The Munce Family: London continued

Our adventure continues...

On December 28th, we went to High Tea, but first a journey up and down Portobello road in hopes for some gifts for the people we had in mind at home, a few upcoming birthday gifts. Portobello was packed, a Saturday market, person to person traffic, food stands, vendor stands, people speaking a variety of languages. The smells of food, savory and sweet, body odor, cigarettes, marijuana. So many different things going on at any given moment. We were unsuccessful with our gift venture, but did purchase some fresh fruit at a fruit stand which was right next to a pizza stand, so we also grabbed the kids three slices, saving them from meltdowns. We returned to the flat and got fancy for tea.

We went to St Erman’s where we sat in a fancy and quiet room, prim and proper. We had to reiterate the rules to the kids nearly every 40 seconds. Overall, they did well, dining on mini sandwiches and pretty desserts including a DIY gingerbread man and a chocolate gingerbread lollipop. They would ask to repeat High Tea for the next several days, numerous times each day. It was a success, until it was time to leave. Dave went ahead with the kids and I paid the bill. I came out of the room to the kids screaming with delight as they raced around this formal foyer with other diners trying to enjoy the quiet atmosphere. We bolted and headed home.

Sarah came again and Dave and I went for a cheese platter and wine (wine wine) before catching the show ‘& Juliet’ a musical about life after Romeo. It was full of pop music and was cute, we had bagged a dinner reservation in favor of it which I think was the right idea, but we had both liked SIX much more. On the tube ride home there was a young child across from us, she reminded me of Piper, she dozed on her mom’s lap. It made me thankful that our kids were here with us and we could go home to them. The babysitter deal was a home run. We grabbed another glass of wine at a place called Beach Blanket Babylon near our flat, it was an old victorian turned into a restaurant and then returned home. The kids did great, Sarah had success with Sully, bribing him into a better bedtime with Pokemon balls.

December 29th started slow. I had a major headache (hangover?) and was happy to go back to bed as soon as I woke up. I rewoke at 10:30 feeling much better. We headed to Hampstead Heath and Parliament Hill, it was a favorite outing from our last trip and we hoped we would be able to do it again. Much to our luck, the weather was perfect. We made it to the top, took a few photos and then returned via the Marble Arch so we could check out this nearby sculpture. I happened to stumble upon a piece of mail from our flat owner and out of curiosity, googled him. Much to my surprise, he was Nic Fiddian-Green and he was the man who sculpted this 33 ft hoarse head near the Marble Arch, it was incredible. It explains why the flat is called ‘Artist’s Mews.’ This is also where Piper happened to get into some mystery poop. We took a bus home and sat with this lovely Irish woman and her daughter and had a nice conversation. We went to Pizza Express for an easy, low stress dinner and came home so I could launder Piper’s poopy clothes and get the kids to bed early. I stayed up late by myself, like midnight, watching ‘Julie and Julia,’ it was a peaceful evening, just what I needed.

December 30th is my parents’ anniversary - 52 today! Today was our fullest day and I'm glad we only had one full day. The kids did great considering they easily walked more thank 15k steps. We got up early to see the changing of the guards which was sort of a let down as it was so busy and we only had a few glimpses of the men marching and some horses. We walked to Big Ben from there, about a one mile walk which takes us double the usual time between kids and crowds. Big Ben is under scaffolding and will be for a few years while they do some restoration work, but once we were there, we were close to all of the River Thames sites, so we were set. Greta’s main request was the London Eye and the wait was 6 hours (gasp), Dave got tickets and we went out wondering. We had hangry kids and after some drama, found a little Italian spot under the tube. We then went for our THIRD merry go round ride and got the kids cotton candy. Then we took the water bus to the Tower Bridge, sent an anniversary photo to my parents with a 5 and a 2 and then found a bite to eat at Slug and Lettuce, a very family friendly TGIFridayish spot, but it did the trick. By the time we returned, it was our turn to go up in the Ferris Wheel. So, we got into the 45 minute line and waited…Pip lost her second hat of the trip and all in all, the Eye was worth the night ride. Between the Christmas lights and the city lights, it was really magical. We got home at nearly 8pm. Dave and I had take out and made the kids pasta. Greta’s favorite part of pasta is the personal parmesan cheese holders and she is very anxious to bring the tradition home with us.

December 31. Today is New Years Eve and we didn’t have much planned so we made our way to Regent Street to exchange an Apple watch band Dave had purchased for me for Christmas. The kids love the Apple store, its like their safe place. Hahaha. After, we found ourselves in Covent Gardens for lunch and while we waited for our table, Sully, Greta and I finally found G some new shoes. We had pizza in the basement of a pizza joint, very busy and lively and then wandered into a couple of shops, J.Crew and Lulu where we nearly lost Greta. Out of curousity, I wanted to pop into Gucci and there happened to be a store about 7 minutes away from where we were (so about 15 minutes in Munce time). When we arrived on Bond Street, it was candy for the eyes. Wide sidewalks, crystal like Christmas lights with a peacock and crown theme. Every shop had their own facade of lights, we walked into Gucci and Piper was so excited, “dad, look at all of these things with Greta’s name on it!” Stella McCartney was a multicolored delight, Tiffany was classic with wreathes and white lights, Cartier had a big red bow, BVLGARI had a diamond serpentine, it went on and on. We made our way to the tube and got ice cream (for the second time today) before getting on. Piper has started to stand her ground when we are going long distances. When she tires, she just sits anywhere she is, right in the middle of anything, even on escalators or stairways if that feels convenient. The crowds of people act like it not bid deal and walk around her. What can I say, it works overtime as either Dave or I immediately swoop her up. We tried to get on a tube and it was so jam packed, we decided to wait for the next which happened to be worse, but we squeezed on anyway. We came home and grabbed dinner at Prince Edward’s pub near Notting Hill Gate and then went to McDonalds where the kids mauled a 20 pack of chicken nuggets and then to Tesco to get some New Year’s Eve ice cream and treats. We came home and played games, Heads Up and freeze dance, watched a movie, and at tons of treats, and went to be at 11. I fell asleep with Sully in the twin bed so got up to move to my own space at 11:57, just in time to hear the midnight fireworks which were impressive for 12 solid minutes. Then woke up at 4am to Greta throwing up, actually our second late night poker of the trip as Piper had done the same earlier in the week. Too much crap. Happy New Year!

January 1. Dave and I took turns shopping a bit so we could enjoy ourselves rather than be preoccupied by the kids. I Found a British Comic Book for Hudson’s birthday and attempted to get Anna some shoes but couldn’t get ahold of Maggie in the middle of the night Sioux Falls time, so that had to wait. Then we took the kids to The Lion King Musical at the Lyceum Theatre. What an experience. I was overwhelmed with emotions at the opening scene. I mean, is this real life? Sully was captivated, Piper had some wiggles, Greta wanted as much chocolate as possible, but I had her very restricted considering she had been up the night before. The kids were better the second half and Greta even took a 20 minute snooze, although she denies that. They all loved the songs "I just can't wait to be King" and "Hakuna Matatta." They have been singing the lyrics for days. We came right home after, I love that the kids are mastering the tube. As soon as we swipe them in, they run free, like a bunch of caged animals with the world at their fingertips. They look at and attempt to read all of the billboards. Greta likes to sit on her own in trains and busses, next to random people. On the way to the theatre, she sat right among a group of friends in their early 20s, probably still in their NYE clothes and got a lesson in British cuss words and clothing and open containers. She is going to be our wanterlust child, so curious and confident.

We came home to dinner at the Pub down the street, all was well until they brought Piper’s sausage over mashed potatoes when she was hoping for a hot dog, and she melted. Dave had to whisk her out of the restaurant, no shoes, no coat for Dave, he left it all behind, including his phone. Sully and Greta and I finished up and carried it all back with us. Piper was better, we all needed some quiet veg time on the couch, so we did just that.

January 2- our last full day. We surprised the kids with ice skating at The Somerset House. This has been a winning activity, authentic smiles all around. This time the penguins were polar bears and they were only aloud on the training area. We all improved again with time and 30 minutes in to our 45 minutes session, Piper and Great had to go potty. Skates off, down the stairs and in and out as fast as we could. We regrouped in time for a couple more laps and then an unfortunate fall for Piper that really bummed her out. After skating, we went on an adventure for Ashley’s perfume package in Camden Town, too bad I didn’t get the zip code right the first time. On the way there, Sully was scolded by another woman for bugging the pigeons while they at their dinner. It definitely made an impact on him, but I told him not to sweat it, the pigeons are doing just fine. We successfully retrieved the package and made our way back. The bonus being we got to ride the double d bus for 20 stops, one hour, and we got the top front row seat, but missed our stop, ha. We went home where dave and i spent 2 hours cleaning and packing before going to an italian spot for dinner, our second choice as the first one had a 3 hour wait. We went home and hit the sack early in anticipation of today, a full travel day.

A few take aways-
1. We played musical beds every night. Oh my gosh, Im sure I slept in all three of them with different combos. The kids did all stat put one (only one!!) night the whole trip, what a treat that was.
2. We did it! We are adventure seekers and pulled this off- Dave and I are rockstars! (Please excuse this moment where I cheer for myself :)).
3. Bubble babysitting is great and was definitely worth it.
4. Our kids are so adaptable, but are also ticking time bombs.
5. Put your credit card back in your wallet every time, even if it is slightly inconvenient to take out and put away numerous time.
6. Location trumps everything. It was so nice to be connected to central London.
7. Tube and Bus travel only- except for airport transfers. Public transportation is so easy, and free for the kids!
8. Having a husband who loves to travel is definitely one of the best things about my life. What an amazing opportunity and thing to experience together. Oh, and his patience and willingness to be an involved and helpful partner makes it all possible. xoxoxoxo
9.We need to keep traveling with the kids, planting the adventure seed will pay off. Spain 2022?!