Europe--Day 7

Hyde Park was one of my favorite parts of London (it reminded me a lot of Central Park in New York only less busy with way more cool historic stuff).  Our hotel was just a block or two away, so we walked through it many times.

Round Pond was beautiful...filled with so many swans

This statue of Princess Diana and the children was just unveiled in 2021 at Kensington Palace.  I loved this sunken in pond and statue.  It was so serene and beautiful.

Kensington Palace

This statue of Prince Albert was breathtaking...you can't tell by the picture, but it was up on a hill and enormous and all gold.  It was one of the most impressive statues I've ever seen!

The Princess Diana Memorial Fountain was just what our feet needed after walking for 6 days straight!  I wish I had got a picture of the entire thing, but it was a in a circle and flowed like a river.  There were tons of kids playing in it...but our kids refused to even put their feet in it!  But Mike and I enjoyed the icy cold water.

We never did rent these boats, but we walked over the bridge multiple times and saw the dozens of boats floating by.

On our very last day in London, we had the morning to fill before heading to the train station to catch the Eurostar to Paris.  After spending about 5 minutes in Harrods, Tyson, Mike, Summer and I headed to the Natural History Museum while the girls stayed to "window shop"...I was a little hesitant to leave them with my credit card.

Summer LOVED the Natural History Museum, but it was huge, seriously packed with people, and we were in a rush, so we couldn't enjoy it as much as we would have liked to.

I always hesitate squeezing in one more thing when we have to make a train, but since our reservations weren't until 4:30pm (and the email said just to be there 30 min. before departure), we thought it was ridiculous to waste the entire day, especially since it was our last day in London.  Well, it didn't turn out so well for us...but then again, maybe it did.

We arrived at the Eurostar line 2 min. later than planned--after practically running through the train station to find our gate (28min. before departure instead of the 30 min. they recommended).  There was only a line for the 6pm train, so we asked someone who worked there and he told us they closed the line 2 minutes ago and would not re open it for us.  He said we should have arrived 90 min. before departure time--what?!  Anyways, luckily they were able to get us on the later train (all sitting in separate train cars) arriving at about 9:30pm in Paris.  I was stressed about none of us sitting together...then as we were waiting for the train, they announced a larger train was coming so there would be no assigned seats!  Some people were really upset, but it worked out well for our family.    

I felt a little "car" sick on the train, so I was happy to get off and arrive in Paris.  Unfortunately, we would have to take the metro to the hotel...not great when I was already feeling motion sickness, ugh.

Europe--Day 6

This was our first day using The Underground in London.  It was not my favorite...only because just about every time we got on a train, it was the wrong one!  It was so confusing.  But we managed to somehow get where we needed to go.

First stop:  Tower of London.

I really didn't know anything about the Tower of London except that it was where the crown jewels were kept...and seeing the jewels was my absolute favorite part (but you couldn't take pictures!!)

I bought 2 audio tours, but nobody (besides me) was really interested in listening.  Although we did get some great pictures looking like tourists:)

Summer's favorite part (actually the only part she liked) were the ravens

I really just like the feel of the entire area of the Tower of London

The white tower was filled with armor that was actually worn by past royalty

It was fun to see the guards and their funny little marches

Next Stop:  Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge was really beautiful.  I couldn't stop taking pictures and videos of it...even as we walked across:)

Our plan was to eat at Burough Market (which was insanely busy), but we couldn't find a single place where Summer would eat!  We ended up eating at a disgusting burger place with terrible service, just around the corner--ugh.

Summer was happy to get a blue slushy while we waited for our food

Then we stopped at The Globe Theater, but you couldn't see inside without buying a ticket for a show and I knew better than to force my family to watch a Shakespeare play haha.

Europe Day 5--London

By the time we returned our rental car, I was so ready.  I was getting tired of all the stress involved with exiting traffic circles in the proper lane--ahh!  But trying to park the rental van in the tiny part of the parking garage where I was supposed to return it may have been the hardest task of all!!!  Little did I know, navigating the underground would be similarly as stressful.

Our hotel in London was just a single room; two double beds, two twin beds and a tiny bathroom that you could barely turn around in.  There were two long windows open to the street below where we could hear people walking and talking through most of the night. 

Our first day in London in POURED with rain.  We had tickets for Buckingham Palace at 9am, so we woke up early and walked 30 minutes in the rain...with 6 people, one umbrella, and 2 rain jackets (that we soon found out, were NOT water proof).  We did not look our best and were wet and cold the rest of the day (which is tricky when you have no plans to return to your hotel until dinner time).

Buckingham Palace was amazing, but unfortunately they didn't let you take any pictures inside.  They had a free audio tour, which was fantastic.  As I walked through the palace with so much history, it was hard to believe that the royal family actually still use/live in it.  So strange to have a home that is open to the public!  I loved how a lot of the rooms were named for their color (red room, blue room etc)....one of my favorite parts was seeing the room they used for the royal family photos.  

After buying umbrella's at the Buckingham Palace gift shop, we headed for lunch (where we finally ordered some Fish and Chips) and the off to see more sights.

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben

The London Eye

Piccadilly Circus

Trafalgar Square

Red Telephone Booths 

(which were everywhere, but also very dirty and usually covered in graffiti)

We finished off the day with dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe

(because it wa one of the only restaurants within walking distance that served either hamburger, pizza or chicken strips for Summer-ugh)

We did get to see one of One Direction's guitars and some other cool stuff though:)

Europe Day 4--Tottenham

Although there are so many amazing and fun things to see in England, the main reason I wanted to go is because my Grandma and Grandpa Winters grew up there.  Grandma has been gone for almost 21 years now and Grandpa many more, but I have such wonderful memories of them and their stories from England.  Oh how I wish I could have taken them with me and had them show me around the places they used to go.  I am grateful that Grandma left a personal history, with so many stories and details about her life in England.  

We spent about an hour searching the Tottenham Cemetery searching for Grandma's parents graves (or any of her siblings) with no luck.  I guess back in those days, people didn't keep very good track of who was buried where, and some didn't even have headstones if they were too poor.  I was hoping we'd be able to find something, but it felt like searching for a needle in a haystack.  It did however feel special being there...knowing that my grandma had been there long long ago.

Tottenham cemetery was so old and worn down.  A lot of the head stones were tipped over or illegible.  Even some of the stone was broken away and crumbling.  As old and creepy as it was, I was surprised to see many people walking through with their dogs or just by themselves...not visiting a grave, just going for an afternoon stroll.

We also went to the street my grandma grew up on (Tiverton Rd).  In her history she gives the exact address, but said that the house had since been torn down.  We mapped to her address and spent a few minutes just being there.  As I looked down the street, I realized it was just a short walk to the cemetery and remembered Grandma talking about how her Dad used to dig graves for extra money until her little brother died and then he was too sad to do that work anymore.  I imagined him walking that distance to the graveyard...such a special thing to be there.

I don't know how I managed to drive around these neighborhoods without hitting any cars!  The roads were so narrow and there were cars parked on both sides.

I miss my grandma and am so grateful for the heritage she and Grandpa have given me.  I can't wait to see her again some day.