Somewhere in the Middle

One can not deny thy heart.

Love. That was the theme of a skit we saw at the Tower of London.

The story focused on four prisoners who lived in the Towers, one of them being a prisoner of the heart. Unfortunately, her father forbid the marriage because he was a Scotsman. But the young woman will do just about anything to get her father to change his mind. The actors were really good and they had the crowd laughing throughout the story. C & I found the skit very entertaining.

C & I spent the majority of our day at the Tower of London. The palace is immense.

Luckily for us the palace wasn't too crowded. Seeing the crown jewels was just amazing. The grandness of the collection is truly incredible. C & I also really enjoyed the royal armour.

Take a look at this cool dragon made with various pieces of armour.

Once we left the Tower of London, we headed off to see Big Ben. After taking a quick look at the clock tower, we decided to take a chance and see if we could buy tickets for the London Eye.

I read somewhere that you needed to reserve tickets in advance. But when we arrived we were able to buy tickets right on the spot. We waited in line for about 20 mins which wasn't too bad. If it were high season, I'd definitely recommend making reservations. Once we had our tickets we immediately watched a 3D movie about the London Eye. Very cool... C loved it! Throughout the movie he was holding out his hand trying to catch bubbles and the sparks flying through the air from the firework show. As the Brits would say, it was brilliant!

Within 5 minutes of seeing the movie we were on the London Eye.

The view was spectacular! Look at how tiny the people are.

These next few photos were taken as we reached the highest point of the ferris wheel.

Our little capsule had about 10 people so C & I  walked around freely taking in the landscape.

When we left the London Eye C was on a natural high. He was just so happy and jumping all over the place.

On our way back to the Tube while snapping some photos of Big Ben, I happen to spot this cute pub. You'll see this same scene all over London.Believe it or not this place is pretty empty.

I remember when my sister & I went to Dublin we saw crowds of people spilling out into the streets drinking everywhere. Why be cramped up in a stuffy bar when you can enjoy the good weather outside. Love it.

C & I didn't get back to the hotel until after 8pm! We'd had a late start but we really made the most of our day! Unfortunately, I didn't realize S made dinner reservations at a charming little fish restaurant recommended by one of his collages. But we went anyway and luckily they were able to squeeze us in. The food was quite good & best of all I was able to satify my craving for fish & chips. ;)

The following day, we went to the National Gallery. The Gallery has several art trails you can do with children which made the art a bit more interesting. C was an expert navigator. He was able to find all the art pieces all on his own. The little booklet had all sorts of questions and activities for C to do. Had I not been starving I would have enjoyed spending more time going through the gallery.

Before we left for the train station we had lunch and then went back to the Tower of London to take a few family photos. And within a few hours we were back on the EuroStar and heading home.

Recharging in London

Learning another language can be mentally exhausting. Sometimes it's just nice to speak your mother tongue. So when S mentioned he was going to London for a business trip C & I decided to tag along.

We took the Eurostar into London which was an absolute breeze. I loved it.

C was quite excited about traveling underwater but once we entered I think he felt a litte tinge of concern. Here is some interesting trivia about the tunnel...

• 50.45km : the length of the three tunnels. It takes 20 minutes to travel through it.
• 100m : the deepest point below sea level the tunnel reaches
• 20 : the distance in miles from which the cliffs of Dover can be seen.
• 334.7km/h : the record breaking top speed (208 mph) a Eurostar train reached in July 2003 when testing the UK High Speed 1 line.

In two hours flat we were in the city.  Amazing.

After checking into our hotel, we set off to do a bit of shopping and then headed off to dinner near Picadilly Circus. It was absolute madness and I loved it. Amidst the chaos was this tranquil hotel with flowers & plants growing along the side of the building. Absolutely lovely.

One of the things I love about London is the abundance of ethnic restaurants. That night I was craving Middle Eastern food. We stumbled onto a fabulous Lebanese restaurant called Noura. The food was fantastic. The garlic hummus was simply the best I've ever tasted; the flavors were so intense. It was incredible. And the lamb was tender and wonderfully seasoned.

C was in love with the "puffy bread" and COULD NOT stop scooping up the delicious hummus. He must have eaten an entire basket of puffy bread all by himself. lol! I think all three of us wanted to lick the bowl of hummus clean. I'm on a mission now to replicate this dish. When our server asked how the food was I joked that it was so good we'd be coming back for dinner every night while we were in London. Little did I know C would take me serious and insist we go back to Noura on our second night in London. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The following day as S headed off to his meeting, C & I explored the city of London. But before starting our day we stopped into Starbucks where C declared they had the best blueberry muffins. Unlike many cities around the world, Belgium only has one Starbucks... at Brussels National Airport. It's not a big deal to me since I'm not a coffee drinker but C did enjoy his fresh fruit, muffins and a nice assortment of yummy juices.

After breakfast, our adventure began. Our first stop... The British Museum. The museum holds the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The range & quality of the items is extremely impressive.

C has developed a real interest in Ancient Egypt so it was great to be able to experience this with him. Providing C a bit of insight into some of the things I saw while traveling in Egypt was really fun for me as well.

We did the children's audio guide which was perfect for his age. If C's interest continues I'd love to take him to Egypt one day.

Once we left the museum I asked C what he wanted to do after lunch and his response, "I just want to relax. Let's go back to the hotel." lol! Yeah, that was not happening. So we compromised and planned a quick visit to Buckingham Palace followed by a visit to Green Park.

C loved walking around the park trying to find a good tree to climb. He's a simple kind of guy. ;)

While we walked we came across a young man playing the bagpipes. It was really beautiful.

The daffodils were in full bloom. Considering it was such a nice for a walk in the park, the place was quite empty.

I did spot this tres chic older couple walking together. I love her Chanel orange and black heels.

Once we got back to the hotel I was absolutely exhausted. I'd had enough... lugging around my big camera (which seems to weigh at least 10 lbs) along with a handbag fill of brochures, a London guidebook, maps and personal items was cumbersome. I almost found myself taking less photos to avoid taking my camera out of my bag. This never happens when S is with us. So I ditched my bag and we set off to dinner.

We'd decided to stay close to the hotel and dine at a local Italian restaurant that looked good. But C insisted we head back to Noura.

"But we already ate there last night" I told C.

"But, you said we were going to go back." replied C.

He's right. I did make that comment. AND the food was delicious - we couldn't argue about that detail. So... we jumped into a cab and set off to Noura again. This time we sat right across from the brick oven where they make the "puffy bread". C was captivated watching the baker work his magic turning those flat round disks into puffy bread with his wooden peel. The baker was a gracious man and called C over and asked  him if he wanted to help. So he gave C a little hat and stood him on the counter and gave him the wooden peel. And together they turned many little dough disks into puffy bread. C was so excited. The baker asked me if I wanted to take a photo. Inside I was saying, "YES, definitely!" But what I really said was, "Nooo, I forgot my camera." I'd left my camera at the hotel! I was so disappointed to miss out on this great shot. But I tell you watching C work the brick oven is engraved in my memory. It was such a great moment. C was over the moon happy.

 

As soon as he returned to the table he started to draw Mr. Puffy Bread Cook (as C refers to him) a drawing. S knew I was upset so he offered to go back to the hotel & grab my camera. Do I have the sweetest, most thoughtful husband or what? ;) Of course, I took him up on his offer. I figured I might have another chance later in the evening. So S jumped into a cab and retrieved my camera but unfortunately the man stopped baking bread. The next time we saw the baker he was dressed nicely helping the servers in the dining room. So I missed out on the bread making but at least I was able to photograph C's drawing before he presented it to Mr. Puffy Bread Cook. ;)

Just me & C

At the beginning of June, C & I took a trip together to Leeds Castle in Kent, England. The Leeds Castle is set on 500 acres of gorgeous parkland.

There is plenty of open space to have a picnic and enjoy the day. It's easy to spend an entire day there between visiting the castle, gardens, and aviary. The Castle also had a small maze which C loved.

We were most excited about the jousting event which was very entertaining to watch.

And the best part was that everyone spoke English which is such a nice treat sometimes. We didn't stay for the entire show... the heat was so intense.

C & I saw lots of interesting things in the castle and watching the bird show was also interesting. I think the highlight of the day for C was climbing the trees.