Long London Weekend

It had been 7 years since we'd visited London as a family and we couldn't wait to visit again with Sarah, James, and the kids. We took the kids out of school and Pete took a personal day so we could make the most of the trip and have time to show the kids some of the city. 

It was lovely to see the kids reunite and bond over Harry Potter personality quizzes. When they headed off to school the next day, we took the tube into the city to see the sights. We thought the kids would be more excited for our cultural tour, not so much. I think they were tired from the school week. We had little treats throughout the day to keep them going. 

Recreating the photo from 7 years ago when we held up baby Maeve snug in her marshmallow puffy coat

Westminster Abbey

St. James's Park

Pick me (the kids) up at the cafe in the park

Buckingham Palace

Lunch at Shake Shack! 

We spent the afternoon in Hyde Park at their Winter Wonderland, which had just opened. We rode a few rides and caught a glimpse of Santa. 

We stopped in Harrod's and the kids were charmed on the toy floor. We got a lot of good present ideas for Santa while there!

Sarah had moved to Chiswick since our last visit, which isn't too far from Richmond, home of Ted Lasso. She humored us and we took the kids on the train to check out the cute village. We had a proper pub lunch at the Princes Head. Jude was unimpressed by the size of the kid burger, but Maeve was quite pleased with her hot cocao. 

The town has embraced their notoriety

A stroll along the Thames

The Terrace Gardens

Cookie decorating

Checking out Chiswick with Sarah- the weekly cheese market is dangerous! 

The kids got ours back into Harry Potter! They've been told they have to read all the books before we come to visit again (and hopefully go to HP World)

We were so excited to see Matilda the Musical after falling in love with the Netflix movie last year. It was really amazing! We walked from Picadilly Circus to take in more of the city (and tourist madness)

Pete had to dash to Heathrow after the show ended to catch his flight home. Monday was an in-service day for the kids, so we stayed on one more day. 

We walked through Covent Garden to dinner after the show, taking in some of the Christmas lights.

Across the river from Chiswick is Kew where my other London friend Sarah lives. I was excited to see her home and the neighboring Kew Gardens. Our visit was brief as she was working from home. The kids and I had fun exploring the gardens before catching a cab to the airport. 

Goodbye, sunny London it was lovely, now back to rainy Amsterdam!