Tuesday's Travel Log

A friend recommended that we go to Windsor Castle to see the 'Changing of the Guard'...it is less crowded, but they have the same ceremony.  Instead we had to face the mob at Buckingham Palace.  If you ask Sydney about our trip to London...her favorite part was going to the 'Queen's Palace.'  You can see the pure joy on her face here.

I only wish I had a picture of how sad she was when she realized the Queen wasn't home, and she wouldn't get to meet her!  My poor girl has a princess complex...and this was no Disneyland. hahaha  Atleast she was able to enjoy the show.  It was quite the production!

We wormed our way through the crowds trying to get glimpses of things.  I even had Caden on my shoulders at one point just so he could see above everyone...oh man...that didn't last very long.  He is one big kid!

We had a fun time checking it out, but next time I think I will make more of an effort to follow my friends advice!!  Besides I would love to see the Castle!

Although...the palace is a beautiful building!

Tuesday's Travel Log

When traveling with kids, it is a must that somewhere along the way we must 'chill' at a playground.  One that was on my MUST DO list was Princess Diana's Memorial Playground found in Kensington Gardens.  The reason why was because it was built around the theme of Peter Pan.  They had Captain Hooks Pirate Ship, The Lost Boys tree house, Indian Teepee's, and much more. 

We took a stroll through the park, and stopped at the playground.  We ended up staying for hours, and if the kids had their way we would have stayed even longer.  It was a wonderful place to let the imagination run free, and create some wonderful memories.  If we return to London, I will be sure to make a second visit.

I seemed to enjoy any park that we came upon in our travels.  One thing that I have noticed in Europe is that every park had gates to enter and exit in!  Totally ingenious!  I loved it because I never had to worry about my kiddos running off and getting lost or running into the street.  In fact we took a stroll down from our hotel to this great little playground.  It was directly adjacent to a pretty busy road, but because it had a gate around the entire playground, I could let my kids run free.  It was a very liberating feeling.  

It is so fun playing at the parks.  They aren't like our typical ones back home so it keeps the kids entertained with all the new things they come upon.  Now if the parks here in the U.S.  could just get on board with the gated playgrounds...that would be great!  (I guess here in the U.S.  there are parents that would actually leave their children there unattended...so sad that we miss out on such a great thing!)

BTW.... If you live here in my neck of the woods, I have a Crafty Goodness Craft Night coming up on Thursday, June 10!  Go to Crafty Goodness to see all the projects we are doing, and order yours today!  I will be taking orders until Thursday, June 3rd, so there isn't much time left!  Hope to see you there!

Tuesday's Travel Log

Traveling with children makes for a very different experience.  Last time I was in London, I spent my days wandering the streets, and seeing alot of historical sights.  We did see alot of thing this time, but we also did alot of 'kid oriented' things.  I didn't get to see a 'broadway' show, but we still managed to fill our days with alot of fun. 

One of the things we particularly enjoyed was the Science Museum.  It was so big and so much fun that we actually spent about 1 and a half days there!!!  Did I also mention it was FREE!  In fact most of the museums, and alot of the attractions through out London are.  There were only a few things that we actually paid to experience...it sure would be nice if that was the case here in the states!

They had everything thing you can imagine here.  The kids (and me) were in heaven because they were encouraged to touch EVERYTHING!  One of our favorite spots was 'the Garden' in the basement.  It was especially designed for kids 6 and under.  They had a water area, dress up, blocks, slide, and lots of other hands on things the kids loved. 

There was so much to learn about, and experiment with everywhere.  The volume of information was amazing.  Another one of the kids favorite exhibits was "Plasticity".  It was all on the history of plastic.  How it was made, and what things were actually made out of plastic.  The whole exhibit was surrounded by a hundreds of Red long strips of plastic that the kids could run through.  I don't think I laughed so hard in a long time.  Just listening to their giggles as they ran back and forth and into the padded posts had me going for a while.

It really was such a neat place, and kept us busy all day long!

Tuesday's Travel Log

Before we came to London, we made a trip to our local library.  I checked out every children book and travel guide possible.  The childrens books were fun because it gave the kids a little insight of what was there on a level that they could understand. 

The place that was on Caden's 'MUST SEE' list was the Tower of London.  It was originally built in 1078 by the current ruler of London.  Over time more towers were added, and then became a place where prisoners and traitors were sent to be tortured and killed.  It does have quite the morbid history, but the main reason why Caden wanted to go there was to see the Crown Jewels.  Unfortunately they don't allow cameras there so their beauty is captured in our minds.  It is kind of sad that something like that is only worn a few times.  So much jewlery gone to waste.  The other thing Caden found interesting was what they did with the royalties silverware and spices.  I forget what it is called, but they have a special gold plated thing that they lock them up in to prevent them from getting poisoned. 

Sydney especially loved the guards that stood outside the Jewlery, and the Yeoman or "Beefeaters" that gave us a tour.  There was even a special exhibit in the White Tower of all the different armory.  The kids couldn't believe it when they found a knight suit that was actually their size.  They also got to pretend to be guards of the Tower, and use different 'weapons' to keep out the 'bad guys.' 

Since we were so close to Tower Bridge we walked over there for the Exhibition tour. We got to ride an elevator to the top and walk across the top of the bridge.  The views were incredible.  Afterwards we went down to the engine room.  Caden really enjoyed seeing how the bridge actually worked, and what they had to do in order to raise it for the passage of boats.  It was such a great learning experience for the kids.