June 30:After having breakfast in the flat we caught a Thames Clipper boat to Greenwich. We hiked up to the observatory where we got to stand on the prime meridian (which separates the Eastern and Western hemispheres) and explore the place where so many scientists and astronomers discovered the cosmos! After that we walked down through a small market and ate Italian flatbread sandwiches and drank fresh juices. We made our way to The Cutty Sark, which is a Victorian era tea clipper, and explored it's many decks.. It was very interesting to hear about its different voyages. We took a DLR train back to the flat and rested for a bit before we walked in the rain (one of the few days it rained) up to the canal and ate at The Narrow Boat pub, which was tasty but a bit overpriced.
July 1: Off on an another adventure! We got up a bit early and caught a train up to Oxford. We walked through the Bodlean library and saw some of the sites that Harry Potter was filmed and then decided to have lunch at Pizza Express - I highly recommend the dough balls with the various dipping sauces! So good! We walked though the market and then went to the History of Science Museum. Had a good time exploring many of the tools and instruments that scientist have used over the years. Sadie got a scavenger hunt paper and got to find various items and mark them off. While in the museum we met up with my cousin Brook who works in Oxford during the summer! We walked through Blackwell's bookstore, got ice cream at the market and walked around the meadow. It was a very nice day to take Oxford in but too soon we had to say goodbye to Brook and get back to our train. It was a nice visit. We picked up some chicken and fries on our way home and had dinner in our flat.
July 2: We ate breakfast in the flat and took our time getting up and going and then hopped on a train to Dover. We got there at lunch time so we stopped at a local diner (the Dovorian) and then walked down to the marina. We were going to do the 2:00 boat tour but missed it because we were trying to find a bathroom so we took the bus tour to the top of the cliffs and walked around a bit. The day was so clear we could see across the water to Calais, France! We went back to the marina and got to do the 4:00 boat tour. We had a great view of the majestic white cliffs of Dover and Sadie got to drive the boat for a bit! After the boat tour we walked along the water collecting sea shells and then ate at a local pub, Blake's of Dover, Sadie and I had cottage pie - she told me that my cottage pie was better! After dinner it was time to catch a train back to London.
July 3: After another lazy morning in the flat we headed out to Hyde park. We wondered around the Diana memorial playground (would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting London with little kids!) and then walked down to Kensington Palace. We picked up some sandwiches, fruit, and crisps at a small cafe and had a picnic lunch under the shade of a big tree. It was downright hot outside! After our lunch we walked around the pond and through the park then took the tube over to Spitalfields for some last minute shopping. We came home and rested and got ready for the symphony. We caught a bus down by St. Paul's Cathedral and ate at Nandos and shopped in some nearby stores like H&M while waiting for the cathedral to open. Once it did we went in and found our seats. It was absolutely amazing just to be inside St. Paul's Cathedral - it is a stunning place. Once the London Symphony Orchestra started playing I got goosebumps! It was a wonderful experience! After the concert we took a bus back home. Our trip was quickly coming to an end.
July 4: Our last day in London! After breakfast in the flat we went down to Buckingham Palace. We lucked out and got there just in time to see the changing of the guard! After that we walked through Trafalgar Square and watched some break dancers perform and then wondered over to Covent Garden one more time to do some shopping. We stopped and ate lunch at Masala Zone and caught the tube back to our flat. We had to pack and check into our flight home - the month had flown by! After a bit of a rest we walked through a local park and ate at The Breakfast Club, which had an 1980's American theme. It was a fun, quirky place. We walked around Islington (our neighborhood) some more and back along the canal to our flat one more time. We said goodbye to Daniel at the front desk who had been very helpful throughout this trip and called it a night.
July 5:We left our flat early and caught the Piccadilly train from King's Cross to Heathrow Airport. We got through security with no problems and walked around the shops with time to kill. One more meal at Pret A Manger and we boarded our flight. It was a long 10 hours but it was comfortable and pleasant. Soon we were back in Austin, Texas and wow was it hot and humid! It was a wonderful, fun, and educational trip of a lifetime that we will not soon forget!
Click here for pictures from week 4.
June 23: After an enjoyable weekend together Jim and I took an early train out of Liverpool Station to Cambridge to meet up with the Heitmeyers, Jim's parents and his grandma who had just come into town. Jim and Paul bought some provisions at a market and we all went punting on the river while snacking on crisps and drinking wine and soda. Very nice! We walked down to Kings College Chapel to look around while Paul took the kids to the arcade. We had dinner at The Eagle pub - famous not only for military reasons but scientific ones as well. After our pleasant day in Cambridge we all headed back to Bury St. Edmunds. Sadie stayed at the house with her cousins and Jim and I stayed at The Three Kings pub and B&B just down the road. A nice little place to stay.
June 24: Jim and I had breakfast at the B&B - a hearty English breakfast with tea and met up with the family. It was off for antique shopping after that. We ended up buying a beautifully carved, Victorian era coffer (trunk) for the house. We were going to eat at a Filipino restaurant but it was closed so we went to a nice little Indian place instead. We all went back to the Heitmeyers house after that to hang out and play some cards. Jen made a delicious dinner of French dip sandwiches and we all had a nice visit before turning in at our B&B.
June 25: After another filling breakfast at The Three Kings we headed to the Bury Market to do some shopping. I got my favorite Suffolk honey! Yum! After that Jim, Sadie, and I along with Jim's parents hopped a train back to London. Once in London, Jim's parents decided that they needed their Mexican fix so we tracked down a Mexican restaurant called Chico Bandito. The Food was good even though it wasn't very authentic - the place was run by a Turkish guy who was very friendly but had no idea what queso was. They did have good margaritas and put sombreros on us though!
June 26: We walked down the road with Jim's parents to have breakfast at Mcdonalds and then hopped a train to Hampton Court Palace. We were delayed on the train for about 20 minutes due to a signal malfunction. After we finally got to the Palace we had lunch at the cafe in the gardens. We walked through King Henry VIII's rooms and learned more of his colorful history and then went outside to get lost in the maze. We came back into the palace to watch a reenactment where they ended up separating the lords and ladies so Jim and his father went off to confer with Henry VIII while the ladies went to talk with Jane Seymour. During this talk I kept being referred to as mistress Shelton. We were summoned by the King to his privy room where he and his councilors (the boys) were. The King summoned us to give testimony on the words and actions of the Queen Anne Boleyn. Suddenly the King asked for mistress Shelton to give a testimony! I realized that was supposed to be me and I had to stand in front of everyone and wing it! Nobody had prepared (warned) me that I would have to give a testimony so I muttered something about her not being serious about what she said (she had been overheard talking about who she would marry if the King died). I must have done okay because the King called me a brave woman and praised my loyalty to the queen. After that we went through the gift shop and then caught a train back to London. The boys wanted BBQ so we looked up a place in Camden Town but when we got there we found out it was a bar and kids were not allowed after 7:00 so we ended up back in our neighborhood and ate at Giraffe. We then went down to The Tower of London to see the Ceremony of the Keys - the locking up of the tower which was very cool to see. By then Sadie was tired so we caught a bus back to our flat at 10:30 at night.
June 27: After breakfast we went down to do a little shopping on Oxford Street. I got a bunch of stuff at Primark and then we walked down to Selfridges where we had lunch. We finished with a trip to Hamley's - a fun toy store where we got to play with some of the toys and take pictures with the (Lego) Queen. We went back to the rooms to rest up a bit and then met Jen down in Piccadilly. We had a nice dinner at Spaghetti House which is right next door to the Queen's Theatre where we saw Phantom of the Opera! An amazing production! It was every bit as good as I remember. After the show we walked through Piccadilly Circus and went back to our flat.
June 28: Well our luck finally wore out - The weather turned cool and rainy. Of course it was on the day that we had Jim's grandma (everyone calls her Boppa) with us. Paul took the kids to the Natural History Museum while the rest of us did the hop-on/hop-off bus tour. Even though it was rainy we still sat up on top of the bus - mostly under the front cover. We drove all over the city! We stopped to change busses and took a break at Pret a manger where we got some tea and croissants. We hopped on a bus again for a ride around Hyde park. After that Jim and I went looking for a bathroom with no luck! We ended up taking the tube to Chinatown (where we had dinner reservations) and found one in a KFC! We were the first ones in Chinatown so we walked around a bit and then stopped in a pub for a pint. Paul texted to say he was across the way at M&M world with the kids so I went over to relieve him so he could have a pint with Jim. Finally everyone showed up and we had dinner together at a nice Chinese restaurant and then called it a night.
June 29: We all got up a bit early to make our breakfast reservation at The English Restaurant in Spitalfields. They gave us a private dining room that was designed by Christopher Wren and is the oldest room in East London! The food was wonderful and the waiter Tom was handsome and witty. It was all quite lovely. Afterwords we went to Spitalfields market and Petticoat Lane for some shopping. Jim, Sadie and I took Boppa down to the London Eye and we had a nice ride with a wonderful view of the city. We hopped on a bus after that and met the rest of the family at Harrod's for afternoon tea. We shopped around Harrod's for a bit - you seriously need a map for this store! It's huge! We headed back to the flat and said goodbye to Jim's family who were going back up to Bury St. Edmunds. The rest of the night was spent resting and getting some laundry done.
Click
here for pictures from week3.
