Read about Wales here and Cambridge here and here

So, after an agonizingly long coach ride, we made it to London!

Kind of sucks that it got dark so early (sunset at 3:45!) so we couldn’t actually see much of London, but we were all pretty exhausted anyway. When we got out of the Underground station by our airbnb, there was a mass of people coming towards us. Turns out an Arsenal game had just ended. So going in the opposite direction of traffic with a bunch of luggage is not super fun. By the time we made it to the flat (which was very nice), the boys and I just wanted to relax. George headed to a pub, of course.

The next day, we had tickets for the London Eye. It was a gorgeous day, and the boys were so excited to see Big Ben up close.

It was such a perfect, clear day, and we could see so much from our capsule. I just wish the glass was, I dunno, invisible.

Linus in line

These kids were staring at the boys’ hair. Like a lot of people did.

Linus in the Eye.

Group pic.

Daddy pointing out the sights

Looking out.

After we got off, we went to look for somewhere to eat. We ended up in a cafe in the basement of a church where the boys were happy to have wi-fi and play Pokemon Go.

Next we headed to Westminster Pier to catch a boat to Greenwich.

Westminster Abbey

The windows of Westminster Abbey

Linus

Oliver

Miles

Tower Bridge from the boat to Greenwich

Our goal was to have lunch at the Trafalgar Tavern, then walk around a bit, then walk through the foot tunnel back to the other side of the river.

Trafalgar Tavern, check: (though our hour long wait for our food, after getting kicked off our table and moved to another one when they claimed our table was reserved doesn’t make me inclined to recommend it)

At least the boys enjoyed their food.

Walking around Greenwich, check:

Oh, taking a recreation of this picture of me from the 2002 London Marathon in front of the Cutty Sark, check:

Foot tunnel, check:

By then, the boys were exhausted, so we had a few meltdowns on the way back to the flat, but had to stop by King’s Cross to see Platform 9 3/4. Which had an enormous queue to get a photo in front of, which was definitely not in the cards. No biggie.

Bright and early the next day, we headed to Oxford Circus so we could go to Hamley’s.

We hung out with the Queen and her corgi, too.

After that, we did a bit more wandering and then headed to Covent Garden for fish and chips. Yet again we waited an ungodly amount of time for our food, but it was pretty yum.

And then George wanted to go to a pub, so the boys and I went to collect my tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which I would be attending that night and the next. I was a tad excited. The guy at the ticket desk looked confused when I only picked up one set of tickets but had three kids with me. Sorry, kiddos. Maybe next time.

And then it was time! Finally! After months of trying to get tickets and waiting and waiting, it was time to go to the theater for Part One!

I got in line a bit early, and pretty much everyone seemed to be American. But soon enough we were inside! I got a gin and tonic from the bar, and settled in to my seat to wait for it to start…

To be continued…