London Calling

London calling at the top of the dial, after all this won't you give me a smile? Got to love The Clash.....

Brody showing off his little red bus

I was diligently looking for a place to go skiing, when some international deals caught my eye. Chris is not usually into spontaneous travel, much less to another continent, but he went along with the plans. So a week and a half later we found ourselves on a plane to London. The kids slept through most of the seven hour flight and we finally got stamps in our passports--since those darn Canadians don't stamp if you drive over to see them.

Chris, Georgia and Brody by the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben

London is an interesting place and definitely has a pulse. It is really different to see a building or fort from the 11th century nestled among gigantic glass skyscrapers with red double-decker buses flying by on the street. History is all around you and being able to actually see and touch places that you learned about in school was cool. Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London were especially interesting. The intricacies of the marble statues were just amazing. I was kind of bummed that you could not take pictures inside because it is so beautiful and difficult to describe. Georgia answered a question correctly about the queen's flag and was allowed by one of the priests to pass a rope and sit in the queen's chair in the Henry VII Chapel. She thought it was kind of a hard seat but was assured that when the queen sat there it was made much more comfortable. She also uses a hand-written prayer book that is almost 300 years old.

Kacee and Georgia at Westminster Abbey

Georgia really got into Queen Elizabeth I and King Henry VIII and was just a sponge wanting to know more and more. I guess reading Philippa Gregory and watching The Tudors can come in handy. She also thought the Crown Jewels would be very nice to take home.
We viewed the city near sunset from a massive glass enclosed ferris wheel called the London Eye.

We breezed in and out of several museums, spending most of our time with the mummies. The kids loved riding "the tube" or "windy train" as Brody calls it, and had a great time at Trafalgar Square. They bravely climbed up to a platform that is about five feet tall to sit on one of the lion statues and Brody amused himself by chasing some of the famous pigeons.

Brody and Georgia on one of the lions guarding Nelson's Column

Brody chasing pigeons in Trafalgar Square with the National Gallery in the background