The Munce Family: A British Christmas (and New Year) Part 2

Christmas was a low key day. We slept in and stayed in pajamas, it was a much needed slow down including take out, gift exchanges, games, and a movie marathon.

Monday 12/26, Boxing Day, today was a tourist day and it was so fun. We took the hop on hop off bus and enjoyed the blue skies from the top deck. What a gift. We took in Big Ben and meandered around, finally ending up at Battersea Station for pizzas and ice skating. Battersea is the home of some mega modern development and their ice skating experience is called Glide. We had a great time, everyone is more confident and starting to skate on their own, even Piper, although the tumbles break her heart. We had an apres skate warm up at the station after the skate and made our way back for Indian food in our neighborhood. The waiter (Mygee) watched over the kids and encouraged them to eat, it was a real treat to have someone else hassle them. ;)

Today (Tuesday) was one of the most anticipated days of the whole trip...High Tea! The experience is a favorite for our sugar loving family. We loved to explore the hotel with its historic ballroom, and old fashioned type writer in the lobby. After tea, we made our way to Harrods where we looked at the $3,000 Air Jordans, but left with $90 Adidas, balance. Sully's new obsession with sneaks has begun. ;)

Wednesday - my Christmas gift. I asked for a solo morning. I made my way to Chelsea where I drank coffee and wandered in and out of shops slowly. Even the tube ride was enjoyable, listening to music and taking in hustle and bustle of the commuters. Dave and the kids joined me for lunch, but there was a catch. Sully wanted 5 Guys so bad, so we made a deal with him that he had navigate the journey. When we initially came up with the plan, he suggested calling an Uber, but we made him manage without, he created his own Google map and did a great job. I was waiting fort them at the restaurant and everyone was so proud at his success. The reward was, well, you guessed it, 5 Guys. We took in Mary Poppins that evening and everyone really enjoyed it.

Thursday 12/29 - Today was one of my favorite days, we had an open blue sky day and followed our noses. We stayed local and got a great feel for our neighborhood. We started off with snacks at Gail's, a neighborhood coffee shops found all over London, after that we found Clifton Gardens which I had done a bit of research on. It was a garden center literally tucked into a neighborhood. We loved seeing the shrubs and trees, houseplants, and gift shop. Much to our surprise, there was a small green house cafe right in the middle, my mind was blown. We stopped in, the kids had poached eggs and Dave and I had a glass of rose. I want to go back and do it all over again. We followed the canals all the way to Paddington Station before slowly wandering home and enjoying the scenery along the way. We had dinner at the Electric Diner and everyone was happy.

Friday(12/30) brought more wandering, this time to Regent Park for a play session and then to their little restaurant for lunch (french onion soup, sandwiches, etc.), we mastered the slow stroll, taking in the dogs and birds and scenes around us. Sully and I broke away for a quick souvenir stop for Isaac (Manchester United joggers, success!) and back to the flat before going to Matilda. We stopped at Seven Dials for dinner and tried to get to Udderlicious again, but it was a fail because we had the showtime wrong, it started at 7! We promised the kids we would make up to them and returned for ice cream after the show - everyone got big scoops, too big! And finally, home.

Saturday, our final full day, rain again. We opted for a double decker ride to the Tower Bridge, we made our way to the top and front row of the bus, it was dry and entertaining for all. The Tower Bridge view was cloudy, but lovely. We walked across to a Christmas market which turned into snacks, pizza, fries, wine and a sugar loaded drink taste test in a warm dry spot. Side note: Prime drinks were on sale for 25 pounds at the market we walked by, incredible. We finished off the night with Christmas tree star jumps and late night Thai, and finally home for our final night.

Sunday 1/1- Happy New Year! We started early with ALL of our stuff. We schlepped four blocks to the Maida Vale stop one last time. It's incredible how lite the luggage felt on the was to our flat and how heavy it was on our way out. We arrived at Heathrow at 8:30 and literally didn't have a minute to spare. The next thing we knew, we were home!

Thanks to everyone for a great trip, from Dave to Sully, Greta, and Piper, and to family and neighbors/friends at home keeping an eye on things for us. In spite of the standard sibling fights and the annoyance at having to try new foods ;), these trips bring us closer and I'm so thankful for the opportunity. xoxoxox