OK OK… I know it’s cheating because we are actually in the UK, but having decided to visit London over half term we thought in the spirit of our blog, it would be fun to play at being tourists and to make sure we were as British as possible! In another blog post I tell you all about how to explore London with kids for free – check it out.
The outfits were a pretty good start to our London adventure….
Breakfast
Selfridges is a British Institution and it’s also opposite my dads flat, where we stay when we are in town. They have opened this amazing new restaurant in it called Brasserie of Light, which you can see from my roof terrace.
Although I would probably not take my children there for supper, it’s a great little spot for breakfast. Penny and I couldn’t resist the pancakes and maple syrup though which wasn’t quite as British as I had hoped!!
Hyde Park
Many years of living in London caused me to really appreciate the open spaces and the parks in London still fill with with joy. The weather was nice if not a little chilly, but the park was beautiful. We found ice cream, a playground and watched the swans on the Lake. A nice man even gave the children bread to feed the ducks.
The most British thing of all though was visiting the Peter Pan garden and I just couldn’t resist dressing the kids up as Peter Pan and Alice for the occasion. It might have been the cutest thing that I have ever seen and the most touristy thing that I have ever done in London! And the best thing of all? Aside from the ice creams… it was free!!
A Boat Trip!
We went for a really touristy trip down the Thames on a boat and it’s strange to be a tourist in a place you know so well. Lunch was included and it was great way to show the kids some of the best bits of London without much stress. The boat had a great viewing area/ dance floor(!) at the front and we were able to show Penny St Paul’s, my old Uni, Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament and the Globe etc. Freddie just shouted ‘BOAT BOAT’ until he fell asleep. He is now very obsessed with boats!
The boat trip left from Tower Pier and so we also saw some of the Tower of London – although we didn’t have the time to go in. But we did find an amazing little playground behind it and then we went to the gorgeous St Katherine’s Docks for a drink with an old and very best Uni friend. I would definitely recommend googling playgrounds whenever you are in a city – we found some great ones in London tucked just out of sight.
Afternoon Tea
Well this is just the most British of things and I was delighted to make a booking for only £10 per person just three minutes walk away from our flat. www.theleonard.com is a lovely boutique hotel offering a simple but delicious afternoon tea.
The kids loved the cakes and the Kiwi and I loved the sandwiches so everyone was very happy. Freddie though his napkin was a boat (BOAT BOAT) and had the happiest time making it sail. It’s one of the best meals to have with children I think; they like the food, the wait is usually not long, and mummy gets prosecco!
The British Museum
Of course the funny thing about the British Museum is how its filled mostly with things that are not British! But for me it is the most London of places (I used to have lectures for my Classics degree at Kings there). And it’s still free – which I genuinely think is a very special thing if you compare it to somewhere like the Louvre.
I was in my absolute element as the museum is packed with the things I love, study and teach and so I spent a very happy hour telling my children wonderful stories about monsters and beautiful women and heroes. And Penny really does love the stories like I do (I know that because she definitely wouldn’t humour me if she didn’t).
In fact when we got home she made me read her lots of books about Greek myths. She also made a point of showing me lots of willies and then asking me why I liked them. Brilliant.
And a tube ride!
After we hopped on a tube home we sat on the balcony and had our milk (kids), wine (me) and beer (him) and congratulated ourselves on a lovely, and not too expensive day in the most British (and yet really not) of cities, London!
