Wrapping up London

Tuesday we’d planned to go to the Greenwich Observatory Museum to straddle the Prime Meridian, since we’d straddled the Equator in Ecuador, but we could tell that everyone was just needing a quieter day.  We crossed the street of our apartment building and headed to Queen Elizabeth’s Olympic Area.  With the summer Olympics just around the corner, it was interesting to see where the last ones had been held and all that goes into hosting these amazing games.  The pool area was amazing and the boys were in awe at the diving platforms and the fact that the floor of the pool could be adjusted to change the depth of the pool.  We crossed the park to the Veldrome and bike area which is unique in that it is the only bike park to have four types of biking available (BMX, velo, mountain and road). 

At the 2012 Summer Olympic Pool

Our youngest was in need of a nap and Dad’s feet were aching after two ten plus mile walking days, so some of us headed back to the apartment to rest, while Mom and the middle boys remained at the Olympic Park to do some events with a program that was going on that day.  Not only was this area the site of the 2012 Summer Olympics, but also the location of the 2015 Paralympic Games.  We did a make-shift curling course and learned some judo moves, but the highlight was playing Paralympic basketball.  The boys enjoyed racing around in the wheelchairs and were surprised at how quickly they could spin them around, but they also learned how challenging it is to have to stay seated in them and not be able to run after a stray ball.  Honestly, this ended up being a highlight of their time in London as it gave them a broader perspective on life and they asked if we could recreate it at home so others could experience it!

Practicing Paralympic Basketball - a great experience!

Learning judo moves together

Tuesday evening we headed to Piccadilly Circus where we had pre-theater dinner reservations to celebrate Mom’s birthday.  We had an amazing Italian tapas-type of meal that just kept coming.  The grand finale of the evening was tickets to Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theater.  Mom had hoped to be celebrating her birthday in Italy, but when that didn’t work out due to the rental dates of the villa we stayed in, she immediately requested Phantom tickets.  We’d originally kept it a surprise from the kids and would hum the theme song and do goofy things trying to get them to guess, which they finally did at one point in Florence.  While we were in the villa we’d watched the movie in order to provide some background to the play.  Mom had seen this musical in middle school and loved the songs, unfortunately some of the story had gone over her head, and watching the movie had us a bit concerned about how certain aspects might be portrayed, while of course it gave us many interesting topics to discuss.  We were all grateful to have the background to the story, our seats were amazing, the singing and actors wonderful, and everything about the show was highly enjoyed by all.  During intermission, a family came up to us and asked us if we were enjoying it better than the catacombs in Rome – they’d been on a tour with us several weeks before and remembered us – too funny!  And it turned out the father was the CIO of a money management firm in Australia and was taking a 6 week leave to travel with his family.  It is amazing how much more outside the USA people recognize the importance of travel and family time with most work places not just accommodating but actually encouraging. All in all it was a wonderful birthday celebration and memorable experience as now we all are humming the tunes and SJ downloaded the music to her iPad.

Dressed up for the theater in Piccadilly Circus

Outside Her Majesty's Theater pre-show

Inside the theater during intermission, right after the chandelier fell

Wednesday we started our day with tickets to the London Dungeon.  This unfortunately, was one of the worst things we’ve done on our entire trip.  It was warm, muggy, dark, over-crowded, a bit too scary and inappropriate at times, and an hour experience that once started, we couldn’t get out of.  No one enjoyed it and we all just wanted out.  Afterwards we tried to improve our attitudes by having fish and chips, which excited some while making others nauseous.  We followed this up with a ride on the London Eye, rising up with great views over the city.  Then the boys finally had their time to visit the London Film Museum, which hosts cars and memorabilia from James Bond films, they were all giddy over the vehicles and running from one car and movie clip to the next, with our oldest (who’s made it his mission to watch all of these movies on our travels) explained them to everyone.  Afterwards we headed to the London Bridge and Subway so the kids could grab a bite to eat as they were headed home for the evening.  Once they were settled in the apartment, Mom and Dad had a great last date night celebration and early-18^th Anniversary celebration meal. 

G overlooking London while riding in The London Eye

Check out the group of good looking next Bond characters!

The London Bridge in the background

We all really enjoyed London (except for the Dungeons) and agree that there was still so much we wanted to see and experience that we didn’t have time for and we hope that we will get to return in the future as it’s such an easy flight from the States.  We also didn’t have a bad meal while here!

We all thought this was funny, as Dad was slightly addicted to '2048' while in London as a way to zone-out from the many responsibilities facing us at the thought of returning

The 'Last' time he'll exit the Underground with his Oyster card - it will be strange to go back to traveling in cars all of the time!