By Patrick
Today we leave London after 2 1/2 weeks for Ireland. I meant to post more frequently during this time in England but found that I had very little energy left at the end of each day. What energy I did have, I tended spend along with my sterling at the many delectable pubs for a wee bit of Guinness.
As an aside, I must say that the notion of stopping at a pub on one's way home from work seems the height of civilized urban life. I even had the great pleasure to meet some of my long lost friends from boarding school on a few of those pub outings. I think everybody had such a wonderful time catching up that I am sure we will find ourselves meeting again on occasion for as long as we are able.
Why was I so spent each day? Because the kids and I must have walked 5-10 miles each day and hit 80% of the endless museums, attractions, and neighborhoods in central London. Each day, we would typically grab breakfast (and coffee for daddy), take the Tube to some area, go to a museum, eat lunch, take the Tube to a park or playground, eat dinner, and repeat. Because London is so spread out, there was a *ton* of walking in between each of those steps.
The kids did great. They can walk so much further than when we started (good training for Paris) and are pretty adept at understanding how metros work.
Museums, Parks and Attractions that we went to:
1. The Science Museum
2. Museum of Natural History
3. Victoria and Albert Museum
4. Imperial War Museum
5. Churchill's War Cabinet Rooms
6. The Foundling Museum (for orphaned kids during the Victoria era)
7. Museum of Childhood
8. Battle of Britain Museum
9. Parliament (and saw the House of Commons sitting)
10. London Eye
11. Hyde Park
12. Green Park
13. Regent's Park
14. Hampstead Heath
15. Primrose Hill
16. Battersea Park
17. St. James Park
18. Buckingham Palace
19. Windor Castle
20. National Maritime Museum in Greenwich
...a many others that I am forgetting
We had a nanny from Argentina named Irina meet us every day from 2pm to 5pm to help out. The kids loved her (and she them). I hope that we see her again and wish her great luck in her photography career.
Cheerio, London. We had a wonderful time!
