London: Day 1

 On October 5th, we loaded up our van and headed to London.  By this point, Eric was very good at navigating the English highway system.  I was not as good at realizing which roundabouts we needed to round as oppose to go straight through.  As a result, we ended up on our choice C route, which actually turned out to be a very simple method of getting the van back to Heathrow airport.  So...#winning

We arranged for a taxi van to pick us up and take us to the flat.  I take a bit of pride in the fact that though the driver looked at our children with a little bit of resignation, they were basically silent the entire hour drive through rush hour traffic into the heart of London. #Protip: Kids cannot make a lot of noise when they have Pringles in their mouth. 

 At the flat, we met up with Grandma and Grandpa who had arrived that morning and were doing a great job of staying awake until the evening.  They'd checked in at the flat and then went out for a 5 mile walk to see the sights.  Crazy.  If you recall, we spent our day after flying catnapping until we could respectfully retire about 8 PM.

 The next day was the day of the Harry Potter Tour! Oh Man! But, before that started, we made our way to the nearest tube stop where we confirmed that all four children could use public transportation for free. Brilliant!  Also, we confirmed that our eldest two sons loved looking at the tube map and figuring out the best routes to get from point A to point B.  The remainder of time in London, they spent quite a bit of time just looking at the maps and commenting on the routes.

 Our tour started in Leicester Square. Pronounced "Lester" for you Americans. Not understanding how the vouchers worked, I sent Eric to stand in a rather long line in order for him to learn that we just needed to show up when the tour guide called out.  Oops!  But, that gave the kids plenty of time to play on the see saws and the rest of us a chance to eat some fish and chips.  Eric may disagree, but I think it was time well spent!  Oh, we also moseyed around the MandM store.  #Protip: Do not buy anything at the MandM store, way overpriced.

 Prior to the start of the 2 and a half hour walking tour, John fell asleep on my shoulder.  I was happy that he wasn't running off or throwing a tantrum, so it took me a solid hour to realize how sore my shoulders were feeling.  It took nearly 2 days for my back to feel better after carrying my 35 pound baby for 90 minutes as we walked around London taking in various sights and learning Harry Potter trivia.  Ok, Will already knew most of the trivia, which meant he earned his house (Ravenclaw) the win for the day (which was a cloak of invisibility...Will was not impressed).  Dom had a nice showing for Hufflepuff, I would like to add.  Yea Hufflepuff!

If you are a Downton Abbey fan, you may recall a story arc where the village plans a memorial to those who fought and died in World War I.  These memorials can be found all over England.  We always tried to slow down and read the names.  I won't get on too big of a soap box, but for an understanding of Europe, it helps to learn about the tragedy of World War I.  I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but on the last day we visited the British Imperial Museum and there was an incredible exhibit on the events that led to the war and the trench warfare.  I was pretty emotional walking through with the boys and trying to explain the un-explainable.

 But, back to Harry Potter.  This was mainly a tour highlighting spots filmed in the movie.  Think this spot was outside the Ministry of Magic.

 The Leaky Cauldron from the first film.  The spot changed for the third film.  New director, new feel.

 Naturally, we did go see Platform 9 and 3 quarters (note to self: Learn how to type fractions).  I do not have pictures of it, because there was an hour wait.  Plus, we've seen it and walked through it in Orlando.

 After the tour we returned to a market that had enticed Eric with its smells.  By this point, we were all pretty tired and sore.  Grandpa had helped carry John for the last part of the tour.  We saw a sign outside of a cake shop claiming to sell one of the top 27 cups of Hot Chocolate IN THE WORLD!!!  And, it was delicious.  I'm sure whole milk and melted chocolate bars helped quite a bit.  But, after walking a few miles, we needed the calories.

We decided it was time to head back to the flat.  There was a park across the way and Grandma volunteered to watch the kids while Eric and I figured out a dinner.  It turned out there was also an Adventure Land.  I've read articles about these parks, but they are made for older kids.  There are some adults on site, but for the most part, it is kid run activities.  Boxes and other materials are around for building.  There was a giant structure to climb on as well as a zipline.  We signed the older two up (Molly was too young) and though Dom was a little nervous, he was quickly welcomed and joined in on a football game being played.  It was only open the Thursday and Friday of our stay, but the boys really enjoyed their short time.  And I loved how when we returned the next evening, both boys were welcomed with enthusiasm.

Our first day in London was under out belts.  We were ready for the next day to arrive.