Get ready for a whirlwind! We were BUSY in the middle of our trip; we had a couple more days with Andrew and then Maelle and I got to do our own thing for a few days while he was working.
We FINALLY made it to St Paul’s Cathedral! Can you believe we didn’t go the first two times we were in London?! Neither can I. We were still jet-lagged (I didn’t fall asleep until 3 am!) so we woke up a bit later than we’d planned.
We took a quick walking tour with a guide after arriving, then moved onto the stairs…all 592 of them!
Maelle did great; it was her first ‘overseas church stair-climbing’ experience, of which I’m sure there will be many. Andrew has dragged me to the top of just about every old church we’ve visited in Europe–now she can join us for round two!
Here we are at (almost) the top, and you can see The Shard in the distance behind us.
The actual top was rather disappointing; it’s small and viewers kind of shuffle along the outside until you reach the other side to exit. The deck just below (in the photo above) was much nicer.
St Paul’s has a variety of steps: wide, wooden ones at the base, metal spiral ones in the middle, and even the duck-your-head teeny tiny ones near the top.
After our ascent, we descended into the Crypt and saw the tombs of such notables as Admiral Lord Nelson, Sir Christopher Wren (the architect who designed St Paul’s) and Florence Nightingale.
We ate lunch at another favorite pub, The Blackfriars, where I may have had the best burger of my life. It had bacon, a cheese sauce and even a hash brown on it!
After lunch we hopped on a bus to Oxford Circus for some shopping!
Andrew was after some more dress shirts at Liberty, and we got Maelle another pair of Trotters canvas shoes for summer. We ended our night with dinner at Viet Food and another stroll through Leicester Square, including a stop at the Lego store! Our girl has really gotten into building; I think we’ve graduated from Duplos to real Legos! (If any of our family members reading this need birthday ideas, I have some!)
The following morning we did another first: we rocketed to the Sky Garden at top of the Fenchurch building, a.k.a the ‘Walkie Talkie’ building to see London from above! It was something we wanted to do last year, but it requires (free) tickets in advance.
You can see all the skyscrapers behind us!
We’d been meaning to get our postcards mailed, so we stopped into a post office on our walk to get some of them on their way!
We ate lunch at Borough Market, and for the third year in a row I got the paella. It’s so good! A giant line does not lie.
With all our walking, you’d think Maelle wouldn’t have any energy left! Nope, the girl just keeps on going! We hit the ‘pirate playground’ (a.k.a the Princess Diana Memorial Playground) for some playtime before dinner.
We had Spanish tapas at Brindisa–so many delicious options! The asparagus with ajo blanco and lemon and the beet salad with yogurt and blue cheese were amazing. Our meal there inspired me to keep a note on my phone of all the fantastic dishes I eat (here and abroad!) so I can re-create them.
After dinner, we headed to the Royal Albert Hall for Verdi’s Requiem. It was just the London Philharmonic performing the music, and I was a bit skeptical about bringing a four-year-old. (Not sure why the four-year-old’s father didn’t question that… ) Truthfully, I wasn’t that worried. And, she was tired. So, she sat quietly for half, and then slept the second half! I almost fell asleep, too. (Not really an opera girl myself, and we were still a bit jet-lagged.) But, it was a fun experience for all of us!
The following day Maelle and I were on our own! We had a slow morning; I actually worked out (Thank goodness for those Read-Along books on hoopla!) and then we set off for the Science Museum. Here she is looking none too pleased to pose for a photo with Apollo 10:
After the Science Museum, we grabbed lunch at a pub and then went to see The Lion King at the Lyceum!
Last year, she and I saw Frozen together and it was a huge hit, so I knew we should try to see another show. Andrew and I saw The Lion King when we moved to Buffalo (more than 10 years ago), so it was fun for me to see again. Maelle loved it, and of course we got Simba. Stuffy count: two.
After the show, we saw more lions! We met Andrew at Trafalgar Square, where there are four lion statues.
We REALLY wanted to try Dishoom while we were in London, but they don’t take reservations and the line gets LOOONG. The earlier you show up, the better. So, we jumped in a medium-size line around 5:30 pm and I think we were at a table by 6:15. Not bad.
It’s trendy-yet-authentic Indian food and it DID. NOT. DISAPPOINT. Everything was amazing. Also a bit spicy…Maelle basically ate this corn and drank two mango lassis for dinner. Andrew and I, however, enjoyed every bite of everything we tried. Chicken Tikka for me (NOT in the traditional sauce, it was “dry”) and a biryani for Andrew. Lots of naan was had by all.
The next morning was another day on our own, so Maelle and I made sure to finish writing in our postcards and get them in the mail! We also dropped off our laundry to get washed.
We had timed-entry ticket to the British Museum, but when we arrived, the line was around the block. Not the building, the BLOCK. We’ve been before, and I’ve never seen it like that, and I didn’t want to wait an hour (or more!) in line. So, what’s a mom to do in a foreign city with no internet? She breaks out the paper map and prays she can find some Wifi somewhere close by!
Thankfully, I did, and I remembered Andrew telling me about one of those interactive art exhibits. I knew what it was called (Frameless), where it was (Marble Arch) and that they had super cheap ‘mommy and me’ tickets before noon (it was 11:30). I ducked into a Primark, used the Wifi to buy our tickets online, got us to a tube station (Tottenham Court) and we were walking into Frameless less 30 minutes later. Whew!
IT WAS INCREDIBLE. Yes, I’m yelling. Truly. There were multiple rooms, all with different themes and music. One room was abstract, with images of paintings projected onto panels within the room, another was all Impressionists. In another room–I called it the “confetti room”–children are actually encouraged to run around! The painting begins in tiny pieces on the floor and slowly moves up the walls, but somehow it also senses motion so when you walk on the pieces they move! Maelle loved it.
We spent a whopping three hours at Frameless, which included lunch at their cafe, and then met up with Andrew again. He took Maelle to the pirate playground while I headed back to pick up our laundry before the laundromat closed. We met up in Kensington Gardens, and decided to tour Kensington Palace, another first for us.
I was so pleased that they had so many kid-friendly things, like a room with costumes for dress-up, a giant dollhouse to view, and even a truck of toys for playing. I especially enjoyed reading about Queen Victoria and would like to read a book about her soon.
Since we were close to Notting Hill, we headed for The Churchill Arms, which has a super authentic Thai restaurant in the back. It’s a favorite of my mom’s, and we’ve been a few times so far. It’s small and usually packed; they basically tell you how long you have at the table when you sit down!
We’re so glad our girl loves pad thai!
thehealthypineapple 