London - we are here.......first stop IWM

We were so excited – we were heading to London.  We caught a taxi from our house to the St Charles train station at 7.45am ordered by their app by Lachlan on his ipad.  We then got our tickets for the bus to the airport.  It was funny, you could get return tickets for adults but not for kids (only one way) – what! Do they think we only want to take our kids on holiday but not bring them home again!  Anyway, got the tickets and on the bus we go – airport and London here we come.  Arrived at the airport shed for EasyJet with plenty of time – it was too early even for Karl to check his bag in! We had some croissants and coffee and then it was time to check his bag and go through the security checks.  Me and the boys did not have bags as my flight was 35 Euro while the kids were 17 euros each – so just carry-on luggage – so cheap though and we could pile up Karl’s bag as he was travelling for work.  While at the airport Connor found a luggage trolley that still had 1 euro in it – he was excited and Karl and Loks worked out that if they put it together with another trolley they could get the 1 euro out – score! He brought a croissant!  The checks were pretty easy although Loki set off the alarms on the mental detector and they swabbed his hands and shoes and then I set it off and they gave me the full pat down and then a once over with the machine.  Loki’s bag then got taken to the “need to check area” – but once checked no probs – Karl and Connor got through uneventfully so they now think Lachlan and I are dodgy! If only they knew!

Karl heading to his seat at the front of the plane! 

Connor checking out the safety details!!!

Anyway, flight was great, on time and Karl thought it was perfect as he was at the front of the plane while me and the kids were at the back! He got some work done however and the flight was only 90 minutes so all good and we took snacks.  Then we arrived in London – wahoo – and from here we hopped on the Gatwick Express into London Victoria Station and once I got my oyster card we were just one change and a few stops and we were at Waterloo – our home for the next 5 nights.  

As we hop on the Gatwick Express to London central Lachlan finds a newspaper in English - he was excited and that was him for the next 30 minutes........he had run out of books and was re-reading and re-reading the books he brought with him - so excited to find something to read! 

The first of many rides on the London underground - the tube - 

 Arrived at our hotel the Premier Inn – and what a fantastic place – great hotel and perfect location – about 20 metres from great views of the London Eye and Big Ben – awesome.  Thanks to our friends Terry and Colleen for the recommendation!

On arrival it was cold and raining – but it looked like it was going to clear – and true to form – about 30 minutes later when we were unpacked, refreshed and ready to go the rain had stopped and we decided to head to an indoor location for the afternoon – Lachlan’s choice the 

“Imperial War Museum” 

– about 10 minutes walk from our hotel.  We arrived there at 3pm and left at closing at 6pm – needless to say it was a hit – Lachlan was in overload mode and just wanted more and more – we had to drag him out and he is itching to go back while on this trip – it is walking distance so if we have time we might let him back there –especially as it was free. 

There were flying bombs, a V2 rocket, harrier and a spit-fire and big areas dedicated to WW 1 and WW 2 and there were tanks, trenches and lots of different movies to see.  There were guns galore and 5 stories of exploration to do – we did every floor!

The boys showing their own guns by the big guns........

 Of note – while on our wee walk to the imperial war museum – we saw big ben – how exciting! Photo op! And also, while Connor and I were waiting outside the museum for Loki and Karl we saw a squirrel – way cool – again, photo op! Not so cool was that the squirrel was rummaging in rubbish bins for food!

We were in desperate need of a beer after the museum – so we headed to find a traditional English pub – our first one – where we had a nice beer – was a bit modern and trendy so we stayed for one and then headed for another as we wanted ‘fish n chips and bangers and mash’ – we found what we were looking for and had a great meal – then it was time to head home for bed – what a great start to our London adventure.