London Day 2 - hop on, hop off; London bridge and HMS Belfast

We awoke early today – mostly because when I checked the time and said it was 7.15am, I didn’t realise my phone had not changed from French to UK time, and it was actually only 6.15am – we were showered and dressed before anyone realised – opps!

Anyway breakfast started at 7am and we had breakfast buffet included in our room which the boys were excited about and ready to hit.  The man at reception had told them to “fill their boots” and Lachlan was determined to do this.  Lachlan could barely move when we left and needed a wee lie down before we headed out – one bonus however was he actually did not really eat until dinner time – only wanted a drink for lunch! Cheap!

TIME FOR A BUS RIDE - HOP ON AND HOP OFF............

 

Heading toward Tower Bridge

Big Ben and Parliament buildings

London Eye - so much to see!!!!

All of us - this is so exciting.... one of Connor's favourite things (and mind) was Big Ben

We brought tickets for hop on hop off bus and we were on bright and early when the first bus passed – this was a great move as there was hardly anyone on – we had great seats and could move about lots upstairs and there was hardly any traffic! We realised the virtue of this as the day went and on both the buses and traffic increased.  We stayed on the bus for nearly 3 hours……for us it was only a hop on bus; not a hop off = there was a change in tour guides, but we remained! This was great as it was awesome to have a really good look around London.  Connor and I had a deal going that I would give him 20 pence per Monopoly site he could find = this kept him interested and wanting to stay on the bus – he earned 4 pound and 40 pence! Money well spent to have a happy, excited and involved child – even the guides were helping him out! We sat near the guides for much of the journey so that they boys (all of them) could ask questions!

We saw the ‘must see’ sights such as Big Ben and the houses of parliament; 10 Downing Street; Westminster abbey, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Regent and Oxford Street; Hamley toys store (7 stories of toys – the biggest toy shop), the gerkin, the shard, where the London fire was and much much more = it is surprising how much you know or what you recognise on the trip around central London.  Great fun.

The Gerkin..................

Above left: The Shard; right - St Pauls Cathedral and just above the Tower of London

The Thames

Westminster Abbey - one of my favourites 

This is the NZ memorial in Hyde Park

The huge toy store - we promised the kids a visit and some pounds to spend........they were excited

It was then time to get off our butts and head off to explore – we hopped off at Tower Bridge and went to explore – we decided to get tickets and go up so we could walk along the upper decks, stand on the glass panels (well lie on them as would eventuate) and check out the engine rooms – great experience enjoyed by all – even got the tourist postcard to prove it!   Of note, in regard to the glass panels Karl began jumping on the glass (and the boys followed) freaking other other nervous tourists – they thought this was great fun!

By this time it was close to 2pm and we were hungry so we found a sandwich bar “pret-a-manger” and sat next to the Thames with the view of the tower bridge and skyline! It also had a water feature which the kids loved......... What a place for lunch.

Next we were off too: 

Next we were off to explore the HM Belfast – a battle ship which has about 6 floors – a must see on Karl’s list.  Interesting I was in London for about 3 years 20 years ago and had not been to any of these places!!! The difference between being 21 and 40ish and travelling with children!

As we hopped off the ship we heard that the tower bridge was due to lift in about 30 minutes and so we decided to wander to the other side of the Thames by going across the tower bridge and line up for our river cruise to head back toward Waterloo and Westminster………

 Walking back across the bridge - Karl standing over the gap where the bridge lifts.................

The bridge lift was cool and a huge cruise ship came though and anchored next to the HMS Belfast…….and then it close and we were off on our 40 minute river cruise back to our hotel.

 Me and Loks on our boat cruise - was a fun and different way to see the city......................................

On the bridge is our Big Bus Tour (on the left) and a typical London double decker bus on the right..........best view! 

Big Ben as the sun goes down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 The London Eye was a great site, the capsules were much bigger than we envisaged however it moved very slowly, taking 30 minutes for one rotation.  The kids were not interested in a ride given the speed and the whole purpose being to look at the views..................................................................

 By the time we hopped off the cruise it was after 5 and we were getting thirsty and were keen to find a place for a drink – thankfully our hotel has happy hour from 6pm, so after a great cruise we headed there, got our playing cards and went to the bar……….so beers, cokes and euchre was us for the next couple of hours.

Connor with his money for finding Monopoly sites today....................

Beer and cards - perfect! 

We decided we had settled in and so ordered some dinner here too – great choice – delish and great value.  We then headed for a wee walk to see the London eye and the waterside lit up at night – then finally about 9.30 – it was time for bed.

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.