Back in Britain

It was risky flying solo with the four boys, but they did surprisingly great. We left Seattle around 11 am and flew direct to arrive the next morning at 9 am. The boys didn’t sleep a wink again so they were all messed up. We attempted to take a little nap once we reached the apartment. I thought surely one of us would wake up in three hours time, but no. We all slept nine hours and woke at 5 pm, right in time for Lynn to come home and crash from his jet lag from Asia. We felt like walking zombies, taking nearly all week to get back on the time zone here, but eventually we got caught up.

How strange it felt to be back. Familiar yet foreign. My focus was getting the kids’ schoolwork back to normal. It’s been so sporadic fitting it in when we can. We still need our daily outings and made it to a few playgrounds and museums throughout the week.

Princess Diana Memorial Playground

The weather was surprisingly wonderful for this time of year so we ventured out to the parks daily to burn off the boys’ energy. They love Hyde Park and the Princess Diana playground.

My eye caught a familiar face, even though she didn’t have any makeup on-and sure enough we saw Adele and her little boy playing right next to us. It was clear she didn’t want to be bothered. Her body guard shooed away a curious man so we didn’t try. But Tyler snuck a picture. She was really sweet sitting right in the sand with her little boy.

Holland Park Adventure Playground

Our other favorite park is Holland Park because they have a unique playground for all ages. No celebrity sightings here, but it was packed with plenty of people wanting to enjoy the outdoors.

Tyler was excited to be back with his buddy here. They discovered a ladder outside our front door in the ceiling that takes them up to the building’s rooftop. They felt like James Bond, climbing across the building tops. He and Cade had some friends over to play guitars up there one night under the stars and looking out at the city lights.

British Library

On Saturday, we decided to check out the British Library. I was hoping we could get library cards and check out some books for the kids. Little did we know, it was more like a museum. I don’t even think they have children’s books here. And the process to get a card is much more intense, I don’t think we’ll bother. Hopefully we can find a more usable library, however this one was interesting to see. They liked checking out the rare stamp collection, old books, and vintage printing presses.

Along the way we were impressed with the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Wow! I’m astounded how many times we’re surprised by such architecture, many times in the least expected places.

Cutty Sark Tea Clipper

We finished off our first week with a field trip to Greenwich. What a beautiful area! We will definitely go back since we couldn’t fit everything in we wanted to. First up was a tour of the world’s only surviving tea clipper, the Cutty Sark. The boys were anxious to tour the ship and learn its history. It was originally built in 1869 to transport tea to China and there were many exhibits showing exactly what it would have been like, including a seat that swayed like sea motion. It was the fastest sailing clipper in its time, transporting all sorts of cargo, including wool to Australia. She eventually was retired to the faster steamships that were more reliable. The boys liked seeing what the crew ate and pretending to be captain for a day.

The ship has been preserved and restored as a museum ship for visitors now. Suspended 3 meters above the ground, you can see the entire hull of the ship and view the world’s largest collection of ships’ figureheads in the gallery below.

National Maritime Museum

Next up was a tour of the National Maritime Museum which happens to be the world’s largest. We explored the vast collections of British history at sea.

The little boys pretended to be explorers on the high seas in all the different boats. Through the icebergs and the battles, they imagined grand voyages afloat.

The older boys learned all about Admiral Lord Nelson and the Battle at Trafalgar viewing many of his personal items that brought to life what happened so long ago. Of course Tyler loved learning about all the warships and seeing the battle displays.

The museums here are so incredible and geared towards hands on learning for kids. We love them. It’s been a wonderful way to enrich their learning and education this year beyond what they could have learned in a classroom.