Paris and London Day 1

Obviously I haven't been keeping this blog current, but we recently went on a very exciting trip and this seemed the best way to share our trip details:

Scott and I just had the most amazing trip to London and Paris! We have tons of pictures you can browse and if you are ever going to Paris or London, I’ve written some details of the trip. Otherwise, to sum up the trip it was beautiful and February was a nice time to go. We missed out on flowering gardens, but the crowds were very small and the weather is warmer than Connecticut in February (more like October), so we felt it was worth it (and the plane fares were cheap). We packed a lot into our trip, waking up for early trains and staying out late for dinner (some restaurants in Paris don’t even open until 8 pm). This trip felt like a buffet of culture and Scott and I wanted to gobble up as much as we could.

The kids had a fun week too, staying at friends' houses while were were gone. I had a very detailed spreadsheet and the help of six different families. A big thank you to our wonderful friends for making this trip possible!

Day 1 London:

We had a direct flight from Boston at 9:00 pm to Gatwick airport, London and arrived at 8:00 am the next morning, London time. I tried so hard to sleep on the plane, but maybe got an hour or so of dosing off and on. We went straight to Buckingham Palace and St. James Park. Scott and I travelled with one bag each and this was so great for all of our back and forth and traveling to Paris by train later.

We did a walk-by of Buckingham. We weren't there for the changing of the guard, but we did see guards in their winter uniforms looking just like the witch’s guards from Wizard of Oz. We walked through St. James park, which had some blossoming crocus flowers and gigantic swans swimming in the lake.

  

Next was Westminster Abbey. My favorite part was poet’s corner with plaques for Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, Lewis Carol, Dickens, Handel, and so many others artists I’ve read and love. There was the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I, Mary queen of Scots and the coronation chair. There is also the oldest door in London from 1050 AD.

At this point we still hadn’t eaten, but neither of us minded. We walked down to Big Ben, which was smaller than we imagined and planned on a late lunch until we realized we wouldn’t have time to see the Tower of London (which we already had pre-purchased tickets for. We did not do a London pass because our trip there was broken up, but we bought Westminster and Tower tickets together which saved money.) So we skipped lunch and took the underground to the Tower of London. We went on a tour with a beefeater, saw the crown jewels, the torture chamber and lots of knight’s armor.

Discussing one  difference between London and the States, Scott and I decided that as Americans we over-exaggerate and Londoners under-scale. The crown jewels contain a cut diamond over 530 karats described as “a bit of alright”. On the tube, the advertisements ask you things like, “do you feel a bit pekish?” In America we think everything is "awesome" and we're aren't just hungry, but  “starving”.

The other thing about London is you have to “mind” a lot of stuff. Mind the gap when you get off the train and mind the step (so many itty bitty steps to trip on and even our hotel room had steps from the shower to the sink in our private bath). Before leaving the train we were asked to "mind our bits and gobs," which means “don’t forget your stuff.”

From the Tower we also saw Tower Bridge. Then we hopped back on the train to travel to our hotel near King’s Cross station. We did this because we had an early train to Paris in the morning. Travelling on the underground we purchased Oyster cards, which was very convenient. We ended up spending about 20 pounds each on the Oyster cards (this included the two days we came back after Paris).

Our hotel was tiny and just right for a short stay. We walked down the street for a dinner of fish and chips (our first thing to eat all day). The fish was very fresh, but they serve tartar sauce warm and I really prefer it cold. I also had lemon and raspberry sorbet for desert, which was divine. Scott had apple tarts with salted caramel ice cream. Ices are a big deal in London and Paris. Even in the winter, there were ice cream trucks around the city.

So, in our first day we visited six sights!