June 10:
Our flight took off in the afternoon of the 9th and landed on the morning of the 10th. We had a direct flight on British Airways to London so we didn't have to change planes which was nice! We were on one of the new Dreamliner 747 jets that has dimming windows and a huge selection of entertainment - no chance of getting bored on this plane. Even with all the nice, new things I found it hard to sleep. Sadie and Jim managed to get a few hours of sleep but for some reason I was not able to. Everything went well until we landed and I started to feel sick to my stomach, dizzy, and weak. It was difficult to get through customs and once we were done there a British Airlines worker brought me a wheelchair. I felt a bit embarrassed but grateful - it helped a lot! Jim bought our Travelcards and we hopped on the tube (the Piccadilly line) to Kings Cross. I put my head down on the luggage in front of me and slept the entire 50 minute trip. We got off at Kings Cross and got some lunch but I was not able to eat anything - there was no seating available so we sat in a corner on the floor. I laid my head down on Sadie's leg and Jim joked about us looking like some displaced Gypsy family. We managed to finally get to our apartment and I crashed on the bed and slept for a few hours. Jim and Sadie ran to the store to get a few items while I rested and then we all ate cereal for dinner. After a nap and some food I felt much better. A note about our apartment at Citadine's St. Marks - it was great! It had a King sized bed and private bath in one room and a twin bed and shared bath in the other. There was a kitchen with dishwasher and washer/dryer and a living room/dining room area. It was perfect! We were all tired and made it to 8:00 p.m. before we started getting ready for bed. We all slept very soundly.
June 11:
After a good night's sleep we all felt much better. We took our time getting ready and had a leisurely breakfast in the flat. We walked over to Kings Cross station and hopped on the tube to Covent Garden. We walked around our old stomping grounds for a while checking out Neal's Yard and even walked past the flat that we stayed at last time. We walked down to St. Martin in-the-field for lunch in the crypt and to do some brass rubbings. Sadie chose a griffin and I got a picture of St.George slaying the dragon! Jim helped us with the rubbing which is harder than it looks! After we walked over to The National Gallery and strolled through it for a while and then watched people and street performers in Trafalgar Square. We walked down the road and bought some souvenirs and had ice cream and French fries from McDonalds. We walked back through Covent Garden and caught the tube back to our flat. We ate at a kabob place called Tas Firin which was very tasty! After that we hung out in our flat.
June 12:
We had another leisurely morning in the flat and then hopped a bus to King's Cross to catch the tube down to Westminster Abby. We grabbed an audio tour gadget and got started. We saw so much beautiful artwork, the tomb of Elizabeth I, and Poets Corner. After the tour we had afternoon tea/lunch at the Abby Cellarium - a nice cafe on a rooftop next to the Abby. We wondered around the garden for a bit - it was beautiful day! We walked from there to the Churchill War Rooms to see history come alive, it was quite interesting. After that we grabbed the tube back home and checked out the local pub - The Charles Lamb Pub. We had drinks and crisps and played with some board games before going back to the flat and ate leftovers for dinner.
June 13:
This morning was an early one - we had to catch a 9:30 train so we took the bus down to Kings Cross Station, picked up some breakfast at Pret A Manger and ate outside the station. We had some time to kill so we revisited Platform 9 3/4 and got some pictures. Soon we got on our train (table seats) and were on our way to the Lake District! The train ride was 2 1/2 hours long but went by quickly as we were playing cards and enjoying the scenery. We got off at Darlington and met up with the Heitmeyers. We had lunch at The William Stead and jumped in their car. An hour and a half later we pulled into Penirth to pick up some groceries and about 20 minutes later were at our cottage. The cottage was great - rooms for everyone, a big kitchen, and a sunken trampoline out back. After taking a break and eating some bread and cheese and watching the kids jump on the trampoline we went into Pooly and ate dinner at a pub by the river. We came back to the cottage and lit a fire in the living room and relaxed.
June 14:
After breakfast in the cottage we headed out to Grasmere. It was a beautiful 40 minute drive past green, rolling hills dotted with sheep, moss covered rock fences, ivy laced cottages, and glassy lakes. Once in Grasmere we stopped by a shop to buy their famous gingerbread and then wondered through the graveyard to check out the graves of William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy. The Heitmeyers went off to row a boat on the lake while the Youngs went off to Dove cottage for a tour. After touring the cottage and gardens we met up with the Heitmeyers again and had a nice lunch by the river. We hiked the coffin trail from Grasmere to Rydal, then decided to ride the bus to Ambleside but had to wait 45 minutes for the bus! It finally came and we went into town and stopped for hot chocolate and sweets and a little shop that had the best apple pie in the world! Truly! After walking around town for a bit we got some take-out Chinese food and hopped the bus back to our car. We drove back to the flat and ate our Chinese food and had a good time hanging out with family.
June 15:
After breakfast in the cottage we headed straight out our door for an adventure! We got a hand drawn map from the proprietor of the cottage and set off. The map claimed the route was 8 miles and would take only four hours to complete. The hike was absolutely beautiful but was steep at some places and long. It took us quite a while to reach the midpoint for the waterfall (about 4 miles in). We ate a lunch of cheese sandwiches and walked up to Aira Force (the waterfall). After the falls we trekked on for a few miles (almost 3 miles) to a small village pub. We got drinks and hung out on the lawn and picnic tables and played cards for an hour. The weather was perfect! We ate dinner at the pub and started the last leg of our journey (about 3 more miles) to our cottage. We were all pretty exhausted by the time we were through. It took us quite a bit longer than 4 hours! We watched Drew's stop-motion movie that he had made with some clay we had gotten at Dove Cottage.
June 16:
Had one more nice morning in the cottage - ate breakfast and watched the kids jump on the trampoline. We loaded up the car and drove back to Darlington, stopped at Sainsbury's for lunch at their cafe, and then got on the train to London. We got back to the flat and settled in and then walked up to Waitrose grocery store by Angel station and got some groceries. After our first week we needed to do some laundry so we stayed in for the night and made a dinner of ham and cheese tortellini with tiger bloom rolls. The rest of the night was spent resting up for the next part of our trip!
For pictures of week 1 click here.
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