Last July we decided to visit London with the kids. They are both big fans of Doctor Who, Sherlock, & Harry Potter; and I am absolutely fascinated by Downton Abby & all things Royal. So a trip to London was something we were all excited about!
And our timing couldn't have been better because the world was awaiting the birth of Prince George. All of London was on Baby Watch while we were there. Our hotel was just down the road from St. Mary's Hospital where he was born, and crowds were already camping outside waiting for the birth. We missed being there for the birth by 3 days! But I did come home with a souvenir mug.
One of the best things we did in London was hire a private tour guide to show us around the first day. We used the company British Tours http://www.britishtours.com and loved the whole experience. Our tour guide picked us up in a private car at our hotel, Hilton London Metropole, at 9:00am. He took us to see Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Parliament & the Tower of London.
Our guide also took us down to one of the tube stations and showed us how to use the London Underground system. Being from Texas, that was a new experience for the kids. They loved riding the tube, and quickly became experts at reading the underground map and figuring out which line to ride and where to make our transfers. The phrase "Please mind the gap" soon became part of their daily banter.
We even found a little taste of home in Victoria Station and my son would not leave without his $15/dozen glazed donuts. (The exchange rate was NOT in our favor!)
Throughout the week, we visited several palaces, including Buckingham Palace where Queen Elizabeth lives and Hampton Court Palace, home of King Henry VIII.
Hampton Court was lots of fun to tour and see what life was like in the 16th century. But our favorite part of the tour there was the garden maze. I was like a lost rat wandering through the maze, but the kids quickly figured out how to find the center.
After a few days of touring old palaces, my son asked if we could go see "something from this century". So off we went to Warner Bros. Studios for the Harry Potter Tour. We had made reservations for the tour months in advance since it had only opened recently and tours were quickly selling out. The kids were absolutely entranced to walk through the Great Hall and see all the sets used to film the popular movie series. And even though I've never read the books or seen the movies, I also found it quite an entertaining afternoon.
And, of course, our trip to London would not be complete without a little shopping. We hit Bond Street, Regents Street, Hamley's Toy Store, Harrod's Department store and more...
One afternoon, we even had the chance to go visit some friends in nearby Watford for a Texas-style BBQ. My son loves BBQ ribs in England as much as he does in Texas!
My daughter's one request while in London was to go to the theater and see a play. So one afternoon we were able to get matinee tickets to go see Wicked.
Even though we were there for about 10 days, we didn't even begin to see everything we wanted to. Nor did we get to ride the London Eye...the line was too long the night we were there. So I'm sure we'll be back soon.
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