More London Sights

Houses of Parliament

 

London Eye

Big Ben

Westminster Area

 

HMS Belfast

Usually it's the parent dragging the kid around to the museums but for us it was the other way round. Our trip was planned around the things that Kyle wanted to see and do in London. Ever since he was a little boy, he has loved reading about history - especially World War II history.

So, no trip to London would be complete for Kyle without seeing HMS Belfast.

"HMS Belfast shows you what it was like to live and work on board a warship. Explore nine decks of amazing seafaring history where sailors once hurried up and down the ladders, and hear their battle stories from the Second World War and beyond - the convoys in icy Arctic conditions, the bombardment of German defences on D-Day and the 404 days spent patrolling waters during the Korean War." source

To have been in Normandy a week and a half earlier and then to be on board the HMS Belfast, a frigate that took part in Operation Overlord supporting the Normandy landings, was surreal.

There were many times over these two weeks in Europe that I wished my husband could be there to see the things we were seeing. Quinn was in the Canadian Naval Reserves for more than thirteen years and traveled all over the world with the Navy. I know that he would have loved to explore this ship with Kyle.

Future sailor?

Tower of London

I still have to catch up and post some last pictures of our trip to London. Of course we went to the Tower of London.

I remember coming here last time I was in London, more than twenty years ago and being enthralled to be where three unlucky wives of King Henry VIII were beheaded on Tower Green. I was sixteen years old, practically on my own in an unfamiliar city. I had been in Germany on a student exchange when my mom suggested I visit her friend in London (who worked the entire time I was there). But I had a bus map that showed all the main sights, and I went around the City for a week, on my own, crossing off my list of must-sees. I can't imagine letting Kyle loose on his own - but my parents let me and it was an amazing experience that I'm very glad I had. That week is one of the reasons I'm so determined to travel with my kids when they are this age.

We saw the Crown Jewels, guarded by this fellow (a Fusilier).

Oh, look there's a Beefeater.

Traitor's Gate, where Anne Boleyn arrived on boat via the River Thames prior to her execution.

 

Two of my kids have had to build trebuchets in Mr. Brummit's Socials 8 class. Not as big as this one though.

After we finished at the Tower, Kyle consulted our handy walking tour guide (a gift from my parents to Kyle) that we used throughout our trip.

We couldn't leave without taking some pictures of the Tower Bridge as a tall ship went through.

It was very cool to see the Olympic rings on Tower Bridge.

Using our handy walking guide, we set off for Saint Paul's and the London Museum,

and saw a piece of the (very old) city wall.

Eat Street

Our trip has come to a close. We're packed and ready to leave for the airport and we are tired. But a good tired. We packed a lot into our last day and I wanted to post the pictures of one of the things we did yesterday before we leave.

On our last day we went to the Whitecross Street Market. Our kids faithfully watch a show on the Canadian Cooking Channel called Eat Street.

They travel around and profile various street food vendors. Mostly in North America, but they did a couple of episodes in London. Kyle was determined to track some of the food vendors down before we left so we found ourselves at Whitecross Street Market on a beautiful Friday.

Eat My Pies was profiled on the show.

Andy Bates is the owner. His mother was running the stall and she is lovely.

We had a Scotch Egg and it was delicious.

Here's a recipe on BBC Food if you want to make your own.

We visited quite a few vendors and ate Paella, Steak and Chorizo Pie, Scotch Eggs & Mussels. For dessert we had the Australian classic, Lamingtons. Delicious but it was way too much food for me. Kyle was fine, of course. I was sick but that was my own fault for eating too much.

 We ate our lunch in the park across the street before heading off to the Churchill War Rooms.

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence and principal workplace of the British monarch. It has been the a family residence since 1835 when Queen Victoria moved there from Kensington Palace. The Queen decamps to Balmoral Castle for the summer months and the State Rooms are opened to the public. Kyle and I went with our stepsister's family yesterday on the tour. Each summer, over 400,000 people tour the Palace.

Photography was not permitted, so the pictures you see here are mostly from the official website for the Summer Opening. It is opulent and regal, as expected. I imagine the personal apartments of the Queen and Prince Philip are also beautiful, but perhaps not so gilded?

State Rooms

via Pinterest

My favourite was the Blue Drawing Room but I'm afraid this picture doesn't do it justice. I thought it was more understated than the other State Rooms. It was originally intended to be a ballroom, but Queen Victoria (who loved dancing and balls) had another, much larger ballroom added in the 1850s.

One word about the audio tour - it is very well done and timed perfectly. You are moving very slowly with many people around you, and somehow you arrive at things just as the commentator is talking about it. It's a great way to learn about the Palace's history.

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The staircase leading to the State Rooms is grand and very beautiful.  This is how Heads of State and other visitors to the State Rooms of the Palace arrive. The history here! I held the balustrade as I walked down the stairs and thought, I wonder who else has put their hand here? Or maybe they are too posh to use the hand rail.

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The Picture Gallery

The Picture Gallery houses a huge collection of paintings by many esteemed artists.

My favourite was a family portrait commissioned by Queen Victoria. She looks both regal and maternal and she sits beside Prince Albert, surrounded by the eldest five of their nine (!) children. A lovely glimpse of their family life painted by Winterhalter. My favourite part is the grouping of the sisters in the bottom right corner, with the baby looking back at the artist.

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We didn't see the Changing of the Guard, but we did see the courtyard where this picture was taken.

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Later that evening I met my dad's cousin and his family for the first time. My grandmother grew up in London (my father emigrated to Australia in his twenties). She married an Italian man (my grandfather) and her only sister married an Indian man. Two of Dad's cousins live in Mumbai and Bombay and the other lives in London. I don't have a lot of cousins so I lay claim to the lovely two second cousins I met last night (a third lives in Brazil), and hope to keep in touch.

Today is our last full day in London. Thanks to my cousin Sonia's husband MJ, we have lots to see and do. He gave us a list of 'must dos' before we leave so we're off to do even more museums today, as well as the Churchill War Rooms.

Harry Potter Tour Part III

For Part I of the Tour, go here.
For Part II of the Tour, go here.

After leaving Studio J, we found ourselves in the area where they display the exterior sets. There was the Knight Bus, Hagrid's motorcycle, the bridge to Hogwarts, the Potter Home in Godric's Hollow, and Number Four Privet Drive.

Darn it! A nice lady took our picture but it's underexposed and I can't fix it. But you get the idea.

The bridge to Hogwarts. Run, Neville, Run!!

Where it all began - the Potter's in Godric's Hollow

And, we had Butter Beer! It was delicious. Apparently there's a frozen version at Universal Studios. It tastes like cream soda and butterscotch, with a head of heavy cream on top. Yummy. Kyle wants to try and make it when we get home.

We continued in through Studio K.

Dead Dobby - sob!

Then we came around a corner to find Diagon Alley.

Ollivander's Wand Shop

Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour

Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes

 From Diagon Alley we went into a room that has the full Hogwarts Castle model. Amazing.

It was such a great day and I am so pleased that we were able to go. I would have been disappointed if we returned to Vancouver without going. If you are able, I highly recommend it - especially if you are a fan of the books and movies.
Are you planning on getting tickets? Or have you been? What was your favourite part?