London

Hello to all! The trip to London began with a flight delay into Heathrow Airport. We flew Lufthansa and they were great despite the delay. I really like this airline. Everyone is always very nice especially to children and it's very clean. There was lots of fog in London so that gave us the three hour delay. We've heard flying into Heathrow is always trouble so we were prepared for a delay, no biggies though because this was the only minor bump in the road on our 5 day trip.



Once we arrived at Heathrow we took London's Underground transportation system aka "the Tube" I think, at least that is what we called it while there. Thank god for Rocky's sense of direction and ability to quickly navigate in foreign cities or I'd probably still be there trying to find my way out! We got a Oyster card that was very economical and lasted our entire trip. There are Tube stations all over London so it was always easy to get anywhere. It was very clean and everyone was extremely friendly. I never had to lift or pull my "buggy" up or down any stairs. There was always a nice British person offering to help in a second. This is what I really loved about London. The people there were truly genuine. Always smiling, always chatting and making conversation....a very refreshing change!! :)

Savannah loved to ride the Tube. For some reason she immediately associated being on the Tube with getting to see horses. So the ride from the airport to our hotel (which was 45 minutes) she called out "neighhhhhh" over and over, and over and over again! It was very cute and she got the attention of everyone riding.

Our hotel, The Premier Inn, was perfectly located right next to The London Eye and within walking distance to major sites like the beautiful the Westminster Abbey, The Parliament and Big Ben. The hotel wasn't overly luxurious but it was very clean, the breakfast was fresh and very healthy every morning and it was super family friendly. It was just a nice simple hotel with comfortable beds and since I'm a pillow snob these days I know a good bed and good pillows!

We surprisingly had really good weather the majority of our trip, a tad windy at times but as long as the sun was shining it didn't matter. There was rain one day but that was okay because we took Savannah to the Sea Life Aquarium that was conveniently located right next to our hotel. She got to see penguins, many different fish including sharks, and her favorite the huge sea turtles. The highlight of Sea Life was when she was able to hold a small crab. There were many adults and children standing around but our little Savannah, the true Maryland girl, stepped right up and held out both hands and let the crab crawl in her hands. She did it twice too! I couldn't believe it. I'm not sure I would have let that creature crawl in my hands!

One day was spent at Stonehenge. We took a bus tour there that was about 90 minutes outside of London in the Wiltshire countryside. We spent a lot of the ride looking for horses, cows and birds. :) Stonehenge is just what it looks like online...a bunch of HUGE enormous stones! We were given an electronic tour guide device as we walked around the stones but the volume was really low and we lost interest in trying to listen while chasing Savannah. I caught bits and pieces like how they got the stones to all fit, but don't ask me how because I've already forgotten! :) What was so impressive was how large the site was. I found it mind boggling that this is literally in the middle of nowhere. We took lots of pictures, crossed this off our bucket list, grabbed a quick panini and headed back to London!

The next day we toured all of London on one of their well known "hop on hop off" buses. We started by walking over to the Westminster Abbey where Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, where married. The church was stunning and the grounds were beautiful as well.

From there we walked to Buckingham Palace to await the famous Changing the Guard ceremony, a top attraction in London. This takes place most days at 11:30am and lasts about 30 minutes. Now you would have thought arriving at 10am was sufficient time to witness this ceremony up close and personal. Well it would have been if you didn't have to occupy a curious toddler and could stand right at the gate for 1.5 hours. But even if I didn't have a toddler I don't think I could wait that long standing and watching these very quiet guards. So while waiting we walked around the statute and water fountain that had several ducks that Savannah LOVED to watch. When the time came close to 11:30, it was extremely crowded. There was hardly a spot to squeeze into see the ceremony. Then it started to drizzle and all the umbrellas went up making it more difficult! Luckily we were able to catch a spot to see the Guards march into Buckingham Palace on their horses. This unexpected siting of horses was thrilling for little Savannah. She even became a little aggressive and started to push people out of her way to see them. I was impressed with her eagerness but she did say "sorry" in the cutest voice possible!

After the ceremony we began our quest to find Chipotle. Rocky has been looking forward to eating here since we moved to Germany where Chipotle does not exist. We finally found it many blocks away in a cute neighborhood. Best part was that Savannah fell asleep so we could enjoy Chipotle in peace. It was heavenly! We got her a to-go plate of rice, beans, and guacamole and then hopped on our tour bus! She woke up shortly after getting on the bus. She was so sweet with her little red cheeks just sitting on top of the open bus eating her rice and beans. Top sites I remember were London's Tower Bridge, the famous London Bridge and the Tower of London. We saw many cathedrals, and drove through their theater district. Next visit, and there will hopefully be another before we head home, we plan to see a play. This time Savannah was too young for the Lion King. The masks were a little to real and the play was very long.

We ended our hop on hop off tour at Harrods, with delicious cupcakes. This store was insane. It occupies a 5-acre site and has over one million square feet of selling space spread over 330 departments!!! The word insane doesn't even begin to describe it. Somehow we made it to their cupcake shop and grabbed a few and headed upstairs to their "diner" like eatery and took a rest and enjoyed our cupcakes. Savannah naturally had strawberry, Rocky had Oreo of course and I had banana....a lame choice I realized after trying Savannah and Rocky's! All very very good though. From here we headed back to our hotel after the long day.

We learned that London's cuisine is known for their pie and mash dishes and their specialize in many international foods. There were tons of delicious restaurants from Thai to Italian to Indian to many many more. One night we had dinner at a place across the street from our hotel called Ned's Noodle Bar, seriously the best! Highly recommend it if you are in London.

On the last day we took a trip around The London Eye, a giant Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames. Each egg shaped capsule holds approximately 28 people and the ride lasts for 30 minutes. The tricky part was getting on because the wheel never comes to a complete stop, it just slowly glides so you step on and off. When I first saw The London Eye, I thought to myself, there is no way Rocky is getting me on this thing even though we already had tickets. This was the same situation as the Eiffel Tower....my fear of heights combined with claustrophobia. Since we rode The London Eye on the last day I had 5 days to prepare. In that time I learned how safe it was, how it is a must see and top attraction in London. I felt if I didn't get on I would have a huge regret and I didn't want that to happen...again! :) And I'm SO happy I got over my fears because the ride and view were spectacular! We got a birds eye view of London on the most gorgeous day. The capsule never swayed even though it was very windy and I always felt safe. Savannah loved to stand with her face pressed against the window. Rocky took lots and lots of pictures. It was one of my favorite experiences!

We left London on Monday evening with no problems getting out of Heathrow. This far, London is one of my favorite places. The city has so much history and everyone was incredibly nice. Love the British! We want to go back to London before leave. The plan is for me to take Savannah to a play while Rocky takes our baby boy somewhere, maybe to the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground. We learned about this the day we were leaving so we said, "next time"!

Enjoy the pictures (look in the Picture tab)! This was our first trip with our fancy grown up camera...we are still learning how to use it!

XO
Elizabeth