We decided to head out of the city today to go see Leeds castle. We had quite the adventure. Let's just say if we were competing on Amazing Race we would've been eliminated today. We bought our train tickets and went to the platform we were supposed to and hopped on the train sitting there. Well apparently we were supposed to wait for the NEXT train on that platform. So part way through the trip I realize we aren't headed the right way. This nice guy tells us that instead of just going back to the station and getting the right train that we can take this train to the end and catch another one from there. Well we ended up taking 3 trains, having to get off at one station and walk to the next station over. I had to take a picture at one of the train stops so we could remember what stations we had to go to and then walk over to, etc. Between the cold, the waiting for each train, it was a long morning. Looking back now it's kind of funny and we met some nice people along that way that helped us out.
Once we made it to Leeds castle, I LOVED it. The grounds were amazing. We had this beautiful walk up to the castle. Then they had these gardens in the back. The castle had a real mote around it with a gate just like you imagine castles to be. Then they had this really cool maze that you could walk through. We walked around that maze for a long time and seriously could not figure it out. We finally ran into a worker who gave us a hint. Once you got the middle you could walk up this stone overlook. Then you walked into this grotto (with this creepy face in this picture) and underground to get back out. It was pretty fun. They had a big display of falconry birds and it was just warm enough that we got to sit out on the grass and enjoy some lunch before heading back.
That night we walked through Hyde Park again to see the Princess Diana memorial fountain and we staked out Kensington Palace on the other side to see the personal residences. There were lots of signs saying no photography, but of course, I took a few anyways. After that we called it an early night.
Day 8
The next day we had planned to go to Windsor Castle but decided to do a few different things instead and it might have been my favorite day in London, although I am a little sad I missed Windsor Castle.
We woke up and found out Kate was in Labor. Now the whole week we had been there everyone was waiting for Kate to have her baby. She was 2 weeks overdue and the media was getting very anxious. The dubbed it #thegreatkatewait She was seen going to Buckingham Palace twice to go swimming and so I was on the lookout for every black Range Rover I saw. So naturally after hearing she was at the hospital and the hospital just happens to be a block from the nearest tube station from our hotel, we, meaning I, decided we would take a stroll by. It was sooo fun to see all the Papparazzi and the super fans that had been waiting at the hospital camped out for over 2 weeks. We took pictures and walked around and then left, as I got to the tube station I checked Twitter and they had just announced that they had a little girl. I loved being there that day. It was so fun to be in the middle of all the royal fever happening in London that day.
After we left the hospital we went over and toured Tower of London. This is where they did the hangings years ago, including Anne Boleyn. There is so much history there and I loved hearing all about it. And of course the crown jewels are housed there so we got to see those, which is incredible to see in person.
After that there was one more stop I had to make. Back to Buckingham Palace. I had to see the official declaration that they put up for only 24 hours after the princess was born. Shane was going along with this ok until we got there and saw there was a huge line across the gate and towards the back just to see the declaration up close. At this point, he was done, but I was not. I convinced him to stand in line for a few minutes and see how fast it moved and luckily it moved pretty fast and ended up only being about 20 mins standing in line. So fun!!!
After that we headed back to our hotel, picked up our stuff and took the tube to the airport. We flew back to Paris that night, stayed in a hotel by the airport and flew home from Paris the next day.
When we got to the airport to check in, they offered us a big credit if we would take a later flight. It seemed like a no brainer to take it but I was so set on seeing my kids that night and this would mean they would be asleep when we got home. But we did it and I'm sooo glad we did. Now we can take the kids and go on another vacation somewhere with them.
The next morning when they woke up they all came running into our room and it was so great to see them. I wish I couldn't captured Jaron's face, he came running in but I don't think he really realized we would be in there cuz as he came in and saw us his face just lit up with this huge grin on his face. One look I'll never forget. I missed them so much and it was nice to get hugs and kisses from them again.
We had such a fun trip and one we'll never forget. It was also nice that I knew I didn't have to worry about the kids cuz I knew they were being well taken care of. We skyped them each night and they were happy every day to talk to us and mostly excited to tell us everything they had done that day as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment