England
January 4
The flight was as good as can be expected. I watched most of the movie foot loose and got about an hour of solid of sleep with two kids who tried their best to sleep. When we arrived in London we easily found our bags but I would say the train and tube and walk to the Marriott took way too long with two tired kids. However when we got to our hotel room we were very happy with it. A king bed with cot, and a beautiful view of the London Eye. This room all free with points from Brian's work over the last year with EMC.
After some free lunch in the executive lounge again a perk from Brian's work over the last year, we all took a three hour nap before waking up to enjoy the rest of the day. After this I felt like I had switched over to England time and everyone else did as well. So we got ready and went for a walk around the river Thames walking over the Westminster bridge and the Hungerford bridge (the bridge were my friends Lindsay and Jamie got engaged). We saw the clock tower that holds Big Ben, and old English phone booths, police on horses, and went for a ride on the eye. It was approx. 50 pounds for our whole family to ride the eye but the night views were spectacular even in the rain. It was Hadley's suggestion to do this at night and we were glad we did. The eye was lit up all in blue and the clock tower in green with the city lights making the rest of the view amazing. Following this we found a pub, ordered a Strongbow, an English Pale Ale and some fish and chips. Hadley couldn't believe people would call french fries chips. :) The night finished by an evening swim with the kids, Hadley writing in her scrapbook, and both kids playing in the light up closet. By 9 pm everyone was tired and went to bed. However now at 3:30am I find myself awake and typing this note. I tried to sleep more for about three hours before getting up and doing something with my time. Tomorrow might be hard. So I guess I will go try again with that whole sleep thing. Cheers.
January 5
After a less than perfect sleep we got up and had another free breakfast in executive lounge. The winds were high and some boats were not running but we decided to take the Thames Clipper express boat to Greenwich. There was no commentary on this boat but we were glad to be able to continue with our day to the Prime Meridian anyway. For 14 pounds we got the chance to jump the line. We were on the west, then the east and then both sides of the world. This place reminded me of my high school geography teacher. So in his memory I took a photo of my lunch which I also remember a lot of from his slide shows. :)
After this we went for a walk in the park and the kids enjoyed some fun play time at the playground. The day was getting late so we took the boat back to the Marriott. This time the boat with commentary was running. We learned much about the warfs, tower bridge and other bridges, the tower of London, and the parliament buildings and Big Ben.
January 6
Today was a royal day. We woke up and walked past Westminster Abbey to get to Buckingham Palace where we watched the changing of the guard. I loved seeing the balcony where William and Kate had their kiss after their wedding. The band played the song Sweet Caroline (neil diamond)? Sadly the crowd did not sing along. However it made Brian and I smile. Plus the song was in our head all day long. We stood by the Canada gate. A lot of times on the trip we have seen a strong Canadian component. We felt so included.
It was a cool day but we enjoyed time walking through the park before heading back to Westminster Abbey to explore the inside. We payed the extra three pounds on top of the fourteen pounds for our family to get in. We got the last tour of the day and the three pounds was definitely worth it. There were only two other people in our group. We saw the coronation chair which is the same chair that the royal sits on since the 1500s. COOL! There was a spot where the scientists were buried, including Newton and Darwin. We got to sit in choir chairs. The chairs that are normally roped off to the public. We went to the main area. The area where there was the royal wedding and where the royals would be crowned or where the church services take place.
We went up to the shrine. This is where we were able to walk up to the door where the priest walks out, we saw the Canadian chairs that the current monarch sits in when attending a service. This is also where the signing of the registry took place at William and Kate's wedding. There were some old kings also buried right there. Next we went into the area with the knights. This is where they honor knights with their own banners. Every four years this is updated with new inductees. It it also a lifetime post and only a select number of knights can be honored. If someone dies within the four years then their post stays empty until the next induction ceremony. We walked around the shared tomb of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary.
On the way out I saw the first tomb of the unknown soldier.
Westminster Abbey was so beautiful but sadly we were unable to take photographs. This is because they want people to remember that it is a place of worship and not just a tourist attraction. So the pictures are captured in my memory.
That night we took a double decker red bus to Leicester to have a pasta dinner and do some shopping. Then we walked back over the Hungerford bridge to get warm sugar waffles and strawberries before retiring for the night.
January 7
We got up at 4:45am to pack up and leave by 6am to head to the Westminster underground to Paddington station. Here we switched to the Heathrow express train to pick up a rental car. This was a lengthy process but by 8:45am we were on our way in a little Toyota with two car seats installed. I thought of my mom all day today as it was her birthday. The first stop was Stonehenge. It was beautiful. I loved viewing it from all angels as we walked around the entire monument. It was a cool but lovely day. It was great to see such a primitive calendar. There were sheep in the meadow all around and it was just plain lovely. The crowds were okay and we were able to see and take photographs when we wanted. I am sure a solstice or summer trip would prove differently. In the shop on the way out, Hadley picked a sheep which she named Poodle. We tried to name it Solstice or Stoney but she had here own name for her new friend. She picked the smallest sheep on the shelf and loved it from the moment she put her hands on it.
From here we drove to West Kennet Long Barrow. This is an ancient burial site from before Stonehenge time. However, with Easton asleep and the kilometer hike to get to it in muddy terrain we decided to just view it from the road. Silbury hill was just on the other side of the road and it seems to be a 4000 year old toboggan hill. No real use, no burial site. Just a hill with some sheep on it.
From here we travelled to Avebury Circle. We walked around more stones almost the size of the ones at Stonehenge, but the circle itself was MUCH bigger and we were able to touch them. We stopped for some much needed food inside the stone circle which took a LONG time and was only mildly enjoyable.
However we were glad to spend the rest of our daylight hours amongst the stones. After this the kids slept in the car all the way to Coombe Abbey, the castle where we would spend the night.
AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!
It was like driving up a long lane to a movie set. Like we were actually in a movie at a castle. There were turrets, a moat with a portcullis, ivy all over the place, a fountain and creepy cool lighting. This was an honest to goodness castle owned by a king in the 1500's (I think).
After getting registered we headed up to room 228. Our room with a four poster bed with tassels to pull on for lighting above the bed and cool fabric wallpaper that matched the curtains all around. They had a pullout couch which Hadley slept on and we ordered room service as we were all too tired to get dressed up to have dinner. We walked around the castle and it was awesome!
January 8
We woke up early and got ready to explore the castle grounds. We were privileged to have a private tour of the castle with a host/porter. With the highlight being the bridal suit.
We grabbed some continental breakfast and enjoyed it while we walked around the park land. There were swans and beautiful gardens. Just outside of the grounds there was a city park where the kids played until our lunch reservation back at the castle.
12:30pm we were dressed and ready to have lunch in the garden room. The kids had sausage with peas and potatoes. Brian had pork tenderloin and I had salmon. Our meals came with shared vegetables. Hadley had a berry sundae, Brian had a moose, and I had a cheese plate for dessert.
After our lunch we enjoyed afternoon tea. It was lovely!
Then a little play time back at the playground followed by the drive back to London to return the car, dropp off my luggage in an over night holding space so as to have less things to carry with me to the airport the following day when it would be me and the two kids, then take a cab to the Marriott where Brian would be staying for the following week.
January 9
We got up and enjoyed our last breakfast together before Brian went to work. This is where we found the "Cadbury chocolate spread" to later be imported by Brian to Canada.
Then we grabbed our bags and headed for the airport. I easily picked up my luggage from he holding location, and then pushed Easton in the stroller, pulled my luggage, carried my back pack and held Hadley's hand. We grabbed a snack and headed for our flight where we were fortunate to get a window seat. With almost a 2 hour delay (while in our seats on the plane) I braced myself for the additional 8 hours to come. The kids were actually great! The only thing that wasn't so much fun was when Easton was sleeping, there was food in front of us and Hadley had to go to the washroom. However, it all worked out.
Somehow in this flight I even managed to watch a movie. REALLY NOT SURE HOW. In any case, the 10 hours went okay and the kids had no issues with their ears on the way down. We found our luggage, headed to park n fly, got the van and headed home. It was 6:30 pm but felt like 11:30pm. The kids were hungry because they didn't love the airplane food but en route to find food they fell asleep.
Turnaround though-out the week was okay and Hadley actually went to school the next day.
I was really tired though by the time Brian got home a week later.
All in all - A Great Britain adventure!
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