Hi all,
As we prepare to travel home, thought I would post a trip report while I sit with my glass of wine :) thank you to all who helped in planning the trip!
Background: Two adults, one 4 year old and an 8 month old.
Arrived Monday morning in London Gatwick
- Took the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station
- Picked up 7 day zone 1/2 travel cards at the rail station for two adults with our passport size photos
- took the tube to check into our apartment in Notting Hill (AirBNB).
- got our bags settled and went for a walk in Hyde Park, stopping at Diana Memorial playground and to feed the birds
- Found a Tesco for some staples and supper
- Collapsed :)
Tuesday
- Left for the tube around 8AM for Tower Hill for the Tower of London (used the 241 with our railcards), kids in free
- got in right away to see the Crown Jewels, it was amazing! We stayed for a beefeater tour but there were too many people so we decided to wander a bit and head out
- took a cruiser down to Embankment with our travelcard
- walked to Covent Garden. Browsed the markets and had lunch.
- went to the London Transport Museum (241). Got lucky and got preschool story time! Was our eldest's favourite museum by far
- Took the tube home for a nap
- Had a late afternoon tea at the Orangerie in Kensington Palace
Wednesday
- left our apartment and headed to Westminster Abbey (241). They had a great treasure hunt for kids that we all learned something from and our daughter got a gold coin at the end
- walked by Big Ben
- went to the changing of the Queems horse guard- they were setting up for her big 90th birthday celebration
- went to the playground in St James park in front of Buckingham Palace and had a picnic
- home for Nap
- Science Museum - hit a bubble show both kids loved!
- walked to Harrods, crazy store!
- tube home
Thursday
- tube to the London eye (fire issue on the line so ran quite late) (241)
- the 4D movie was the favourite after the ride
- baby got fussy so back for a rest
- walked high st Kensington and went to Holland park for the playgrounds and a picnic supper
Friday morning
- packed and headed to Paddington for our next leg
Overall comments-
- getting the 7 day railcard saved us a ton, as the children were free at all the attractions we visited and we had 5 days in London. I pre printed many vouchers and just grabbed whatever we chose to use
- we actually came in under budget in London (in shock), with our total food budget coming in at $230 pounds, transportation $64 poinds (travelcard) and attractions $160 pounds. We only ate out a few times in restaurants, mostly sticking to Tesco for groceries and pret a manger for picnics, but we bought whatever we felt like it was just easier with the kids.
- renting an apartment was great, both for cooking and having our own space
I hope this helps others in their planning :) I will post a report on our next leg (Devon) in another thread