Buck Palace & a Show

Happy 4th of July!!! Yep - we celebrated America's freedoms while enjoying the sights of London. I LOVE (love. love.) the 4th of July, it's my most favorite of all the holidays. So, it was little rough on my holiday emotions to be spending it in England but ... I survived. And next year, I'm certain I'll be somewhere that has BBQ potential and fireworks. Go 'Merica. I sure love being an American. Moving on ... 

The second full day in London we headed over to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard show. It was surprisingly long and drawn out but, at the same time, we had a fun time. It wasn't rushed or stressful (which is always a huge added bonus on vacations!) and we could just enjoy the attractive British accents sights near the palace. 

Kason had fun running around the statue that is across from Buckingham Palace and somehow, even after spending 2 or 3 hours right next to it - I walked away without a picture of it. Weird. 

Here comes the band!!! 

Then they all marched into the gates at the palace, played some more songs, shouted some things at each other, opened the gates, and marched out. The whole process took probably an hour or so and because we were not right up next to the palace gates, we had no idea what was going on during the whole ceremony. However, we did get some good seats for when the band was leaving because so many tourists gave up on the ceremony and left. Score. I didn't take pictures because I was taking a video. 

Good grief this kid is my favorite. He was such a good sport on this trip and I think he was just extra adorable that day because I have a lot more pictures of him than usual. I love him. I feel so lucky to be his mom and get to take him all these fun places. I sure hope he remembers the memories we're making over here. 

After the ceremony was all said and done, we walked up to the gates to check out the guards. Didn't they used to have the guards out front where people could stand right next to them? Well, this is as close as we were able to get to them. 

There is a fun park that we walked through on our way to the Underground. Um ... St. James Park I believe. I had kinda wished we had more time because it would have been fun to just relax there - blend in with the locals. We did find a fun park that Kason played at for a bit!

Giddy-up Snail! 

We then headed back to the apartment because we were meeting up with Brad! Woohoo! I was pretty happy to have him join us. He ended up taking the wrong bus and was about 45 minutes late BUT ... he still made it. I sure was glad to see him. 

On the metro, Kason was convinced he was Tarzan ... 

Riding on the top deck of a double-decker bus! I don't know how those drivers maneuver those buses but serious kudos to them! 

We headed towards St. Paul's Cathedral and climbed up & up & up the stairs to the top of the dome. The views are always so worth the workout to get there. 

So ... anybody who is a big Harry Potter nerd (much like myself) knows that this bridge is in one of the last two movies (and I am obviously not a big enough nerd to know which one) but, it was fun to see the bridge!

In the top of the dome you could whisper into the wall on one side of the dome and somebody on the other side could hear you. We had the best time watching one of the employees walking around whispering "no pictures! no pictures!" ... "sit down!" ... "whisper!" ... I cannot for the life of me remember his name but, we stopped him and told him that out of all the places we have traveled, he has been the best employee we've come across. I hope we made his day because he really was a lot of fun to watch. And I hope that someday - I can remember his name!

We headed back to the apartment after St. Paul's and got changed for dinner. We were heading to the theater! My wonderful mom got us all tickets to see 'The Lion King' at one of the theaters in London. So, we grabbed some yummy Italian food before the show and then headed to the theater. 

Oh, and we saw this guy on the way ... what the heck!? That's talent. (Brad had his tactics figured out but, it's still pretty impressive...)

Here we are, in the theater, with a very strategic photo-bomb by none other than Kason himself. Sneaky little man! 

It was really fun to have Brad join us for the show and Lion King is AMAAAZING. The costumes, the music, the little kids were adorable. It was a lot of fun. Kason even sat through the whole show and really enjoyed it. Bonus! After the show we were all so exhausted we just headed home and crashed for the night. 

The London Eye, Big Ben & The Abbey

After we got back into London, from Hampton Court, we headed to the London Eye. It was crazy expensive and I honestly would tell you, "I don't think it's worth the money we paid." However, I promised Kason we would ride it before I knew how expensive it was. And now I can say, "I've been on the London Eye." Whatever ... it's just money right? The London Eye does make for some cool skyline pictures though.

Up in the pod. Mom rode it with us but, Aunt Jeanne stayed on solid ground while we rode. 

We both look like great big cheese balls in the picture ... naturally. 

Grandma, Big Ben, and Kason ... who looks like he's about to poke that lady in the head. 

The road right by Parliament has a row of the ever-so famous red phone booths. The one we picked, smelled like urine. Yummy!

We tried to go into Westminster Abbey but there was some sort of school program going on so ... it was closed to the public. It did save us something like 20 Pounds (aka $30) by not going inside. Seriously ... why is England SO expensive!?! 

The two other times I have been to the Abbey I have never noticed the detailing inside the eaves. It's pretty amazing. 

After the Abbey it was dinner time so we headed back to the apartment. And thus ended the first (full) day in the land of London.

London ... again.

"Didn't you just go to London?" you ask ... 

Yes ... yes we did. But, I really love London. And actually, this trip was to meet up with my mom and my aunt! They were flying over to visit and London was our meeting point. We met up at the apartment and got settled in. We had a fun view from the patio ... but the trains weren't my favorite. I wondered how anybody could live right next to the tracks and not get sick of the noise. Did you know that pointed building is nicknamed the Gherkin, because it looks like a pickle. Weird. 

Wednesday morning we headed out to Hampton Court Palace. On the train out there we passed Wimbledon. If I were a tennis fan, I probably would have been really excited. 

Hampton Court was owned by King Henry VIII. And that's about all I know about that. Except I do know that Henry III kept expanding at the palace to compete with Versailles over in France. 

The whole gang - me, my aunt Jeanne, Kason and my mom (Juli) 

{And apparently Kason was obsessed with being a guard that day...}

They had these wooden statues that Kason was inthralled with! 

Kason said, "He looks like my dad!" Uh ... I'm not seein' it kiddo. 

While we were eating lunch, Kason fed the birds. They would get pretty close if he would throw the bread just a couple feet away. He was having a grand old time. 

In accordance with palace fashion, the gardens were amazing! 

Showing off his colorful feather ... well, a feather he found. Not HIS. Ya know...

Rose Gardens: 

I love all the small details these places have. They sure do add to the beauty. 

Hampton Court also has a maze on their grounds! And I'll be honest when I tell you that it really was kinda confusing. The tall bushes and the random sounds outside the maze made it easy to get lost. Kason would run ahead and tell us which way to go though - he enjoyed it. And we finally made it out!

Hampton Court has a grape vine that is claimed to be "The World's Largest Vine" ... whether that's true or not, I'll never know but, they keep the roots buried under the dirt and keep other plants from growing there, then all the vine is inside the greenhouse. 

Our last stop was the kitchens. They were huge. It made me grateful for all the conveniences we have nowadays - I would not be a fan of all that cooking with fire stuff! 

Servants table: 

Then ... we headed back into London. Here's one last shot - just for good measure ... and because he's such a great traveling buddy. Seriously, he does awesome.