London through the eyes of the Children!

It was so much fun to have our Julie and her family with us for a week!!!  We LOVED every minute of it!!!  The little kids, Luke & Anna were FUN to have with us!  Every clock tower we saw, Luke was sure it was Big Ben.  The kids Loved the double decker busses and were totally Fearless.  We would get on and they would run straight to the top.  There were mirrors and we could see them running from window to window & then running back down the stairs and then up again.  I couldn't believe Anna, she wasn't afraid of anything!!!  It was a blast seeing London through the Kid's Eyes!

Our first stop on the way home from the Airport was the London Temple.  It was Beautiful!!!  Nick & Sharon Palmer (our head gardener and his wife--our wonderful friends) were there and took a family picture for us.  Thank You Nick & Sharon!
 

 

The kids were pretty wiped out after not sleeping all night so we took them to "Ghandi's" next door to us for some Delicious Indian food--which they Love and settled in for the night.  That was an adventure itself trying to sleep 6 people in our little flat, but we did it and were Very Comfortable!!!

The next day we got up and went to Dover!  It was a misty day, but fun to walk around the streets before heading to the cliffs.

 

 

Brian and Luke and Anna overlooking the White Cliffs of Dover.  We almost started singing, but then realized it was Brian and I, so we quit.  Now if Julie & Byron had been out there, we might have tried.  ha ha ha

 

 

Sorry friends, but I wanted to be in the picture too with our Darling Grandchildren!

Obviously it was windy, but Oh Well.

 

Next stop was Canterbury--need I say more?

We found a little side street to park on and Julie fell in Love with It!  It wasn't even the Charming

High Street--but she Loved it anyway!  She fell in Love with all the different Door Knockers

Unfortunately you can't see them in this picture.

 

 

Then the Famous Canterbury Cathedral.

 

 

We took a picture by one of the canals on High Street.  The city is just so Charming!

They all Loved it!

 

Here's another shot of High Street.  We ended up eating at Pizza Hut of all places, but

they didn't seem to mind.  We were all Hungry by then.  And due to the timing,

there wasn't much to choose from.  (After we had eaten, we found that IF we had walked One More

Block, we could have had more choices.  Oh Well!

 

LONDON

We took the High Speed train to London and started our Adventures!

Luke & Anna at the Tower of London.

 

Julie & Byron at the White Tower inside the Tower of London. 

 

 

There was a dinosaur made out of armor inside the White Tower.

 

By the way Anna was

so interested in Everything!  She LOVED the Crown Jewels and Read Everything

much to Byron's chagrin.  ha ha  The one time He has really enjoyed a Museum! ha ha

 

We did make a Big Mistake--we were Hungry and bought fish & chips right outside the Tower of London! WORST fish & chips I have Ever tasted!!!  Don't eat Next to a Tourist Stop!  (Unless

of course you have some Good Information!!!

 

TOWER BRIDGE

 

 

 

I had to get a picture of the bridge too, but couldn't resist the close up, so here's another

view.  As you can see Luke Loved it!

 

The kids were really FUN to have in London!!!  They LOVED it and were Great Little Travelers!

The phone booths were a Must!

 

 

TRAFALGER SQUARE

 



The kids were Excited to get some Ice Cream.  But then Julie noticed that we were right next to

the National Art Gallery and they were having a Special Exhibit of Van Go's "Sunflowers."  It was 4:30 pm in the afternoon and the gallery was closing at 5pm.  Julie insisted that we try to make it.  Well Luke had a meltdown in the elevator because he wanted his ice cream, so Brian & Byron took him out along with Anna's ice cream cone.  Julie, Anna, & I went in and there was a long line (queue as they say in England).  I thought we'll never make it.  Julie said, "trust me."  So she bats her big brown eyes at the guy in charge and asks where to go to see Van Go's Sunflowers.  First he said it wasn't possible, but then he looked again and said, "there's an elevator over there.  You can try, but they may not let you in."   We got in and Anna at 7 yrs. old was able to see an original Van Go.  We also saw some of his other paintings as well as some other great impressionist artists.  Quite Exciting!!!  Thank You Julie!!!

 

After we came out of the art gallery we spent some time in Trafalgar Square--where???  On the Lions of course!!!

 

Brian couldn't resist.

 

This was a Fun, but we were tired.  Didn't get home until after 11pm and we'd been going strong all day.  We looked for somewhere to eat and ended up at TGI Friday's in Leicester Square.  Kind of interesting when you go to London and then get TGIF--Oh Well.  We were hungry and glad for some food.

 

Day Four

Luke hit the wall!  He was Wiped Out!!!  Julie was Worn Out & I was Tired.  We took the morning off and rested.  Byron, Brian, & Anna went for a walk and Anna saw the statue of Pocahontas and posed in front of it.  (She is buried just a block and a half from where we live.)  The guys and Anna went out for a "proper English breakfast."  Brian has the pictures.  Anna is quite the Adventurous girl when it comes to food.  She tries just about everything.  We were so proud of her!  Anyway they also walked along the Thames which is right out of our flat.

Later in the day we went

HERE!

 

 

It's the Largest Sikh Temple outside of India.  It's right here in Gravesend.  We decided to visit it

this day and check it out.  This was our lazy day--R&R.  You have to cover your head when you

go inside, but everyone is welcomed and they are so nice!

 

 

Day Five

Back to London on the Fast train to St Pancras.  It's a beautiful station.  We'd never heard of it until we moved here.  It's a very old station, but was completely renovated for the 2012 Olympics.  We had adventures on the double decker buses and also taxis.  This was our main hub.

 

 

This is the day we got to see Big Ben officially!  Luke was so Excited! (We all were.) Just

realized Luke wasn't quite in the picture, but Big Ben was.  this was Julie's telephone booth

where she had her picture taken with Big Ben just a two or three months before she met

Brian.

 

We found a new place to eat--EAT, and it was delicious.  Much better than the fish & chips we had at the Tower of London!  That afternoon we went to

LION KING!

The kids Loved it!!!  So did we!!!  It was an excellent production and a beautiful theatre!  We had

Great seats and the animals went right past us.

 

Anna LOVED it!!!

 

 

LONDON EYE

We're glad we did it!  It was quite a sight!

 

I swear, How did that "Old Bloke" find me Up Here???

I'm being Followed, I Know It!

 

Julie & Anna inside the Eye! 

It was a beautiful day.

 

It was a beautiful day to walk along the Thames.

 

Anna & Grandpa in front of Buckingham Palace.

 

Grandma & Anna also in front of Buckingham Palace.

This was the End of our pictures.  Luke was hilarious and Anna was a Great Tourist!

We LOVED being with them!!!  & Brian & Julie of course!!!

 

We had a Great visit and it went way too fast, but we enjoyed Every Minute!!!  We were trying to get earlier nights, but we never succeeded.  We were just having too much FUN!!!