Since we have so many pictures, I’ve decided to break our vacation blog into a series of blogs. Otherwise I will be waiting forever and a day for this thing to publish and you all wouldn’t see a vacation blog for weeks! So… welcome to part 1 of our vacation!
Here’s Kaitlyn and Kevin watching the planes at Logan…
Day 1
We got to London early the next afternoon. I think we did a good job of picking a few highlights to visit during our short stay that combined things I had done before and new things for me. Obviously everything was new for Kaitlyn and Kevin.
So, after dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed off to our first stop, Westminster Cathedral.
Then it was off to Westminster Abbey. Here’s Kaitlyn in the Cloister.
We had an amazing dinner at Porter’s to celebrate our arrival.
Kaitlyn had the kid’s Shepard's pie and chips.
Kevin had the steak and cheddar pie with a puff pastry on top.
I had the Shepard’s pie and spicy lentils.
For dessert, Kevin had the dark chocolate pudding.
I had a blackberry, apple, and hazelnut crumble.
Kaitlyn had a slice of chocolate cake.
I think she liked it!
Next it was off to M&M World. Kaitlyn was most excited to come here. I wonder whose great-niece she is?
Kaitlyn wanted to take pictures everywhere!
On the way back to our hotel, we stopped in a little store to buy drinks. To our surprise we found Maine Root Soda. It’s an all natural soda that is produced and bottled in Portland. We’d gone to several different stores in Portland looking for their seasonal Pumpkin Pie soda with no luck. Where do we find it? That’s right! We had to come all the way to London to find our local brew
Day 2
The next morning we took a tour of the State Rooms in Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately photos were not allowed. They did have a special audio tour for kids that Kaitlyn loved and really paid attention to. When she got to the Throne Room she pointed out the “Queen’s Chair” to us!
In the afternoon, it was off to the Tower of London!
Here’s Kaitlyn testing her arm strength on the mock “bow”.
After the Tower, we walked a few blocks over to St. Olave’s Church. Kevin has been researching his family on Ancestry.com and discovered that one of his ancestors was baptized here in the 1500s!
Since Aunt Bev got the M&M World photos, this one’s for Aunt Pam… Kaitlyn loved her currywurst!
Day 3
We got to Buckingham Palace an hour and a half before the changing of the guard was supposed to start and we were still in the second row of people. Luckily we picked a spot right next to a very nice lady who stepped back and bunched her kids in closer so Kaitlyn could be right up against the fence.
I do not remember the band playing popular songs during the ceremony, but they did this time. I had to laugh when they started playing a song from one of the James Bond movies.
Next we headed over to the Royal Mews. Once again Kaitlyn loved listening to the kid’s audio guide, but her favorite part was seeing the horses and coloring in the discovery room.
The typical tourist photos en route to the Churchill War Rooms…
Kaitlyn listening to her audio guide at the Churchill War Rooms.
Then it was off to walk by Parliament, hear Big Ben, and ride the London Eye…
For our final dinner in London, we went to a pub just down the street from our hotel for fish and chips.
Kaitlyn really like the music, so she started dancing after dinner.
Day 4
The next morning, we checked out of the hotel and hopped on a train to Dover…
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