London: Day 2 (Monday, April 15)
Whew, were we tired in the morning. By "we" I mean Greta, who made her tiredness known by having a stubborn fit in the morning and refusing to take a shower, get dressed, etc. I was ready to put her out on the street, so Andrew took over while the rest of us went out for a walk around the block. Lucia spotted a notebook with a British flag on the cover at a souvenir shop, and we promised we'd go back for it. By the time we got back to the apartment building, Greta was dressed and smiling and back on track for the day.
And it was a busy day. We once again had breakfast at home, then set out for St. Paul's Cathedral. Audio guides were included with the ticket, and we all loved learning about different parts of the church. The mosaics are especially impressive. We didn't go into any of the galleries (the Whispering Gallery was closed for a gruesome reason you can Google if you want to; and I was too freaked out to go into any other galleries because of it), but there was enough great stuff to see in the cathedral proper. We bought the girls fun London decal books in the gift shop, and Mom and Dad got them each a giant chocolate coin, which they promptly ate.
Next we walked across the Millennium Bridge and had lunch at a quick place called Leon before going into Tate Modern. I find a lot of modern art underwhelming (though the museum itself is amazing) and was excited when we finally got to the Rothkos, my favorites. After the museum, we walked past Shakespeare's Globe. Mom and Dad thought about going in but the ticket area was a mob scene.
Unfortunately, at that point the day devolved into a forced march. Everything we tried to do was a nonstarter. The museum we considered was closed. The river cruise we wanted was too far away to be reasonable at that point. And all the buses were "on diversion," ie detoured and not running anywhere we needed to go. We walked and walked. We dead-ended in construction zones. We bought the girls candy to keep the peace (not that they were complaining; they really don't). We finally got on the Tube and made it home, where we collapsed for a couple of hours. L&G played with their marbles. The menfolk napped. The womenfolk read books. It was much-needed downtime.
The afternoon was redeemed by our dinner that night. We walked there from our apartment, first stopping to buy Lucia (and Greta) a London notebook as promised, and then stopping at a little card shop to buy plush Paddington Bears (which Greta has wanted ever since seeing the Paddington movie). Our dinner destination was Tredwell's, a restaurant in Covent Garden. I'd booked it after reading a few reviews that mentioned a tasting menu for children, which I thought the kids would love. And they did. It was seven courses, starting out with a fizzy apple "cocktail" that they were just overcome by. They loved it so much, and so vocally, that the maitre d' brought over seconds for them. They liked all the courses, but their favorite was the lamb chop. Greta was gnawing on the bones, asking for more. The adults had amazing food too. The chef prepared something off-menu for Mom to accommodate her sodium restrictions. Dad drank a gimlet. It was just a great and fun meal.
L&G--as per usual--are having a hard time sharing a room, so we put them to bed in separate rooms until they fell asleep. Which they did, instantly. Andrew and I went next door for a beer/cider to plan the next day.
And it was a busy day. We once again had breakfast at home, then set out for St. Paul's Cathedral. Audio guides were included with the ticket, and we all loved learning about different parts of the church. The mosaics are especially impressive. We didn't go into any of the galleries (the Whispering Gallery was closed for a gruesome reason you can Google if you want to; and I was too freaked out to go into any other galleries because of it), but there was enough great stuff to see in the cathedral proper. We bought the girls fun London decal books in the gift shop, and Mom and Dad got them each a giant chocolate coin, which they promptly ate.
Next we walked across the Millennium Bridge and had lunch at a quick place called Leon before going into Tate Modern. I find a lot of modern art underwhelming (though the museum itself is amazing) and was excited when we finally got to the Rothkos, my favorites. After the museum, we walked past Shakespeare's Globe. Mom and Dad thought about going in but the ticket area was a mob scene.
Unfortunately, at that point the day devolved into a forced march. Everything we tried to do was a nonstarter. The museum we considered was closed. The river cruise we wanted was too far away to be reasonable at that point. And all the buses were "on diversion," ie detoured and not running anywhere we needed to go. We walked and walked. We dead-ended in construction zones. We bought the girls candy to keep the peace (not that they were complaining; they really don't). We finally got on the Tube and made it home, where we collapsed for a couple of hours. L&G played with their marbles. The menfolk napped. The womenfolk read books. It was much-needed downtime.
The afternoon was redeemed by our dinner that night. We walked there from our apartment, first stopping to buy Lucia (and Greta) a London notebook as promised, and then stopping at a little card shop to buy plush Paddington Bears (which Greta has wanted ever since seeing the Paddington movie). Our dinner destination was Tredwell's, a restaurant in Covent Garden. I'd booked it after reading a few reviews that mentioned a tasting menu for children, which I thought the kids would love. And they did. It was seven courses, starting out with a fizzy apple "cocktail" that they were just overcome by. They loved it so much, and so vocally, that the maitre d' brought over seconds for them. They liked all the courses, but their favorite was the lamb chop. Greta was gnawing on the bones, asking for more. The adults had amazing food too. The chef prepared something off-menu for Mom to accommodate her sodium restrictions. Dad drank a gimlet. It was just a great and fun meal.
L&G--as per usual--are having a hard time sharing a room, so we put them to bed in separate rooms until they fell asleep. Which they did, instantly. Andrew and I went next door for a beer/cider to plan the next day.
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