12/11/2022
This morning, the kids were in a great mood as they picked up Santa gingerbreads from Costa’s. Funnily enough, Lachlan looked like Rudolph by the time he was done with it.
It was warp speed on the Piccadilly Line to Green Park. There were plenty more squirrels for Lachlan and Grandpa.
After a dramatic faceplant in a muddy patch, Lachlan flew through Green Park leading the way to Buckingham Palace. Sadly the new King was not in but the Lord Mayor’s Show was underway.
Buckingham Palace is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning. Originally known as Buckingham House, the building at the core of today’s palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen’s House. During the 19th century it was enlarged by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who constructed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.
We then headed back towards the city, stopping in at Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square, pretty much just ticking off the Monopoly board.
The miles were ticking over but the kids had a lot left in the tank, we all required a PG. This turned into a nice spot for lunch.
In the afternoon we all headed to the British Museum which had quite the line.
The kids were getting sleepy at this stage, they did not even ask about buttons. Although Eloise was fighting it, there was plenty to see and ask difficult questions about.
A lion from Ishtar Gate, jumped out at us.
To be honest, the British Museum is not at the top of our list but there is no denying the displays are breathtaking. There is just so much of it, it is difficult to gauge the significance of some of the items.
The mums then snuck off to the theatre, they had tickets for & Juliet. Their birthday present to each other.
Meanwhile, the double dad jokes had their desired effect.
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence… The British Museum was the first public national museum to cover all fields of knowledge. The museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the Anglo-Irish physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. It first opened to the public in 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. The museum’s expansion over the following 250 years was largely a result of British colonisation and has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions, or independent spin-offs, the first being the Natural History Museum in 1881.
Museumed out, Eloise and da boyz made their way day through Covent Gardens before getting scared by how many people there were everywhere. We found some space to breathe and decided it was Ice Lollies all-round.
Perhaps the kids went from zero to a hundred a bit too quickly, they needed to burn off the sugar.
Lachlan could not get enough of the spinning cup and Eloise loved letting it rip, a dangerous combination. We tried to keep him away from it as he could hardly stand up but he always found his was back.
A few hours later we met up with the mums who had enjoyed their show. They both thought it was clever, loved the music and agreed it was perhaps the best show they have seen.
It was back down the big hole in the ground for a quick rest. Note to self, do not take the Batmobile down Holborn Station again.
Tonight was a fantastic and well overdue catch up with some close friends from home, there were lots of wild stories to share and it was lovely to see familiar faces. It turned into a late one for the kids but they were very well behaved. Unbelievably, Tom very generously surprised the kids with Vegemite and Fru Chocs.
Supposedly it was a wild one back home with “nearly 80,000 [South Australians] could be without power until Monday after wild storms brought 420,000 lightning strikes in one day”. Stay safe all!
[…] a week of fun in London, Friday morning was an Emma catch up. The kids were revving their engines at 06:00, “Mum, is […]