I didn’t have much free time to research sites to see ahead of our trip. Not having had childcare the last 8 weeks has eaten up any free time I had. The one thing I did manage to find ahead of the trip and add to my must-see list was the Treetop Walkway at Kew Gardens.

The walkway is essentially a catwalk in the sky at the level of the tree tops. If this were the jungle, we’d have been up there with the monkeys. Here in London we had a face to face view with the birds and the fruit on these tall trees. There’s an elevator that’s “for use by those with mobility restrictions.” I decided that having a 20 month old strapped to my hip was a mobility restriction and jumped on that elevator without a shred of shame.

Kew is a 500 acre botanical garden and the worlds largest seed conservation project. Initially I thought it was a tree garden because they had so many species of native and non-native trees. It didn’t take long to discover Kew is a full-scale botanical garden with water plants, flowers, pollinators and a playground.

My favorite was the Lily Pad House which featured every type of water plant I’m familiar with plus giant lily pads. The different lily pad species each had unique blooms. There was one lily pad that had recently been removed due to decay and turned upside down on the sidewalk for visitors to appreciate the intricate structure.

After the water plants, we headed to the playground to check out the slides we’d seen on Google Maps. There was a huge sand pit with multiple silver slides, a climbing wall and rock features.

There are multiple atrium/greenhouse type buildings with high humidity housing special plants that grow only in more humid environments like the Caribbean. There’s even a palm tree house that feels like walking onto a resort in the Bahamas.

We stopped for Fish & Chips before jumping on the Underground back to our place. At this point in the trip, we are tired, a bit sore from hunching over pushing strollers around and occasionally a tad cranky. It’s just that point in any trip. Tomorrow is our last day of sightseeing in London as we leave Saturday to head back home. #1BigSister starts first grade Monday. I’m not sure what happened to the summer.

We have a lot left on our list and certainly won’t be able to hit it all tomorrow. We promised the two oldest a ride on an open-top double decker bus, and I can’t see leaving here without getting on some type of boat on the Thames. Amir still wants to try jellied eels, but I’m not sure the rest of us share that same urgency. We’ll see who wins out in the morning. If we have another 6:15am wakeup, we might drag all day and get only one thing accomplished. And no, not even going to think about packing yet. Nope. Nopeity nope.

– Steph