London

Me in front of the Tower Bridge


Maddie at the Natural History Museum

Big Ben

Maddie and Big Ben...Parlaiment

Maddie at the Gates of Buckingham Palace


Maddie at the London Zoo

Skip in front of the Tower of London

Got to tag onto one of Skip's business trips and see London. What a spectacular (and spectacularly expensive!) city. Of course, when you're seeing it with a five-year-old, your experience is a bit different than if you're simply on your own. We saw the zoo and the aquarium, but we also made it to the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace and the Natural History Museum (the movie Night at the Museum has done great things for Maddie's interest in Natural History!).

Maddie and I hit London on our own on Monday and Tuesday and thoroughly mastered the London Underground train system. The long escalators, tunnels and moving sidewalks made the subway one of Maddie's favorite attractions. Of course, everyone speaks English and everything is written in English, so I can't really take much credit for not getting lost. We took a hop-on, hop-off bus tour to see the sights of London.

My two favorite parts were learning that Sir Robert Peel founded Scotland Yard and that is where we get the expression my father taught both me and my daughter, "Keep your eyes Peeled." And then when the tour guide told us that we had entered the round-about made famous by Chevy Chase in the movie European Vacation when he coudn't get off and just kept circling, shouting, "Look kids, Big Ben! Parlaiment!" Maddie's favorite part when the tour guide pointed out a shop where the Queen buys her underwear. Are we highbrow or what?

Probably our favorite part of the trip was getting to see Mary Poppins on stage. What a fabulous show. Only slightly dampened by the fact that when Mary Poppins flies out over the crowd (amazing set!) Maddie is sobbing because Mary Poppins has to leave.

We will probably go back at least once before we come back to the states for good, and I've made a deal with Skip to take Maddie somewhere for the afternoon so that I can explore Westminster Abbey.

My mom and dad are arriving first thing tomorrow morning--Good Friday. I don't believe we'll have much luck observing the somberness (is that a word?) of the day.