about it. So many antiques, food, clothing, etc.

We split from our friends for a little while so that we could tour the Tower of London. Jake was sad when we were last there that we didn't go through, so he was excited to finally go inside.
Tessa would have been in almost every picture posing if she'd had her choice. :)
There were a lot of interesting things to see at the Tower of London. It's just SO old, so the amount of history packed into this place is insane. William the Conqueror was the one who had the first part of it built in 1066. There were all kinds of armor on display besides the stories of prisoners and how they were handled, as well as those who made their home there. Cole liked the swords. Tessa liked the crown jewels. Jake and I loved it all.
While in line waiting to see the crown jewels, Jake snapped a picture of this guy. I quickly resolved to delete it later since I believed he must have either gotten into the guard by the skin of his teeth or he was related to someone who helped him get in. I've never seen an English guard with such shifty eyes and difficulty walking in a straight line. Buuuut we never got over to Buckingham Palace, so he ended up being the only guard we photographed on our trip. :)
In front of Tower Bridge:
We met back up with our friends and strolled across Tower Bridge. Tessa started to cry afterward because she wanted to walk across the bridge. She had the hardest time understanding that we HAD walked across it. It's just a really big bridge.

The first few days were CHILLY and definitely different from where we had come from. However, soon the rain mostly stopped and the temperature was really lovely most the time. It was so nice to be outside so much since we'd been cooped up inside at home with the intense heat.

Also on this day Jake had to pick up our rental car in the morning. And so began his first experience with driving on the opposite side of the car, on the opposite side of the road. Glad it wasn't me.