The end of the trip is always the worst… Nevermind the physical exhaustion of an on-the-go two week “vacation” with kids… for me it’s the emotional closure that’s most difficult. You plan a vacation months in advance. The anticipation builds – you do the things – make the memories. It’s typically even better than imagined. That was the case this trip for sure. But vacations are escapism, and the end of the vacation means a return to reality, to the every day, to the grind.
Sometimes I’m good at seeing the beauty in the tedious, messy side of parenting, but just like anyone else, I’m often overwhelmed by it and oscillate between wishing it away and savoring it. Lately it’s been much of the former rather than the latter. Three is hard. Three is exhausting. It’s rowdy and non-stop and silly and physically demanding.
I’m not so far away from our infertility struggles to realize what I am saying. I’m sure the old me would want to slap now me right in the face hearing me say some of these “ungrateful” things… but the reality is you can be grateful and exhausted in tandem. Joy and frustration often arrive simultaneously. Giving everything of yourself to your kids and then being angry at them (and yourself) that you neglected to spare even a morsel for yourself. I guess this multilayered dichotomy is the essence of parenting. Eventually all those conflicting emotions swirl together with the march of days to weeks, and form a fog that makes it hard to see the future.
Right now all I can do is look around at my family, these successes, and realize that no matter what happens, I have everything I need.
– Steph
ETA: arrived to the parking lot at Dulles to find our right rear tie with a pressure of only 19. We topped it off at a Shell station but hopefully won’t end up doing an ETA2 from the side of I-95.
Today the fatigue was apparent on everyone. We awoke to the typical London drizzle which didn’t help our motivational issues at all. It was after noon before we left the house and set off for the Natural History Museum.
Blue whale in the foyer of the Natural History Museum
We took the bus to the museum because it was much faster than taking the tube. Apparently they have a rule where each adult must purchase their own ticket, so when Amir tried to pay for three adults together, that threw everyone for a tizzy. Frustrated, the bus driver just charged us for one adult tickets and motioned us to get on board, more concerned about getting off schedule than coming up short on fares.
The museum was incredible. We only made it through five or six exhibits before the troops got hangry, but everything we saw was eye-opening.
We ate lunch at a family-friendly Italian joint called Bella Italia. It was refreshing to see an affordable kids menu with selections guaranteed to please our crowd. we wrapped up our late lunch and headed back to the house to pack up for our flight home tomorrow.
For dinner however, Amir and I were able to escape for an evening sans kids thanks to Liza. We’d passed a small place called The Sea, The Sea, multiple times this trip as it was along to path we took every day to reach the Sloane Square tube station.
Think elite fresh fish meets tapas… or maybe European sushi… I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. There are roughly 15 small plates to choose from, a healthy drink menu and just one option for dessert – peach, cream and chili – which was the perfect end to the meal. We also tried white port for the first time. As much as I love fish and chips, it was nice to experience something new that was on the lighter side.
Our flight leaves tomorrow at 3pm from Gatwick, and we have to check out of our AirBnB by 10. We’re pretty well packed up, even considering our many purchases this trip (4 new Christmas ornaments were necessary)! Heading into tomorrow, I’m even more excited about that direct flight to Dulles than I was on the way here. My plan for success is a good nights sleep tonight and hope for lots of travel luck tomorrow.
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.
Bottom of the giant lily pad
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.
#1LittleSister borrows some sand toys
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.
Waterfall in the atrium
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.
I’m not sure how I sold Amir on today’s itinerary because it involves a lot of “girlie” stuff. Fortunately he’s a pretty cosmopolitan guy and also willing to humor me (thanks babe!).
Me and #1LittleSister on her first carousel ride
We had reservations for high tea at Kensington Palace at 12:30, so we left the house a bit early knowing we wanted to spend time in the gardens at Kensington. We knew about the lovely Princess Diana Memorial playground, but we didn’t know we could also expect a carousel and a Disney car ride.
We snagged the LEGO JEEP and Mickey Firetruck
The carousel spun surprisingly fast with a noticiable centripetal force. By the time I thought better of letting #1LittleSister ride on her own, we were already spinning. Fortunately I could reach out from my horse and steady her leg. We all survived – she loved it.
We knew a few of us were too young to appreciate tea and couture, so we made a plan for Amir and I to attend tea with #1BigSister while Liza picnicked in the gardens with the other two. Later on, Amir and Liza swapped places, and Liza and I took #1BigSister into tour Kensington Palace and see the couture exhibit.
Sweet treats, scones with clotted cream and jam, finger sandwiches
The menu included options for a grown-up tower or a children’s tower. In theory each tower serves one person, but in reality Amir and I split one which was plenty.
Tier 1: Dark chocolate peanut butter button truffle, white chocolate and orange graham crumble, raspberry poofTier 2: Orange zest scones with strawberry jam and clotted creamTier 3: Cucumber, Egg Salad, Coronation Chicken and Lox Finger Sandwiches
We ordered Earl Grey Black tea, and she ordered Red Velvet fruit tea. When the “children’s tower” arrived, I admit I was a bit jealous. Anything served with candy floss (AKA cotton candy) is super fun and unique.
Tier 1: Blueberry frosted cupcake with rainbow sprinkles, chocolate chip cookie bar, Tier 2: orange zest scone in a bed of candy floss, Tier 3: puzzle piece finger sandwiches
We topped the meal off with two glasses of Prosecco and called it a wrap. We needed to get back to Liza to make the swap ahead of the Palace tour. On our way back, we peeked into the Diana reflecting pool. There’s a statue of Diana commissioned in 2021 by her sons, and placed here as Diana spent hours walking these paths and chatting with the gardners.
Statue of Diana overlooking the reflecting pool
When we walked back to meet Liza, she and the kids were enjoying the pirate ship inside the Princess Diana Memorial playground. The area may be one of the largest play areas I’ve ever seen. Made entirely of wood and not plastic, it’s a beautiful compliment to the natural surroundings.
Crown to Couture at Kensington Palace
We had thought we’d signed up for a Downton Abbey type tour of Kensington Palace, but we were delighted to find a special exhibition entitled “Crown to Couture,” featuring gowns from the Victorian age juxtaposed with avant-garde Met Gala gowns from the last five years.
In addition to the couture exhibit, we were also able to see parts of the palace. Of particular interest were Queen Victoria’s bassinet and childhood toys. They also have a room with all of her jewels encased for viewing.
Swinging diamond tiara
I’m not sure Amir would have appreciated this exhibit as much as we did, but I know he enjoyed his time in the park with the kids. Leaving Kensington Palace we stopped by a food stand where I grabbed a PIMMs cup for me and a bucket of strawberries and cream for the kids. When we arrived to the gardens, Amir had everyone in the grass, shoes off, eating snacks and playing fetch with a King Charles Spaniel from the next blanket over.
Barbie area at Harrods
We walked from Kensington Gardens to Harrods with the intention of looking at the toys but barely made it into the building when we found ourselves immersed in chocolate and whipping out the ApplePay.
Photo credit: Amir
After buying chocolate figs, chocolate bark and various truffles, we extricated ourselves from the sweets only to land in the to-go food area, ordering four Thai dishes and three kinds of fresh pasta with sauces. Clearly we’d made the mistake of going to the store hungry.
The dish ware from tea at Kensington is available for purchase
Exhausted after battling the infinite requests for toys from the 4th floor of Harrods, Amir read my mind and snagged a black cab for the ride home rather than taking the tube. Part of me thinks he just wanted to rush home and eat the amazing food we bought, but either way, I was on board with both tired and hungry.
Tomorrow Liza is taking the day off, so we think we’ll head out to Kew Garden in the west. There’s space for the kids to run around and some shade for us adults. We’ll see how we feel when we wake up.
I didn’t have any energy to write last night – not for any particular reason as our day wasn’t grueling… I just wanted to go to bed.
View from the pedestrian bridge
Yesterday we booked tickets for the London Eye. That’s one thing Amir and I didn’t do last time we were here that we knew the kids would love as well. You can buy the tickets online ahead of time. There’s an option for fast track or standard tickets. We opted for standard, and I’m glad because fast track was 60% more and only saved maybe 5 minutes. Do book ahead though because tickets can sell out.
Palace of Westminster from the London Eye
Just before our Eye time, we killed a few minutes at a nice wooden playground just adjacent to the Eye loading area. It was busy but had a variety of play structures for kids of all ages and gates to keep them all in.
Peekaboo in the playground
The London Eye was worth the money. We were able to get a new perspective and great photos of some of the cities most meaningful landmarks. You can also purchase a private pod with a champagne toast if you are feeling extra fancy or maybe planning a proposal or something equivalent.
Clearly not afraid of heights
After the Eye, we finally stopped by the gates of Buckingham Palace. The flag on top was raised, signaling that Kind Charles was home at the time.
After Buckingham Palace, we stopped by the grocery store to pick up some essentials. We’d eaten a late lunch and just planned on cheese, charcuterie and fruit for a light dinner. We thought we were buying fruit for the rest of the week, but 7 minutes after the groceries hit the countertop, all of the strawberries, blueberries and raspberries were demolished. No one tells you that the expensive part of raising kids isn’t college, but FRUIT.
Memorial to the Great London Fire
We started off today taking the tube to Monument Station. It dropped us off right behind the memorial to the fire of London that happened in 1666. The fire spanned three days and destroyed roughly 2/3 of the city. The memorial tower has only a spiral staircase within, but Amir and our two oldest still managed the climb all the way to the top.
Beefeater telling us the history of Tower of London
We had 11:30 reservations for the Tower of London. This is where the Crown Jewels are kept as well as the history of the armory (armor, horses, weapons, you name it). The towers housed prisoners, sometimes for years, and the walls still bear the etchings and desperate words from those same men.
The White Tower
We split up a bit for this journey as Amir and I both came here in 2014, but the kids and Liza had never seen any of it. After Tower of London, our logical next stop was Tower Bridge.
At Tower Bridge, you can actually buy tickets to go inside the bridge and up to the walkway above the pedestrian and traffic span. Your ticket also gets you entrance into the engine rooms to see the motors behind the lifting mechanism for the bridge.
From Tower Bridge we headed in to Borough Market. we were hungry after all that walking. The market was much more crowded that when we went in 2014 – clearly word has gotten out.
Tonight we met up with my cousin Ryan for drinks at Sky Garden, the rooftop bar in the Walkie Talkie building. We were lucky to score a reservation just 48 hours in advance.
Our reservation was for 7:15, which turned out to be the perfect time. We were able to take in the views of all of London both during the daylight as well as sunset and evening.
Photo credit: Ryan McCool
The place was an interesting mix of clientele. 1/3 aspiring Instagram and TikTok influencers trying to capture amazing shots, 1/3 tourists in backpacks, and 1/3 people like us.
Amir, Stephanie and Ryan
We enjoyed a few extra drinks gratis thanks to an ordering snafu by our waiter. I’m proud of myself for committing to writing tonight after this outing, but I felt I had to since I skipped last night already.
Tomorrow we have tickets for high tea at Kensington Palace as well as a palace tour in the afternoon. We doubt we’ll have much energy after that, so we’re already planning for Indian takeout for dinner tomorrow night. And with that… zzzzzZZZ.
TeamLouka 