Europe in November Part II - London!

after amsterdam, the second and last leg of our trip was london, where our friends the taleon family graciously let us take over their daughters room... and bathroom... and most of their living room! nat, michelle, and olivia have been living in london for about a year and a half now, it was really awesome having them to show us around london, both tourist attractions and local spots. but most importantly... aiden had so much more fun now that he had someone his own size to hang out with! earlier this year they were in rome together and got along really well, this trip was no different they were inseparable the whole time! ok... get comfortable there are a ton of photos! ill keep the verbage to a minimum!

our first day in london nat and michelle both had work/school in the daytime, so nanci aiden and i took a daytrip out to stonehenge and bath. the first stop was stonehenge, and the weather was CRAZY! the rain and wind were so intense we could barely walk around! both nanci and i were drenched, and both our umbrellas were destroyed. but there was no way i was leaving without a photo!



next was our tour of bath, where we got to see the roman bath houses. really cool to get a glimpse into ancient roman life.






the town of bath itself is really nice too!




bath abbey








chillin with the queen



we had a 2hr ride back into london, the countryside was really pretty



we met michelle at her work, her balcony has an awesome view of london!



reunited



glad that we got to come during the holidays, love all of the decorations!





met with nat and took a walk across the millenium bridge



view of the london eye and big ben from the bridge




the next day nat and olivia took us sightseeing. i was amazed at how much nat knows about london and its history!



londons buses and tube make it really easy to get around the city




before hitting the sites, we had a proper british breakfast at regency cafe. delish!




we got to the area of westminster. nanci and i were a bit disappointed... no vietnamese spring rolls... no pho... no baguette sandwiches? but it did have a large concentration of londons most historic monuments! first stop was parliament, nat took us the back way where there are no tourists







westminster abbey



using my gopro to do a timelapse video of they abbey



buckingham palace





i think aiden was impressed by the palace!



walk through st james park




royal household cavalry





notice olivia is protecting herself from the horse. thats because it just attacked her!!! guess thats why there are signs posted



the other side of parliament... big ben!





tower bridge



tower of london. we actually took a tour of this place per nats recommendation. really cool!





inside the tower walls




the crown jewels, just the outside though no pictures were allowed inside




changing of the crown jewels guard



enjoying their lollipops





tower bridge in the evening






the shard is the tallest building in europe



leicester square




chinatown



picadilly circus, londons equivalent of times square



regent street, londons equivalent of 5th ave



we had a great home cooked thanksgiving with nat and michelles other american friends living in london, we had a great time and met some great people!



the next day we started off at the british museum




aiden taking photos just like daddy... just cant figure out the right way to hold the camera!



the rosetta stone




cleopatras tomb





walking across the london bridge




borough market, this place has so much awesome food i was in love!!!





duck sandwich!




pork belly sandwich with crispy skin... omg amazing!!!



enjoying their sandwiches



i enjoyed mine too, the best grilled cheese ive ever had



the place that makes the grilled cheese uses these special cheese heating machine. it heats the top layer of cheese, then they scrape the melted cheese onto the sandwiches and potatoes. YUM!



st pauls cathedral was awesome, looked as big as st peters at the vatican




had to stop for a beer after all this walking... the guiness in london is so much better than in the states



had to make some time for the kids to have some fun! we took them to winter wonderland at hyde park, which is similar to the oc fair but holiday themed. they had a great time there, esp after being dragged to all the boring stuff!



notice the gopro camera attached to the ride, michelle posted the video of them riding HERE its so cute (more videos to come!)




the whole group!



next stop... greenwich to see the prime meridian!!!







the royal observatory




there it is... the prime meridian! 0deg longitude!



center of the world!!!




view of greenwich from the observatory



after greenwich, let the kids have more fun in the natural history museum. after waiting so long in the rain to get in and all the crowds, i was beat so i only got a pic of the outside, which was very impressive



squeezed in a little shopping on regent street





and our last meal, a big pot of mussels... sooo good!



and thats it folks... whew! thanks again to the taleons for hosting us, we had such a great time!!! we were definitely ready to head home and sleep in our own beds, that was one exhausting trip! i took lots of video too and will probably put a highlight video together soon! stay tuned!!! - anthony