We left Monday and returned Thursday but our trip was only eight full days because of the length of the traveling days (and losing time on the way there). That felt short to me when we bought the tickets but it ended up being an acceptable amount of time. Each day was long and we were zonked by the end of the week. I did feel sad on Wednesday and wished we had a bit more time to be in a city we all enjoyed, but I was also really tired and ready to rest a bit at home. London is also really expensive, especially for four people.
We had planned to take a commuter boat to Greenwich on Wednesday, but earlier in the week we’d seen a Terrible Thames Tour boat on the river, run by the creators of our daughter’s favorite set of series, Horrible Histories (she also loves the Murderous Maths series, Horrible Science series and more from them). We realized we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to experience a tour by these people, so we changed our plans and bought tickets for the Terrible Thames Tour.
The tour was great. Very funny and a thoroughly enretraining 45 minutes for both kids and adults. It was a short trip up and down the river but we saw lots of landmarks and learned about them too!
After the tour we went to the Museum of London, which is actually really cool. It spans prehistoric times to the present, with a big emphasis on the Roman era. The kids really enjoyed it, and they had, by far, the best touristy London stuff at the gift shop (for a reasonable price).
We headed home early for a session of Dungeons and Dragons with my sister and her partner at our AirBnB. We also packed so we could get out of the house by 11am without rushing.
I hope to post some final thoughts on the trip, including the pluses and minuses of traveling with grandparents on a big family trip. I know these posts have just been itinerary and pictures and I apologize for that; it was all I could manage at the time. Now I have a couple days before we leave for the KOA so I hope to publish more.
I’ve been enjoying the recaps and photos! Thank for sharing!
THANK YOU FOR TAKING US ALONG AND THE WONDERFUL PICTURES!!! What a lovely gift to us and memory reminder for your family.
KOA is next…. FUN. I have not done KOA and am looking forward to what you can share. When do your family’s schools open? Do you or the kids go back first or is it, wonder of wonders, coordinated for once. (fingers crossed but not much hope.)