On Saturday evening, the 4 of us boarded a Virgin Atlantic plane and were wowed by their wonderful hospitality. Earplugs, eye mask, blanket, pillow, toothbrush & toothpaste, pen, and the longest, brightest red socks I've ever seen. We were served complimentary drinks (even spiked ones), as well as dinner and breakfast. A far cry from the airline we flew the day before, where soft drinks were $3, and I have no idea if they'd actually give you the whole can. The girls were delighted that they got their own TVs and had a huge selection of shows and movies to enjoy. I'm sure they'll be even more excited on the way home, since they'll be awake for that whole flight. I think we all slept for a couple hours on the plane.
Our first day in London began with an accidental tour of the Paddington area, as we searched for our hotel. After being turned in the right direction, we arrived WAY too early to check in, but hey, a girl can hope, right? We left our bags at the hotel and went off to explore nearby Hyde Park. There was a playground right at the entrance, so the girls had fun there. We checked out the beautiful fountains of Kensington Gardens, and found a place for brunch. After Scarlett nearly fell asleep in her fried egg on toast (not a big fan of the yolk, as it turns out), we were able to get into our hotel room to nap a bit. God is good. :)
Jet lag hit us around midnight, when we all woke up for an hour or more. I felt like we should've had a jet lag party or something, but I found myself without any refreshments. Where are tea and crumpets when you need them?
Monday was a gorgeous day, the perfect day for a double-decker bus tour of London. We saw many of the famous sights - Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus (which to Scarlett's dismay, has no acrobats or elephants), Big Ben, the Globe Theater, the London Eye, and Buckingham Palace. Monday evening, Erik and I went to see Rock of Ages, which was a fabulously fun show in a theater completely devoid of air conditioning. It was probably 70 degrees outside but at least 85 in the theater, which made it a little less pleasant. But they still rocked. It's been a very 80's summer, entertainment-wise. Rad, man.
Today we spent a little time at the National Gallery, viewing a lot of classic masterpieces, which apparently featured far too many naked people for our daughters' tastes. How does one explain why so many important pieces of art feature nude people? I told Sierra, "It's because the artist thought they were beautiful," to which she responded, "Well, they were wrong."
Finally, we spent a little while at the British Museum, which could fill 3 days on its own, but mega-crowds, overheated spaces, and tired children kept our trip short. We traveled through ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and a number of other ancient things, in roughly 30 minutes. 30 minutes was also roughly the amount of time we then spent waiting to use "the loo." We did get to see the Rosetta Stone and some Egyptian mummies in our time there, so we were pleased. Try explaining mummification to a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old. "They took dead bodies and wrapped them up so they could keep them? That's disgusting." Probably. But they're older than Jesus, so that counted for something.
It's been a good few days. I hope to keep you updated on our travels again soon.
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