Friday in London

24 August 2018, Friday

We developed ambitious plans for our final weekend in England:  The kids and I drove to London on Friday morning while D went to work.  We toured Regent's Park, the British Library and points in between before rendezvousing with D in the early evening.  We finished the day with a visit to the British Museum before driving to Dartford for the night.  Next day, we continued on to Canterbury, then Dover to enjoy the white cliffs.

After parking the car, the kids and I walked through The Regent's Park and spent time at the playground.  Then we hunted for ice cream and caught the Underground at Baker Street.

The Broad Walk in The Regent's Park

Marylebone Green Playground

Jubilee Gates to enter Queen Mary's Gardens

Enjoying lido chairs and ice cream on Holme Green

Catching the tube at Baker Street Station

Baker Street Station

Checking the service 

Punting during our final week in Oxford

22 August 2018, Wednesday

The kids were anxious to fit in one final punt before heading home, so we packed the Pimms and set off!  It was a quiet and peaceful evening on the Cherwell, with occasional close-up visits from waterfowl.  A quickly got the hang of punting!

Peaceful mornings

22 August 2018, Wednesday

Buying this big pack of 50 markers was the best purchase I've ever made.  It allowed for occasional peaceful interludes of coloring!

Things we miss

We've been back in the States for four months, and I am embarrassed that I never finished blog posts for our last week in England.  Here are some interesting, funny, and sweet things that we miss from life in the U.K.!

Waitrose grocery runs

(although most grocery runs were on

foot, this one was a boot-filler)

Our Peugeot and its massive sunroof

Roddah's clotted cream and scones (also see below)

Roddah's clotted cream - check out the truck and its registration!

Signs directing us to the crematorium

Signs directing us to places like The Wallops

(Are we looking for Nether Wallop,

Middle Wallop, or Over Wallop?)

Waiting for Daddy's train

Tea in the garden

Fresh produce and Waitrose publications

Chalk Horse and Kite Flying

21 August 2018, Tuesday

We drove about 30 minutes from Oxford to see the Uffington white chalk horse, a Bronze Age image of a horse carved into the hillside.  It would be more interesting to have an aerial view of the horse, but we enjoyed the pretty views from on top of the hill.  Check out a picture of the horse on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uffington_White_Horse

And we flew a kite!  We searched several stores in Oxford for a kite, and finally found one in Aldi’s.  I had read that it is always windy enough to fly a kite on the top of this hill.  The kids enjoyed it :)

Climbing the hill

White chalk horse, at the top of the hill

Dinner in Greenwich

19 August 2018, Sunday

We ate dinner at Zizzi’s, which is an Italian chain with tasty food.  The best part was being on their rooftop dining area, where we had great views of the river, the city, and the Cutty Sark.  We also watched airplanes on approach to Heathrow!

King William Walk in Greenwich, with the Cutty Sark in the distance

Dinner at Zizzi's

The Cutty Sark

Pedaloing and the Prime Meridian

19 August 2018, Sunday

One thing on the kids’ to-do list this summer was hire a pedalo - a British paddle boat.  They got their wish on the boating lake in Greenwich Park, and it was even more fun when we realized the Prime Meridian runs right through the lake.

So, we paddled back and forth between the eastern and western hemispheres for 20 minutes.  Being in Greenwich today was the kids’ first time in the eastern hemisphere.

After boating, we walked up the hill to the Royal Observatory and enjoyed the view over London and Greenwich.

Paddling in Greenwich Park

The boating lake

Straddling two hemispheres!

Royal Observatory

View over London and Greenwich

The Queen's House

The official Prime Meridian marker