London Calling
June 16, 2024
Okay, London wasn’t so much calling as it was a forced layover on our way from our home in San Francisco to Greece to get the cheapest flight. We allowed ourselves one full day and two half days to explore London with our kids. And we truly lucked out with the weather. Leading up to our arrival date it was forecast to be rainy and gray, but we ended up with blue skies the entire time. London gets a bad rap for being rainy all the time because, well, because it rains….A LOT! But the city does not get enough credit for how amazing it is when the weather is pleasant.
We set up base at the Royal Eagle Hotel near Paddington Station, a convenient spot for our adventures. Our culinary explorations were a delightful mix of spicy Indian cuisine, at the nearby Flavors of India, and hearty British pub fare, notably at The Parcel Yard at Kings Cross station, giving us a taste of London's diverse food scene.
The highlight of our trip was a self-guided walking tour that took us through many of London's most famous landmarks. We started in the lush expanse of Hyde Park, where the kids enjoyed the open spaces and greenery. From there, we made our way to the majestic Wellington Arch, a testament to Britain's military history.
Buckingham Palace was next on our list, and the kids were thrilled to see the iconic residence of the British monarchy. Okay, that’s a lie. They couldn’t have cared less. I was like “hey girls, princesses and queens!” Nothing. We then headed to the Elizabeth Tower, better known as Big Ben, which is actually the name of the bell inside the tower, and the impressive Parliament building. The grandeur of these structures is awe inspiring.
Crossing the Thames, we arrived at the London Eye. The ride up provided breathtaking views of the city skyline, much to everyone's delight.
Our adventure continued with a boat ride on the Thames, where we learned some fascinating tidbits from our guide. The most surprising revelation? The bridge commonly referred to as "London Bridge" (you know, the one from the nursery rhyme) is actually the Tower Bridge! The real London Bridge is a rather unremarkable structure nearby - a fact that amused and confused our little ones in equal measure. Fun Fact: the real London Bridge did used to fall down quite a bit, hence the song.
On our last morning in London, I took a long run through Hyde Park and then on my way back to the hotel, I veered off to stop by the Notting Hill area seeing that I was not too far away. I am a sucker for a good romantic comedy and few do them better than Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. When I got there I was tickled to see those private, gated gardens that Hugh and Julia’s characters hop into in the film. And the most amazing coincidence happened at the exact moment that I was standing at one of those garden gates. I was listening to Pandora and the song “When You Say Nothing at All” by Ronan Keating started playing, you know the one from the movie that plays at that exact moment!? At that point I was a bit gassed and needed to husstle back in time to check out so I rented one of those pay-as-you-go eBikes for the ride home. Those things are super powerful!!
No trip is complete without good company, and we were fortunate to meet up with our friends Ciaran and Kana at a charming British pub in Charing Cross station. It was the perfect way to round off our London adventure, sharing stories and laughter over traditional pub grub.
As far as layovers go, this one was pretty top notch. While I had been to London numerous times – in fact, I used to take business trips there several times per year in the early aughts – I never really saw the city as a tourist. And while that is the opposite of the goal of this World Schooling adventure, we thought it was okay to give the kids a little summer vacation considering we’d be starting summer home school for them in less than a week’s time.
For more pics of London click here to visit the London Photo Gallery
