It is cold in England in December. It also seems to be no reason for enduring the cold if we don’t get any snow at the end..seriously…I need to start taking vitamin D, as the sun hasn’t shown its face for almost a week now.
Another remedy from these cold, gray and wet days is travelling. This time we decided to make our trip to London even more fun—we arranged to meet up with the OTHER British Watsons (Robert’s brother and his family) to spend the day together.
The big attraction of the day was our Big Bus Tour. It is a bit expensive, but what we got was an outstanding way to see London from “above”, meaning we did not have to take the Tube (metro) anywhere and could follow a good map to give us a precise picture of where sights are located in the city. We also got a free river cruise and two choices of routes on the bus line—with a live commentator or with an audio guide (you listen with headphones).
Inside, we found two routes to go—King’s apartments and Queen’s apartments. Each room in the Queen’s apartments was decorated as to tell a story—some connected with history of what the family was like and some depicted very tragic history. One very sad story is the story of Queen Anne, who had at least seventeen pregnancies that ended either in miscarriages or still births. She had one son who lived till he was eleven years old—he died at his birthday party from what we think now was an epileptic seizure, thus leaving no successor for the throne.
King’s apartments were very ornate. Way more decorated than Queens part of the palace. It reminded me of a grand opera theater, especially the ceiling. When we showed up in one of the rooms of that part of the palace, some people who worked there were showing visitors how to dance some old fashioned dances (I cannot believe that the name escaped my mind what the dance was called!!). After watching a bit, we joined in. It was something fun to do, a bit silly but fun. Mark really got into it and actually remembered when it was his turn to go into the circle-haha.
The last part of the palace we saw was the part devoted to Queen Victoria, beloved by so many British. It was fascinating to see different objects, outfits and furniture that actually belonged to her and prince Albert. I will definitely have to go back and watch "Young Victoria" again. Sorry, no pictures as the lighting was quite poor.
We spent two hours at the palace. By the time we got done, it was almost five o’clock and the bus tour was not happening any more. We walked a few blocks to the area with a ton of restaurants (although it seemed that most of them were Middle Eastern/Chinese/Indian). It was a bit tricky to find a place that would accommodate our group of ten people, with so many kids. This small cozy Thai restaurant caught our eye and we were not disappointed. Best Pad Thai since Japan
.
Another remedy from these cold, gray and wet days is travelling. This time we decided to make our trip to London even more fun—we arranged to meet up with the OTHER British Watsons (Robert’s brother and his family) to spend the day together.
The big attraction of the day was our Big Bus Tour. It is a bit expensive, but what we got was an outstanding way to see London from “above”, meaning we did not have to take the Tube (metro) anywhere and could follow a good map to give us a precise picture of where sights are located in the city. We also got a free river cruise and two choices of routes on the bus line—with a live commentator or with an audio guide (you listen with headphones).
Mark is waiting for the bus with his pet for the week named Alvar from Sweden. 
We got on the bus right across the street from London’s King’s Cross train station, went to Covent Garden and met up with Robert’s brother. We will have to return to Covent Garden for sure for a more detailed exploration. It is the area of where many musical shows, such as “Lion King”, are performed. That morning, we just got a glimpse of a street performance (kids seemed to enjoy it a lot) and this world’s biggest Lego advent calendar:
After Covent Garden, we got on the bus all together and headed for London Tower. The weather turned out to be not so horrible after all, so most everyone enjoyed sitting on the top of the bus (although I had to wear my hood…my ears were freezing).
And here it is—the Tower of London.
And this group of funny kids who, I hope, realize how fun of a life they are having walking around London, taking the double-decker bus, and eating fish and chips
As this was our “getting acquainted with London” day, we did not go into the London Tower, we left it for another day. But I have to tell you a couple of interesting facts. The Crown Jewels are stored in the Tower of London’s Jewel House. They have been there for over 700 years and are only taken out when they are needed by kings and queens for special royal events. There are always 35 Beefeaters guarding the Tower. A new Beefeater is only appointed when an existing one retires or dies. And of course, if you are wondering, why are those guardians called Beefeaters? Their actual name i s Yeoman Warders, but people nicknamed them Beefeaters because the guards used to receive part of their pay in meat rations. I hope to get a good picture with one of those Beefeaters next time.
And here is Tower Bridge—one of the most recognizable landmarks in London.
Once near the river, we hopped onto one of the cruise boats that took us to Westminster. 
As you get up from the riverbank at Westminster, you get a spectacular view of the Big Ben Tower. This is what happens when only one or two people do the “silly picture” face:
Michelle, Mercedes and Me.
Big Ben (tower) and I
You also get to take a picture with a statue…if you throw some coins into their tin.
The bus took us pass some magnificent buildings…
Westminster Abbey looks amazing.
It was so fun to view the streets from the bus and listen to the informative commentaries that we did not take enough pictures…
We rode pass Buckingham Palace and, New Scotland Yard and Belgrave Square. It may sound cheesy, but it was almost surreal to be in these places that I have always read about and only imagined what they looked like. Many a time I thought about Sir Conan Doyle’s stories…and the new British TV show “Sherlock”…
We passed Harrods, the biggest department store in London where they sell some of the most expensive toys on the planet, including a $15000 car for kids!
These symbolic phone booths used to be in Britain at every corner, but now, in the world of cell phones and texts, they seem to be growing obsolete. They are slowly disappearing from the streets of London. We do have a few left in our villages up north, but they are not in a nice good shape like these.
Our final stop was Kensington Palace. Kensington Palace is where the royals live today. Basically, the palace is divided into two—the historic state apartment (the ones we go visit) and a separate private wing where members of the royal family have their homes. So right now, this is where William and Kate are going to move after they finish their military assignment in Wales (until two weeks ago I had no clue William is a Royal Air Force rescue pilot…and that he is stationed in Wales). This is also the place where Princess Diana lived. A new exhibition is scheduled to open here this summer, featuring dresses worn by more recent royals including Princess Diana.
In front of the palace is the statue to William III of Orange (Holland). William and his wife Mary were crowned joint monarchs of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1689. Their accession, known as the ‘Glorious Revolution’, marked an important transition towards parliamentary rule as we know it today.
King’s apartments were very ornate. Way more decorated than Queens part of the palace. It reminded me of a grand opera theater, especially the ceiling. When we showed up in one of the rooms of that part of the palace, some people who worked there were showing visitors how to dance some old fashioned dances (I cannot believe that the name escaped my mind what the dance was called!!). After watching a bit, we joined in. It was something fun to do, a bit silly but fun. Mark really got into it and actually remembered when it was his turn to go into the circle-haha.
The last part of the palace we saw was the part devoted to Queen Victoria, beloved by so many British. It was fascinating to see different objects, outfits and furniture that actually belonged to her and prince Albert. I will definitely have to go back and watch "Young Victoria" again. Sorry, no pictures as the lighting was quite poor.
We spent two hours at the palace. By the time we got done, it was almost five o’clock and the bus tour was not happening any more. We walked a few blocks to the area with a ton of restaurants (although it seemed that most of them were Middle Eastern/Chinese/Indian). It was a bit tricky to find a place that would accommodate our group of ten people, with so many kids. This small cozy Thai restaurant caught our eye and we were not disappointed. Best Pad Thai since Japan
.
After a nice dinner, the Other Watsons went back to their hotel and we took the Tube to King’s Cross. You know? The famous King’s Cross? The one from Harry Potter?
Can you believe there was actually a line of people waiting to take a picture with this cart? It reminded me of Disneyland line to take a picture with Mickey Mouse.
And an hour later we were back in Huntingdon, full of wonderful impressions and memories.
There is so much to explore in London! I already have route in mind that we are going to take next time in London. And then there are shows to see…..oh, how can we fit it all in!?
Have a great night. And Happy New Year!!!
Lyana
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