Ben's Memories of the trip to England – 12 May
2015 through 14 May 2015
Preparing for the trip
We were told by Jim, my boss, to take a vacation so that we could
see some of Europe before we left. Robin immediately thought that she
would like to visit her mission area. It would take a lot of driving
to get down there and accommodations were expensive. I wanted to go
to Spain so that I could speak Spanish. Robin tried to see if a
whirlwind trip of Europe including Germany, Austria, Italy, France,
and Spain was feasible. It was not.
Robin decided that she really did not want to leave Europe without
seeing England. She has read so many stories that are set in England
that she really wanted to see the places to which they referred. We
looked into flights and driving and all. I remembered Ryanair. This
is a low cost airline that Andy (a British colleague) often used to
get from Manchester to Charleroi. The flights mid-week are really
cheap.
Robin did most of the legwork on the internet. We discussed and
made decisions and she purchased the tickets. On the advice of Andy
she purchased train tickets early on the internet. Through
TripAdvisor she found a flat to rent for two nights in London.
For packing we decided that everyone would bring a backpack with
clothing and such so that we could carry them easily in the airport
and train stations. The night before we put together our own snack
baggies with cookies and nuts and raisins and jelly beans and other
things that I cannot remember right now.
12 May 2015
Leaving
We got up at 4:00 in the morning to drive from Berleur to
Charleroi. Robin had a reservation for parking with RyanAir, but we
forgot to put in that address so we ended up being a little late
getting there. We were supposed to drop everyone off at the airport
and only the driver was to go to the parking spot, but they took us
anyway.
We got to the airport just a little late. We checked in OK, but
Abraham decided that he had to use the restroom while we were waiting
in the security checkpoint line. Robin hustled him through leaving me
to manage the rest of the children. We waited for quite a while
outside the bathroom for them.
Going through passport control was interesting. I went through
first to be on the other side when the kids came through, but as soon
as I got through I heard the gate calling for us by name. I took
Abraham and rushed to the gate to tell them we were there. We were
the last people on the plane and made a very conspicuous arrival.
Manchester
The fight was uneventful.
Landing in Manchester we had several issues with the boys wanting
to run around while the others used the bathroom and the boys being
wild and crazy while we filled out the border control cards. At
border control they did ask why we came into Manchester if we were
going to London. RyanAir is cheap.
Out of the terminal we had to ask someone how to get to the train
station. It was quite the walk away. When we got there, we had to
decide how we would get from the airport to Piccadilly station. The
light rail tram was not recommended by Andy, but Robin was frustrated
trying to decide. I just made the decision to use the tram. We would
have to change trains once, but that was OK by me.
Something interesting that we noticed is that in Belgium and
France I would often defer to Robin in actually doing the
administrative work as she could speak the language, but that was not
a barrier here. It was actually a little odd to take the lead again.
The tram ride was cool because we could see a lot of the city.
Getting to Manchester we realized that Robin had not printed the
train tickets due to network problems at home the night before. She
tried unsuccessfully to find the information that she needed on her
laptop while we waited around in a very gloomy passage. She could not
find it. We decided to go upstairs to the train station and see if we
could get some help from customer service.
The train station was large and well lit. Robin was able to get
all of the tickets from customer service for a nominal fee. We went
to lunch at a Subway around the corner so the kids were happy with
that. It was a little rainy and cold so the kids did not want to go
out and sight see, although we did see a cool fire station right next
to the train station.
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| Kayanna in front of the fire station in Manchester |
The gentlemen at the train station were very helpful. I actually
found that all of the people in England were among the most helpful
and pleasant people I have dealt with on vacation.
Finding the flat
When we got to Euston station on London, Robin knew what the
address of the flat was, but she was not certain the best way to get
there. We went down into the subway station and inquired about Oyster
Cards that Robin had found out about in her research. They are
rechargeable transit cards. At the service desk we purchased 4 cards
as the three younger children are free on transit with a paying
adult.
Someone else there thought that we could just walk to the flat, so
we went outside and began walking. It was further than he thought. We
walked for about 15 minutes. We did finally find the address. It was
a barber shop on the corner of Camden High Street and a smaller road.
We were already late because the train was late and we had done all
the stuff in the station, so we were not sure if the person was going
to be there to meet us. They were not.
After trying to get information from Robin's computer and failing,
with whiny children on the sidewalk of a strange city, we were
flummoxed. Robin knew the name of the person she was to meet, and so
I asked in the barber shop if they knew the person. They led us
around the corner to a property management company and they knew who
we were talking about. A person showed up and showed us a door next
to the property management company and brought us up to the flat. We
had a home and a slow internet connection!
British Museum
It was still early afternoon, so we wanted to go out and do
something. One of the things that the kids wanted to see was the
mummies and Rosetta Stone at The British Museum. My niece, Ashtyn,
was in town for a few weeks abroad with her engineering group, so we
contacted her via Facebook and thought to meet at the front of the
museum at 5:30 when it closed. We looked at the system map for the
Underground and found that we were half a block from a station.
The Underground station at Mornington Crescent was interesting for
the kids. It is an old station. We got off at the Goodge Street exit
and began walking along Tottenham Court Road. We pointed out that in
the Seventh Book of Harry Potter, that was where the main three
Apparated after the wedding.
The Museum was cool. The kids got to see the mummies and the
stone. We could not find Ashtyn for some reason. We waited for a long
time and then went home. We communicated via facebook again and they
came to our flat. We got the kids pizza and the adults went out for
burritos.
13 May 2015
Wandering around with a sort of purpose
This part is less narrative and more pictures and impressions. The
weather on this day was perfect. I don't think we could have ordered
better weather. Even the locals were commenting how nice it was.
We were starting to follow a Harry Potter walking tour PDF that
Robin found on the internet. It was very early so very little was
open. There were cool streets and shops that we could look in the
windows. We were in the west end theater district, and that was cool.
We found ourselves in Trafalgar Square where there were a lot of tourists and statues. The kids climbed up the base of Nelson's Column and we had some snacks there. A nice Canadian microbiologist named Alex took our pictures there. The kids were friendly throughout the whole trip including with Alex. Abraham was very cute telling her all about our trip so far. Sarah was interested in the fact that she was a scientist.
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| The children on a fountain in Trafalgar Square |
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| Snack time on Nelson's Column |
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| BJ in Trafalgar Square |
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Robin and Ben on the footbridge with Big Ben
and Parliament in the background |
We began walking towards the Thames river so that Robin could see
the Sherlock Holmes Bar. There was a pedestrian bridge over the
Thames that the kids wanted to see, but it was off the Harry Potter
tour. We crossed it anyway. That is the nice thing about not using a
formal tour group, you can do what you want. There was a really cool
park and playground on the other side. It was a pleasure area with
the London Eye and so on.
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Molly and Kayanna on the footbridge with the London Eye
and other sites in the background |
We were there when Molly lost her Oyster Card. That was a problem.
We had lunch there with Fish and Chips. Then we walked past
Parliament and Westminster Abbey. We could tell that the boys were
winding down. They had begun to melt down a bit. Looking at the map I
noticed Cleopatra's Needle, and remembered that the kids wanted to
see it. We had planned on going to Kings Cross for platform 9 ¾ and
then taking the boys back to the flat so that Molly could use my
Oyster card for the rest of the Harry Potter stuff, but we thought
that we should walk up to the Needle first. On that walk the kids
were very tired and we had to stop to rest several times. The Needle
was cool and I am glad that we saw it, but it did take up a lot of
time and energy.
We purchased a one way ticket for Molly to King's Cross on the
Underground and the attendant there told us that she looks enough
like an eleven-year-old that we should not bother with it and just
bring her through as our minor. That was a relief.
Platform 9 ¾ was really cool. In the shop the boys were so tired
that I had to leave and take them out. When Abraham realized that
Molly had enough allowance saved up to purchase a wand and he didn't,
he had a royal meltdown. I scooped him up and began carrying him to
the subway. He cried all the way back to the flat and for a
considerable time in the flat until he calmed down enough to want one
of the ice cream bars we had purchased for the children.
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| Ben in front of the Tower of London |
After such a tiring day, we went to Lidl and purchased bottled
spaghetti sauce, meat, and noodles. It was a good dinner. The kids
just wanted to stay in. We set up the laptop with a movie, bathed
Abraham, and then Robin and I left.
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| The Tower Bridge at night |
We first went to Baker street so that Robin could see 221B. She
really enjoyed that. It was a bit of a further walk that we were
anticipating, but it was a good walk. Then we took the Circle Line
subway around to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. They were
closed to visitors but we could see the outside. That was really cool
at dusk. We got some great pictures. We walked along the river to
London Bridge so that Robin could say she had stepped foot on it. It
really was one of the least impressive bridges we have seen in
Europe. We then caught the Underground back to the flat. It was a
great day.
14 May 2015
Cleaning
One thing that was interesting about the vacation was that the
boys were still getting up on Belgium time. They got up early and we
started to clean the flat. We were trying to eat all of the food that
was left in the flat for breakfast and then pack and clean before
10:00. This was a rainy day so we could not send the kids outside to
wander like we had planned so that the adults could clean. We got the
boys' room clear first and then set my computer in there so that they
could watch movies while the Robin, Kayanna, Molly, and I did dishes
and cleaned.
It is always interesting to clean a rented apartment. One is never
quite sure what to do with everything.
Our last visit
Someone in the family wanted to ride on a double-decker bus, so we
looked at the schedule to get us close to The British Museum. The bus
was quite full. We were able to use the same oyster cards on the bus
that we used on the subway.
In the British Museum we tried to check our backpacks, but they
were too heavy for the bag check. Right across from the bag check was
a souvenir shop, and there were little stone scarabs for 50 pence. We
bought three for the youngest children.
We spent most of our time in the Greek section, starting with the
oldest stuff and moving towards the newest. Of course Kayanna, Molly,
and Sarah were much more interested in looking at the artifacts than
BJ and Abraham. We got up through the Parthenon Galleries and the
boys had had it. I took the boys and Sarah (who was also
starving)
to the center of the museum to eat snack while we waited for Robin,
Molly, and Kayanna to finish in the Parthenon Gallery.
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| BJ, Robin, Abe, Kayanna, Sarah, and Molly in front of the Nereid Monument |
After that we took the kids into the life and death room. There
was an exhibit there that I had noticed on Tuesday that I really
wanted to examine more closely. We left the kids with the tablets and
Robin and I looked at the exhibit. It was a mesh of the
pharmaceuticals that a typical Briton would consume in their
lifetime, as exemplified by the stories of a man and a woman. It was
amazing the amount of pills that we take regularly.
The last exhibit we looked at was a series of prints of Britain's
relationship with Napoleon. There were both flattering and
unflattering depictions of the Emperor of France. It was a
fascinating look at the styles of political cartoons from the era as
well. There was one of Napoleon farting several things
across the channel, and another of Britain taking half the world while Napoleon took just Europe.
Getting home
We walked to the Goodge Street Station and went back to Euston. We found an American style diner that was so full that we had to split
up. Robin, Kayanna, Sarah, and BJ were at a table and Molly, Abraham,
and I were at the counter. After lunch I went down and returned our
remaining Oyster cards for refunds and met the family on the
platform.
The train ride home was nice. I spent most of the time writing
this document about the first two days, and everyone else was
switching seats and playing with cards or tablets. When we got to the
Piccadilly station in Manchester, we did not even think that maybe we
should take the train rather than the tram. We got on the tram, but
found that it was going to take quite a while to get us to the
airport. Oops. First mistake.
We had planned on getting dinner in the airport, but the line was
so long to check in at Ryanair (a requirement for non-EU passports)
that we were rushing for the gate. At Security we were held up
because we did not pack the liquids properly so we had to do several
trips through the scanner. We were not the last people on the flight
this time, but it was close. Robin was stressed and her allergies
kicked up and she could not stop coughing. We were forced to buy an
overpriced water bottle.
When we got to Charleroi, Robin needed to use the restroom before
we went through passport control. She took quite a while and so we
were the only ones there with four border guards watching us. The
kids were getting wild and hungry.
We were through passport control and the more kid-friendly
restaurants were closed. We got the shuttle to our car and looked for
open restaurants. Nothing. We pointed our nose towards home, stopping
at a gas station for snacks. So, no real dinner at all, but we did
get home safe and sound.
Overall I was very impressed with London and Great Britain. I
would love to go back. Manchester actually looks like an interesting
town. I want to explore the inside of the Tower of London and see
more of the city. I went to Paris, and Paris was beautiful, but I
have no real desire to return. The buildings of London seemed to me
to be grand and stately, but not excessively ornate. They were more
intriguing. I will definitely go back.
Sarah's Memories of London
The trip there
I was really excited to go. When you are going on a trip you are so excited to go that you don't realize your are going. It only seems real when you leave. I remember getting in the shuttle from the car park to the airport. The person who was driving the shuttle drove really crazy. I was scared that we would crash into one of the many poles.
On the plane I was bored and I kept looking over Abraham's
shoulder because he was sitting in the window seat. Daddy told me
that I would get the window seat on the way home and I did! The
airplane was small compared to the one we took to Belgium. It doesn't
feel real until you are leaving.
On the train ride from Manchester to London, Daddy said it would
be two hours and it felt like a hundred. But on the way back it felt
like 20 minutes because I was playing Plants vs Zombies.
Stuff in London
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| Sarah in the British Museum |
The British Museum seemed so real. It seemed like everything
around me was from ancient times and it was. Other museums have cool
stuff but you don't really think about how old it is. The British
Museum made me think about that because it was so huge and it made me
realize how big the world is. This was a teensy-weensy fragment of
what was in Ancient Times.
I saw lots of mummies which I like, but I was disappointed that it
didn't have any mummies of animals. We were looking all around for
the Rosetta Stone. It didn't seem real until you are leaving it. So
when we left the Rosetta Stone Room, I finally felt like, “Wow! I
got to see the Rosetta Stone!” when I had been seeing it for ten
minutes.
I saw the London Eye and I thought, looking up at the glass
compartments that were going around it, “A little kid could run 5
feet in there and have a lot of fun.” Later we went to a playground
and I saw two girls doing gymnastics. I was really sad that we didn't
get to go inside Big Ben.
Daddy bought a map of London and I had to hold it three times.
(London A-Z) We got to go see Westminster Abbey and again we didn't
get to go inside.
Cleopatra's needle was very cool and we played around statues of
Egyptian sphinxes. The Harry Potter tour wasn't much fun because I
was anticipating sweets from the sweet shop but it wasn't open.
Kayanna's Memories of London
The subway to the British Museum was sort of crowded. I had never
ridden a subway before and I thought that it was a cool experience.
The museum itself was gigantic. On our first day, we visited the
Egyptian rooms. It was a lot of fun, because I was able to see
examples of items I had read about such as shabti and different
amulets. The mummies and sarcophagai were fascinating. I particularly
enjoyed comparing a Roman mummy to an Ancient Egyptian mummy. Those
were upstairs. Downstairs rooms contained statues and larger items
that wouldn't fit upstairs. We also saw the Rosetta Stone which I was
anxious to see.
The Harry Potter Do-It-Yourself Tour was awesome! We saw places
that might have inspired assorted places in the books or where
something was filmed. We went to Trafalgar Square where “Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two” premiered. The little
guide we printed out said that the red carpet there is the longest in
history. Wow! We also saw The Eye. It is a huge ferris wheel that you
can use to see almost all of London. We had fish 'n' chips for lunch.
I didn't really like it. We also walked really close to Big Ben. It
was huge. We then traveled a little ways down and found ourselves at
Westminster Abbey. I noticed that it was built during the Gothic
Architectural time period. However, most cathedrals and such are
built that way in Europe, so I didn't mention it. At the front were
ten statues. Each was of a Twentieth century martyr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. was number five.
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Kayanna with one of the Sphinxes at
Cleopatra's Needle |
It was on to Cleopatra's Needle. It was
right on the Thames and its pedestal was scarred from a bomb dropped
there in the first World War. Both sphinxes on either side were also
scarred. I stood really close to the river and noted the positions of
hieroglyphs in a cartouche. The hieroglyphs were also inscribed on
the sphinxes and on each side of the English-made metal attached to
the obelisk.
Then we made one last stop: King's Cross Station. There they had a
really cool trolley, complete with school trunk and owl in a cage,
stuck halfway in the wall so that you could take a picture that
looked like you were on your way to Hogwarts. They also had scarves
for every House that you could borrow. Then it was off to Platform
Nine and Three-Quarters, the gift shop. They had everything! Wands
for your favorite characters, candy, posters, scarves, replicas of
items used in the movies, games, sweaters, ties, and jewelry. I
wanted Hermione's wand, but I didn't have enough money, so I got
pendants for my necklace. IT WAS AWESOME!
BJ's memories of London
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| Ben, Ben, and Ben |
I thought that the cool things were the double-decker bus and the
Rosetta Stone. I loved looking at the Greek and Roman stuff. I loved
looking at the Egyptian stuff in the British Museum because I love
Egypt. I loved out little flat because Abraham and I got to share a
bed.
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| The Rosetta Stone!!! |
Abraham's memories of London
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| Abe in Trafalgar Square |
I thought that the plane ride was quite fun. I liked sitting by
the window. It was so awesome. The sight outside was just white. Some
of it was dark clouds that mean storm clouds. I couldn't see the
water droplets in the clouds though.
I liked Cleopatra's Needle because it had a lot of Hieroglyphics.
Molly's memories of London
A couple of days before we left, we did a practice pack, so all of
us knew exactly what we needed for the trip. I just left all my
things in my travel bag because I figured, Why bother if I'm just
going to pack it again? When I got my new backpack all I had to do
was move everything from my travel bag into the backpack.
The ride on the plane seemed so short on the way there. There was
windchill in Manchester, and it was really cold, although it wouldn't
have been if not for the wind. Sometimes I really hate windchill.
While we waited for the train, The boys watched
Dad play SuperTuxCart
while Sarah and I went over to watch a painter at work. He was
painting really good pictures of the station. I think his name was
Rob... something. He has a website apparently.
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Molly and Sarah asleep on
the train |
I sat next to Sarah on the train. We finished our gummy colas
together, and then I fell asleep. I woke up a bit later, and Sarah
had been sleeping on top of me. She woke when I did, and watched BJ
play Plants vs. Zombies while I stared out the window.
After we left the train, all five of the kids (including me) were
eager to get to the flat that Mom had rented for us. We had a little
trouble finding it, so finally Dad found the courage to ask somebody.
They helped us and we had soon dropped off our heavy bags in our flat
and assigned everyone a room. I thought that Mom and Dad would get
the room that the boys ended up with, but obviously they thought
otherwise. I didn't really care because I was going to get the same
room anyways. All the girls wanted the top bunk, but I was willing
not to have it. I suggested that Sarah have it one night, and Kayanna
the other. They agreed grumpily, but when Sarah realized that the
bottom mattress was “squishier” she let Kayanna have the top both
nights.
We left the flat a little while later and went to the British
museum. Mostly to see the Rosetta Stone. We went to the Egyptian
section, and there were cool (creepy) mummies, but no stone. We found
it downstairs with the other statues, not mummies. I felt kind of
stupid, but only a tiny bit. Super tiny.
We were supposed to meet my cousin Ashtyn at the entrance to the
museum, but there were some complications. First, we were twenty
minutes late. Second, there was more than one entrance to the museum.
Third, we didn't have her contact information (Mom had set up the
meeting on Facebook). Fourth, Mom hadn't brought her American cell
phone. Eventually we just decided to go back to our apartment and see
if we could get a hold of Ashtyn from there. While we waited, we
watched Minecraft videos on YouTube.
Ashtyn met us at our flat with some other guy. Mom and Dad ordered
the kids pizza while they went out to dinner with our guests. That
was fine with us. We watched a bit more Minecraft. The boys had some
grapes.
I stayed up with Kayanna and our parents that night and watched
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2, episode 1. I really didn't feel like
sleeping in a bed with Sarah that night, but I did anyway.
The next day was crazy! We had a breakfast of Hot Cross Buns,
Cereal, Muffins, Crumpets, and Fruit. We left our flat at about
10:00, and began the Harry Potter Do-it-yourself tour. If we saw
something cool, we would stray a bit off the course, but that was the
nice thing about it all being Do-it-yourself.
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The girls on a Victorian alleyway. They still light
the gas lamps at night. |
We saw a cool little place like Diagon Alley, The Eye, Cleopatra's
Needle, Trafalgar Square, London Bridge, and Westminster Abbey. We
ate lunch at a fish and chips place, although I got a burger. I was
sort of sad during lunch because I had lost my subway pass not long
before.
Finally, to everyone's excitement, it was time to go to Kings
Cross Station. It was a beautiful building, but most of our eyes were
peeled for the little trolley halfway in a wall that we had been told
was in there. Then Someone said “I see it!” Then I saw it too. A
sign that said, Platform 9 ¾ was above the half-trolley. There was a
short-ish line. We waited. We watched as some of the others got
their pictures taken pretending to push the trolley through the wall.
They were given a scarf of their choice, there were only two
Gryffindor scarves, one Hufflepuff, one Ravenclaw, and one Slytherin.
While we waited in line, we decided two things. 1. That we would
take a group photo with only the kids, 2. What scarves each of us
would be wearing. Kayanna: Ravenclaw, Me: Gryffindor, Sarah:
Hufflepuff, BJ: Slytherin, Abraham: Gryffindor. I wanted a Ravenclaw,
but I let Kayanna have it.
After we got our picture taken, we were directed to the Harry
Potter Shop just a few meters from there. It was amazing! They had
lots of character wands, Hogwarts robes, and really nice people
running the place. This one lady kept performing spells on another
guy, and he would act as if they were real. The same lady pretended
to turn the lights on and off with magic. I purchased a Luna Lovegood
wand because she is my favorite character. That is half the reason I
wanted a Ravenclaw scarf for the picture. Some of my siblings were
upset because they didn't have enough money to buy anything.
I played with my wand when we got back to the flat. BJ dueled me
with Mom's pen/wand. Mom and Dad made spaghetti for dinner. It was
good, but I wasn't very hungry and couldn't get much down.
After everyone else was asleep, Kayanna played I Spy Treasure Hunt
while I played 2048. It was easier to get to sleep that night. I was
super tired.
The next morning I had cereal and the last Hot Cross Bun for
breakfast. The younger three had ice cream bars. I decided to save my
ice cream bar for morning snack. So did Kayanna. Then Kayanna, my
parents and I cleaned up the flat while my younger siblings watched
more minecraft.
We had taken the subway to get around so far, and a lot of us
really wanted to go on a double-decker bus before we left London, so
it was now or never. We missed the first one, so we had to wait
about three minutes in the rain for the next one. It was worth it
though. Although we all agreed afterward that if we lived there, the
subway was better.
Our train was waiting in the station when we got there and our car
was at the other end of the train so we had to run there. I sat by
Kayanna on the train this time, and we played Go Fish with Mom who
was just across the aisle. I did put my head on my lap, close my eyes
and rest, but I don't think I ever actually went to sleep. For some
reason it felt like this train ride was shorter.
Kayanna and I were ten whole rows behind the rest of our family on
the plane, but at least we were together. We were sitting next to a
nice red head who was easy to talk to, but I guess that when you're a
Kendrick anyone is easy to talk to except each other. We had the most
amazing view taking off. It was raining down below, but when we broke
through the clouds the sun shone. The clouds looked like cotton
candy, or, as Sarah later said, cotton balls. Then it got all misty
and it became hard to see anything out the window.
It was thankfully not raining when we landed, but it had been, I
could tell from all the puddles. The hours drive back home was slow,
but I don't remember much of it. I think we were listening to a book
on Audible. When we arrived home I dropped my stuff by the front door
and plopped on my bed. I fell asleep in my clothes that night.
Robin's Thoughts
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Robin with a bust of Agatha Christie,
another favorite mystery writer |
I think that everyone else covered just about everything!
Overall, I thought the trip was a lot of fun and a great success.
I'm so glad we went, but I agree with Sarah that it would have been
nice to go into more buildings and take the tours. I guess we'll
just have to go back someday. I also wish we could have spent more
time in Manchester, but I wouldn't change the way we did spend what
little time we had there. That middle day was just about as perfect
as such a day can be.
I should probably mention that the guy who came with Ashtyn was
her husband, Will. Apparently we didn't do introductions or the kids
were being so noisy that they didn't hear. They were all so excited
to be around English-speaking people again that they talked to just
about everyone they could. Also, as Ben and I really thought about
why we didn't connect, we realized that we probably were looking at a
device with Belgian time. So instead of getting there 20 minutes
late, we were actually 40 minutes early. Oops. Automatic updating
can be great, but it's not so great if you think something updated
and it didn't.
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| 221B BAKER STREET |
I liked trying crumpets and fish and chips. I'd buy the crumpets again, but I'm not so sure about the fish and chips. I'm not a huge fish fan, and English chips have nothing on Belgian frites. And no, ice cream bars are not standard breakfast food, but we were trying to clean out the kitchen before our 10:00 check-out time.
The highlight of the trip for me was probably the stop at 221B
Baker Street, the address of Sherlock Holmes. I also just loved
seeing and walking on many of the streets that I have heard or read
so much about, such as Trafalgar Square, Baker Street, Charing Cross, and others.
