The Munce Family: Dough balls, Sydenham Hill, City Centre, Horniman Museum, The Polka Theatre, and more.

The adventure begins!

After so much planning and trip prep, we are here! We arrived in London on Saturday after an overnight flight which actually went better than I had anticipated. Greta and Sully slept for most of the flight while Piper only slept a few hours, but was very manageable the whole time (except for a 2am scream session - ugh). We had a car waiting for us at the airport which was really nice as we were able to skip the Underground and train drama. We all slept in intervals and poor Sully got carsick. The driver was less than impressed. After we got settled and cleaned up, we walked to a favorite spot of Dave and Matt's for dinner and turned in early.

Sunday was spent at the Herne Hill Farmer's Market for perusing and lunch followed by an amazing stop at Brockwell Park. It was fun to see the kids play alongside the local children, listening to the different accents was so charming. It was a great introduction to the train and an easy first day. We returned in time to grill burgers that evening.

Monday was spent at the Horniman Museum with an amazing view of downtown London. What a treat that was. We had lunch at a take away counter and sat at picnic tables near an open space for the kids to keep themselves occupied by chasing pigeons. I can still hear their giggles and screams of delight. Dave and I took the train to Brixton to a British Pub for beers and burgers. It was so nice to get away and have some adult time.

We ventured in to London on Tuesday. Its about a 30 minute commute from here. We navigated quite well, major thanks to Matt and Cassandra for the extra sets of hands and eyes. We saw Big Ben and did the London Eye before finding ourselves on the Jubilee walk being entertained by street entertainers, the merry-go-round, and cotton candy. It turned into a really great day. Matt and Cassandra stayed in London while Dave and I made our way back. Its been great to give each other breaks.

Hyde Park was on the agenda for Wednesday. We arrived in time for lunch at the Serpentine Cafe and then a walk through the park. Cassandra and I broke away to a small shopping area for a bit while Dave and Matt managed the kids. We hit up Hamley's flagship store on our way home which was overwhelming for all, as you can imagine. After we returned home, Dave and I went for dinner at The Paxton, a restaurant about a 15 minute walk from our 'Holiday House' followed by (too many) glasses of wine on our patio with Matt and Cassandra.

On Thursday we went to a darling children's theatre called the Polka Theatre where we watched a play set to many different instruments called 'Hatch.' The kids all sat really well and we all really enjoyed the afternoon out. Matt and Cassandra had another date night while Dave got Pizza Express to go and hung with the kids. It was a much needed quiet evening after several full days.

We went into London again today (Friday) for a duck boat tour which was really fun, but the kids were busy, especially when we were stuck in traffic. After the tour, we went to a street festival for lunch and then came back early, just in time to miss a pretty decent rain. Dave and I had a date night in London, we strolled the streets and saw '42nd Street.' We were giving a standing ovation and the man next to me was in a single seat and commented to me about the talent. I agreed with him and he said one of the main characters was his daughter. It was so awesome, he was so proud.

My current takeaways- I had been so anxious about this trip, but it turns out the kids are so adaptable. We had a couple of nights of hard sleep and tired times during the day, but they have done really great. It is so cool to expose them to so many things. Dave and I are under no false illusions, Piper certainly won't remember this trip, but she will still see photos and hear of us talking about our memories. Dave is mostly on cloud 9 as he has literally been hoping for a holiday like this for years. We are excited about our future travels with the kids- the world is our oyster (card ;)).

Enjoy a photo overload below.