London 2015...Part 1

Well, we've been home a few days and I've finally downloaded all of our pics and have decided that today I will put together the London blog. I guess I'll go in chronological order as that seems to be the easiest! 

We left Warsaw on December 26th as I like to spend Christmas at my house. There's something so nice about being in your own home for Christmas Day. But, I'm always happy to leave on a new adventure as soon as it's over! Anyways, as we were checking in at the airport we ran into Bridget Barbee and her crew - which was a welcome surprise. I knew she had been in Poland for the holidays and it was nice to exchange hugs in the airport!

We arrived in London at about 3:30 p.m. and we made our way from Heathrow to our hotel via the Tube. Easy peasy! And, much cheaper than taking a cab. Our hotel (Holiday Inn Mayfair) was located at the Green Park stop on the Piccadilly line and was only one block from the exit. It proved to be a great location for us!

We dropped our bags and right back out the door we went! Since moving to Poland, we've learned that vacations need to be a balance of kid stuff and parent stuff. Asia was easy as we all enjoy the beach life, but here we have to work a bit harder to make sure it works for everyone. I thought we had a nice balance planned for this trip, but you never know...

The weather while there was fabulous - mid to upper 50's and while we had a few showers, there were no major downpours!

In keeping with our strategy of balance, we let the kids pick out some of the restaurants while in London. They'd done their due diligence and knew there was a Five Guys. Okay by us...we knocked that out on the first night!

Enjoying their burgers!

We then checked out some of street performers and the remaining Christmas decorations. While some people are immediately done with Christmas once December 26th rolls in, Europe seems to hold onto the spirit a little longer - which I like. (Heck, Epiphany is a national holiday here in Poland!)

It was so nice that evening that we could even sit outside at a little cafe and enjoy a beer!

New hats were a necessity for the boys - ALL the boys!

Sporting their new lids!

Then we were off to the first of four shows while in London - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was a great show!!! The sets were very fun! The music was great! And, while it only included one song from the film (Pure Imagination), we were all more than happy when we left!

What could be better - candy and a show about candy?!

Sunday morning we got up and left our hotel room about 9 a.m. for a walk through Hyde Park. While it was cloudy, it certainly was warm! It was amazing to see flowers still in bloom and runners in short sleeves. 

Walking through Hyde Park and teaching the kids a bit about "The Royal Family"

We then strolled over to Prince Albert Hall - where I just had to tell the boys the Prince Albert in a can joke. They didn't find it amusing.

And then off to see Kensington Palace! 

And of course take pictures in the iconic phone booths! And see a few churches! (The kids think that all of the churches in the world have been moved to Europe since there are so many here.)

And then we went to check out Harrod's. I, of course, knew about the annual Boxing Day sale, but did not know the magnitude of this event. Needless to say, it was a quick stroll through and then we couldn't take the crowds anymore!

We grabbed a quick lunch at a pizza shop and we were going to go through Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, but by this time it was 2:30 and we needed to catch a bus to the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio at 4:00 p.m. - so we opted for a little shopping and coffee and a quick beer.

Posing in front of Sherlock Holmes' statue.

After some refreshments, we were off to the "Making of Harry Potter" studio tour. I am going to admit that until November of this past year, we had not read a Harry Potter book or watched a Harry Potter film. I know - scandalous! But, prior to our departure for London, we banged out all of the movies and I have to say we became fans. 

The studio tour is a must if you are on London. All of the movies were filmed here and all of the items on display were used during filming. It's really quite incredible to see. 

We took the bus from London to get to the studio as the studio is located outside of London (probably 20 miles). The bus was easy and convenient and even shows some of the movies as you ride along.

The great thing about going during the holidays is that the Great Hall is decorated for Christmas and the working Goblet of Fire is out on display. 

Checking out the Great Hall and all of the iconic costumes.

Beautifully set table

The Goblet of Fire - which actually spits out Harry's name. 

Butterbeer and some other shots

A model of Hogwart's which was used to shoot some of the scenes

Sending the boys off to Hogwart's

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Some more photos of the boys and a few shots of the wand boxes - which have the names of all of the cast and crew on them.

I have about a million photos from the tour, but I will spare you! If you're dying to see them - send me a message and I'll grant you access to my Google photo account!

We did not leave the studio until 9:30 and we didn't get back to our hotel until almost 10:30 - so we had put in a couple of long days! Thankfully, Monday was pretty relaxed and offered us a flexible schedule.

We started Monday with Madame Tussaud's as we didn't get to it on Sunday. We arrived at about 9:30 a.m. and the line was short (er, I mean the queue was short) and we were in quickly. I will admit I did not have any real expectations for Madame Tussaud's. It was one of those things that I felt we should go see while were in London. But, I think the boys really enjoyed seeing all of the "famous" people and taking photos. There's a little "ride" which shows you London through the ages and there is a 4D Marvel comics film. And, with all of the hype over Stars Wars - they have a special Star Wars section. We spent several hours here and by no means did we lollygag.

After the wax museum, we headed over to the British Natural History Museum. Unfortunately, when we got there the lines were incredibly long...I'm talking thousands of people. So we bagged it!

We decided to head off to Big Ben and sightsee in that area of town. 

Now, I was more in walking and looking mode - so I forgot to take a ton of pictures - whoops! But, the weather was BEAUTIFUL and we enjoyed just walking around and seeing the sights! (We also knew we'd be coming back here to ride the London Eye on Wednesday!)

Just had to see where the Prime Minister lives - who will always be pictured as Hugh Grant - no matter who he/she truly is!

We then grabbed a late lunch at Nando's and shopped our way back to the hotel. 

Grayson and I stayed at the hotel that evening, while Blaine and Caleb went to a local sports bar (er, I mean pub) to watch the Man U vs. Chelsea match. They had a fun time and Caleb made friends with some of the locals - one of whom gave Caleb a Man U Santa hat made by the team tailor - something which can't be purchased! He returned to the hotel smiling ear to ear!

And that concludes Monday! Will be back with Tuesday - Thursday later this week!!