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.

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.

– Steph