London Excursion

We just returned from a whirlwind weekend in London. We left Friday, walking the couple of miles down to the train station from our house. We managed to get some seats on the sleek train and set off on our adventure. It was a 90-minute train ride through beautiful countryside into the enormous Paddington station. Our hotel was only a couple of blocks from the station, which was a mixed blessing. It was great to be able to pop over to the Tube (subway) to get around, but it was not so great to hear the rumbling of the trains in the middle of the night.

We found our hotel, Shakespeare hotel, and climbed the narrow stairs to our 3rd floor room. The kids loved that there was a bunk bed, and Rachelle and I were less than pleased that we had to push two twin beds together to be able to snuggle at night. We then called Simon.

Simon is an English mate, who I met through pain conferences over the years. He is a Londoner who currently lives in Toronto. He strikes an imposing figure at 6' 5", tattoos, a nose ring, and at least a half dozen ear piercings in his left ear. That said, he is silly and wonderful with kids, and we have rarely seen Liv warm up to someone as quickly as she did with Simon. Within minutes she was jumping up to rub his head and grab his beard. Simon was visiting friends and family in London, which was the impetus for our jaunt over.

So, we took the Tube to meet Simon Friday night and he took us around the West End. We had a great dinner at a Thai/Japanese noodle place and then meandered around some more. We made our way home around 10:30 and fell fast asleep.

Saturday morning the kids woke early and we headed to Kings Cross station to see platform 9 and 3/4 from Harry Potter. There is a half of a trolley sticking out of the wall and a 9 and 3/4 sign, which was great for a picture or two. We then found Simon, and we all jumped in a cab for Greenwich. The kids enjoyed wrestling with Simon in the parks in front of the Naval Museum as Rachelle and I took in the gorgeous Georgian architecture.

We then took a boat to the O2 Collesium to meet up with Simon's sister (6', 1"), her husband (6', 8"), and their 5-year-old twins (a boy and girl, each almost as tall as Noah). We took a longer boat ride together to the South Bank and walked along the Thames enjoying the street performers, open markets, and other sites. We popped into the Tate Modern briefly and gawked at the Globe Theatre where Shakespeare used to hone his art.

We met up with some other friends of Simon's and stopped for a pint in a square. The kids played and the adults chatted until dinner time. We enjoyed some noodles and soups and then Simon led us to our hotel mainly by foot and we took in Picadilly Cirlce, Lord Nelson Square, Trafalgar Square, and some other wonderful locations. Simon was a wonderful guide and knew stories - historic as well as personal- about most of the areas. Once we all reached our hotel, Rachelle and the kids went to bed, and Simon and I went to a pub for some excellent room-temperature pints.

We all started Sunday off a little slower with a bit of homework before heading off to the Tube (we are Tube experts at this point) back to the South Bank area. We made our way to the London Eye (http://www.londoneye.com/). Rachelle asked that the kids and I distract her and avoid marveling at the 443-foot ferris wheel we were about to board.

So, the huge slow-moving (it is a 40-minute spin) glass pod ride provided a wonderful view over London. Luckily, it was another sunny and clear day and we could see for miles. Well, except for Rachelle, who had her eyes shut and sat on the bench in the center of the pod while the rest of the riders leaned against the rounded glass walls to peer out. Truth be told, Rachelle faced her fears and opened her eyes as we descended, and she even stood two times for pictures before retreating to her safety bench.

Once down on terra firma, we met up with Simon and walked to the Tate Modern. We had not gotten our fill the day before. For me, the highlight of the Tate was watching Liv enter her own world and lose herself in the art. She would have been happy staying there all day. She would stand and look at a sculpture and trace the lines in the air with her fingers.

We had some lunch at the museum and said farewell to Simon who was off to see other friends in Northern London. We then decided to head back to Bath. The Tube to the train to Bath and we arrived by 6:30.

It was a wonderful evening, so we walked up gorgeous Widcombe Hill. Liv and I had the grand idea of leaving the road to follow a foot path through a field. I guess we hadn't had enough adventures in London. Well, the path led into the woods, and the woods had some patches of mud that sucked the shoes right off of Noah's and Liv's feet. We had gone too far to turn back, so we continued on, climbing over ancient stone walls, and working our way through the briars and brambles. Just to be safe, and, well, because we were lost and it was beginning to get dark, we turned on Emily (yes, we had the GPS with us). With Emily's help, we followed a path to a stone wall, climbed over, and voila, we were back on Widcome Hill. We finished the walk on the road, got home, had dinner, and all headed to bed.