Mushy Peas . . . who knew?

I can't believe it's June! Our time here is growing short and I'd be lying if I didn't admit to being a little conflicted.
I'd love to stay in Europe forever! So much to see, so little time.
But on the other hand...I miss home. The ease and familiarity.
And FAMILY!
I guess every adventure must end before another can begin.

Sooooo, London!

Christmas Eve we caught a hopper, had a short stop over in Amsterdam, and Bob's your uncle we arrived at Heathrow tickety boo!
We boarded the tube (mind the gap) and made it to the hotel ship shape and Bristol fashion!
Just a little cream crackered though, so it was off to Bedfordshire.

(OK. British slang, I know.
It's just that I'm such an Anglophile! Brits are the bee's knees!
And let's face it, the Queen Mum rocks!)

Christmas Day definitely called for a brolly , but we were chuffed to bits to find that the hotel wasn't as far as we feared from our destinations that day!
If your going to use public transit in the UK you need to know your onions. For example, no public transit at all on Christmas, and it's very limited on Boxing Day.
So...we walked!

Our first day ended up being about six miles. A very easy six miles.
Second day, still a bit of a smir, did have limited tubes running. We grabbed the oyster cards and headed for London Tower.

For the rest of the trip everything was full on! We saw as much as we could and loved every bit of it.

*For the Yanks:
Bobs your uncle = voila
Tickety Boo = going smoothly and quickly
Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion = in good order 
Cream Crackered = extremely tired
Off to Bedfordshire = going to bed
Bee's Knees = sweet and good
Brolly = umbrella
Chuffed to bits = to be thrilled
Know Your Onions = be knowledgeable about a subject
Smir = light, drizzly rain

Buckingham Palace

Palace guard in his winter greys

Fountain in St. James Park

Westminster Square

Parliament and Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

View from Westminster Bridge

London Eye

Benches overlooking the Thames

Cleopatra's Needle

Sphinx on the Thames

The famous red booths!

Piccadilly Circus

Maddie was always terrified of Jacob Marley!!

Christmas in London. Beautiful!

The Oyster card - London's ticket to everywhere!

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

The Girkin!

And for the Harry Potter fans...

The Ministry of Magic...

The Leaky Cauldron...

and Diagon Alley!

The British Museum

The Rosetta Stone

Nereid Monument

Three Crowns Pub off of Piccadilly -
Fish, chips, and mushy peas - yeah, it's a thing.
And it's delicious!

Maddie tried the bangers and mash

Window shopping for the girls . . .

. . . and for dad!

Best bookstore ever!

One last trip on the tube

The joys of airport security

Home again, home again, jiggly-jig...

All in all, a perfectly lovely holiday!

Maddie loved the bookstores and the Christmas market.

Shelby loved the architecture, especially Big Ben!

Joey enjoyed walking the streets and feeling the vibe of the city. And the food.
BIG TIME foodie!

London to me will always be world class book stores, elevenses, and where I learned I loved mushy peas!