Another venture--Museum of London and Hyde Park

Ah, so Sunday I had planned to take the kids to London again, and figured I would at least one more time this week before we say our farewells. Luckily Mike mentioned a coworker of his was off that day and planned to go to London as well. We met up at the Tube station and visited the Museum of London together!

I LOVED this museum and highly recommend it. First of all it's FREE, which is always a plus in this expensive city and secondly it was chock full of artifacts dating back to prehistoric times all the way through modern times. I loved that it was a chronological, visual, and tangible museum so you could really "walk through the timeline of London". It started out in the prehistoric times with artifacts and facts about that time period, then onward to the Roman times when the Romans conquered...the original part of the London Wall stood just outside the museum--the museum's address is actually London Wall. From there you got a glimpse into the medieval/Norman/Middle Ages time period (my favorite). Onward to learn about the Great Fire of London which occured in 1666...it lasted 5 days and about 70,000 homes/buildings were lost; however it is said that very few lives were lost. This may be due to the fact that back then the peasant's deaths were not recorded or they could have been cremated due to the fire. The fire started in a baker's shop on Pudding Lane. That Baker's company finally issued a formal apology for the fire in the 1980s! After the fire, insurance companies sprang up and if you did not don a plaque on your home stating that you in fact had your home insured the firefighters would not put out a fire. The fire definitely shaped London, it seemed to be that it burned Old London and a New London sprang up during the rebuild--one that was full of elegance and riches, although the wealthy were in the minority. This to me felt like "old" modern London. The period clothing were beautiful and in some cases just ridiculously ostentacious! One dress was so wide that the woman that wore it could not fit through the doorway! The saddest part was the era of WWII. Londoners suffered greatly, not just physically with their homes being lost, but emotionally as well. Children had to get fitted for gas masks and were often sent away to the countryside in a sort of "evacuation" from the now-dangerous city. Bombs fell during the night so a curfew was placed on lights so it would be harder for the enemies to see. This makes me so sad to think of all who suffered in WWII (and any war, but specifically this because it is in more modern times)...from the American lives lost fighting far away, to the English who were fighting basically in their own backyard, to the Germans due to my family connections. The suffering of innocent people is always tragic.......that said after WWII the Londoners were ready for some happy times ahead--bring on the 1950s! The Royal family remained popular due to their remaining in London during the War and not choosing to flee. Queen Elizabeth II had her coronation in 1952 and then London started entering more modern times. The clothing styles were quite a riot from the late 1960s on, many very Austin Powers-esque to say the least! All in all this was such an informative, clean, and well-displayed museum! I talked him into a coffee at the cafe where we spent a couple hrs! The kids hung out with some other children there so it worked out perfectly.

Medieval child's vest & mitten, glass creations during Roman times in London

From there the kids and I hopped the tube to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, which is probably the park I've been looking forward to taking them to the most. This is one of the richest areas in the world and the feel to this area of town is incredible. The gardens itself are rich, lush, and green--and the flowers were gorgeous! The playground provided good fun until the kids decided they absolutely must use the bathroom IMMEDATELY. I followed the signs to the bathrooms....and followed more, and more until we must have walked through the park for 1/2 hour...by this point we were beat, but luckily ahead--the bathrooms! From there we found the popular Peter Pan Statue, right across from the Long Water, where Barrie (the author of Peter Pan) is said to have drawn his inspiration from. It had a very "Peter Pan feel" to it, both the lake and the grounds across from it. It felt like a magical place and I didn't want to leave!

Trio at the Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park Alas we were very tired from all of our walking and it was early evening--I definitely did not want to be alone in the dark by myself with the kids in London! So, we started to head out. I figured it may be easier to just walk to Paddington (where we catch our first train home and then transfer one more time) vs. taking a closer Tube to Paddington which often is more difficult than it's worth--seeing as how I have to collapse and carry the stroller, sometimes carry Ava, my bag, and keep a close eye on the other two as well. Up stairs and down stairs, escalators, corridors, etc....I opted to walk in the slowly setting sun and follow the signs to Paddington. It seemed a good idea at the time only I didn't realize how BIG this park was. We finally FINALLY got to the station, and the kids have a good eye-they all pointed the station out before I saw it! They have become such good little travelers, doing really well with crossing the roads, waiting at the crosswalk and knowing just when to cross, reading street signs and "helping" to figure out where to go. They are always paying attention to the lines in the Tube Stations and following the map inside the subway to see "how many stops left"...and then once at Paddington when we switch from Underground to train, 9-year-old Skylar has taken it upon herself to read the monitor to find our platform--she has been such a help! I am so thankful for this opportunity and it gives me such delight to know all the things the kids have learned here--not just from the obvious things like museums and sightseeing, but from living basically in a city--crossing roads, using public transportation, foreign money, and even knowing foreign words and phrases.

Just a few days left and not sure what else that is on my list of things to do we will get to cross off. Only time will tell :-)