Trip Report A Bird's Eye View of London and Paris March 2012 TR NEW! The END 1/12 p35

[wigdoutdismom]

Oh Sheree! I am loving your report!!!
London has always been on my bucket list, now, it's officially moved up!
The girls royal photo is adorable! They do look quite regal!

When you get a chance, would you PM me your ADRs for Oct.? We made some too, but they could be subject to change....

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Love reading your trip and seeing people visit here and how you view it! Gives me a different perspective entirely!

I did want to add though that Windsor isn't London - it's in an entirely different county... just in case anyone thought that.. Hope that didn't come across as rude I just wanted to say!

Thanks! It's been fun to see the responses from people in the UK and Europe since I have this in the Paris TR board!
Yes, to clarify - Windsor is outside of London - There's lots of the actual city of London coming up later!! You weren't rude at all!

Wow!!!!!! Amazing pictures. What a fabulous day!!!!

I am amazed at how beautiful that castle is. The whole area is just gorgeous!!!

Thanks Jen - it was a great way to start off our trip. I really fell in love with all the old architecture we saw on this trip.

Looks like you had an amazing time. I was actually just in Windsor a week prior to your visit. Unfortunately I had only two hours in Windsor.

I did have time to see the Queen's portrait exhibit like yourself and the doll house. I loved every minute of it! I even bought a Union Jack pillow at the gift shop you visited! Thank you for bringing those memories back. I plan on going back to London next February to go on the Harry Potter studio tour!

I'll be suscribing to your post. Can't wait to hear more!

and Thank you! I keep thinking that I wished I bought more souvenirs on this trip, but I'm sot of glad I didn't - it would have cost so much! I'm happy I can share memories with you! The Harry Potter tour looks cool - my DDs and I are reading the books and I told them when we all finished ALL of them, we would go to Universal's WWoHP! Might be a while!

I think it is so, so, so cool that you guys got to see all of this - especially for the girls. When they study about these places in school or see them on the news, they will really know the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, etc. I didn't realize the castle was that massive. I really enjoyed looking at all of the pictures this morning.

Thanks! It was really nice that the girls are at the age they are learning about things like WWII, so we could see things where events took place. Sarah's teacher was really excited for us to see those places. I thought all the things, castles, churches etc. were so much bigger than either I thought, or remembered from my past trip. Glad you're enjoying the pictures. I've got about 1000 more! I won't be sharing ALL of them!

It is truly massive!! I am surprised,...how come we never get the full aspect of how big it really is? I always here things like "XXX # of bedrooms, XXX bathrooms, XXX guest suites,"etc,...but that is a lot to fathom!! Thanks for the pics!! Just made me want to go even more!!

It's GINORMOUS as Buddy the Elf would say! You NEED to go - you will love England!

Just finished reading your last update - I can't tell you how strongly your enthusiasm comes through in your writing, it's just a pleasure to read.

Yes, we've been to New York a couple of times; and Arizona/Utah on a road trip together with stays in Las Vegas and San Francisco. So many states, so little time!

Going right now to check out your previous trippies, thanks for heads up.

Aww, thanks! I was literally jumping up and down about going on this trip. I still pinch myself because I can't believe we did it. Looking at the pictures just makes me all excited again!
There are a LOT of states, aren't there? My DH and I came up with a plan (I stole it from a guy at work) to take the girls to all 50 states before they leave the nest. The rules are that we have to set foot down on the ground - even at a rest stop - in each state. We've probably hit about 20 so far. We do a lot of road trips!

Oh Sheree! I am loving your report!!!
London has always been on my bucket list, now, it's officially moved up!
The girls royal photo is adorable! They do look quite regal!

When you get a chance, would you PM me your ADRs for Oct.? We made some too, but they could be subject to change....

Hi Anita!! I hope you get to go to London - there's so much to see and do in and around the city. England as a whole would be a wonderful trip for a couple three weeks!! Oh, yes, my girls love to be all princess like. You should have heard them speaking with what they think is a British accent! It was so funny!

PM'd you on the ADRs. Still considering adding another.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Well, I added one more ADR for our October trip today. I was re-thinking our plans and trying to decide for sure what night to go to MNSSHP. So I started checking for switching some ADRs around. Nope, not possible! I was surprised, but it forced me to decide what I was doing! HA!
I want to order my MNSSHP tickets tomorrow, and I have enough Disney Visa rewards to pay for them PLUS we get the DVC discount! (YAY!). So I am keeping my first plan in place. We'll be going to the party on Tuesday 10/16. But the bad part is that means we have two full days at WDW before we set foot in MK! Kind of a bummer there. We'll be watching the fireworks from the Poly beach on Sunday night after our Ohana dinner (the day after we arrive) though.
The ADR I added is Kona Cafe for breakfast. Another first for us! We'll do this on the day we plan to go to Celebration and then MNSSHP (10/16). I made it a bit later - 9:30, so we can just leave from there to go to Celebration. I'd like to eat lunch at Celebration Town Tavern, and then we'll head back to the resort to get ready and go to the part. So if anyone is going to MNSSHP on 10/16, let me know!! I know a few people are going different nights that week.

Well, that's the latest on the October trip.
I've got a busy few days coming up - MAYBE I can get an update up on Sunday!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Kona Cafe is good! Great choice Sheree! We are aiming for the MNSSHP on the 18th.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Mmmmm....Kona! We LOVED our breakfast there and always want to go back, but haven't yet! Too many places to try.

Our arrival day is the 16th, so we are looking to do MNSSHP on the 18th.

 

[maryr1oz]

Just joining in now

We are doing London, Paris and Paris Disneyland in September so can't wait to read more about your trip

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Kona Cafe is good! Great choice Sheree! We are aiming for the MNSSHP on the 18th.

I've been hoping to eat there for breakfast for a couple trips now. DH says we should be staying at the Poly! If only they were DVC!

Mmmmm....Kona! We LOVED our breakfast there and always want to go back, but haven't yet! Too many places to try.

Our arrival day is the 16th, so we are looking to do MNSSHP on the 18th.

Shoot! We'll be at MNSSHP on the 16th. I hope we can cross paths sometime! As it gets closer we'll all have to share some plans!

Just joining in now

We are doing London, Paris and Paris Disneyland in September so can't wait to read more about your trip

I sure hope you have less rain than we did in Paris, but you're going to love it!!! How long a flight is it from Australia? You haven't missed much yet, I'm moving pretty slow! I hope to have another update posted today. Stay tuned...

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Saturday March 3

We headed to the city!!! Because our hosts had some activities to do, we ventured to London on our own for the first part of the day. Jenny drove us to the nearest Tube station and we headed to Leicester Square. Our first stop, The National Gallery! I knew the girls would not be too excited about a museum full of paintings, but I wanted to go and figured we better do that first! There were a few paintings that I was interested in seeing, so we set out to find them. I was right. The girls were not impressed with the art. Dave and I enjoyed it, but even we could only look at so much of it. They were more interested in riding on the open top of a double decker bus. Yeah, we’ll get to that…
Sorry, no pictures allowed in the gallery, but I do have some outside shots of the gallery and Trafalgar Square.
In the square there are some really huge impressive statues and they have added a countdown clock for the Olympics (and the Paralympics).
The National Gallery
from the side - notice the crosswalks have printed on the street to LOOK LEFT - for us Americans who can't remember that traffic comes from a different direction there!

The front -

Notice how cloudy and gray it is? Wait til you see the pictures from the afternoon!
This guy was hanging around and people were taking some pictures with him. My girls were a bit scared of him!

We actually noticed quite a few of these street performer types around London and Paris. I wonder how much $ they actually bring in?
The paralympics sign

Our first view of Big Ben WAAAAY down the road!

The tall statute in the middle is the Admiral Nelson statue. Another big British war hero memorial!

Zoomed in

I thought we’d grab some lunch at the Café in the Crypt, which is in the basement (the crypt – literally!) of the St. Martin’s in the Field church right on Trafalgar Square. It was recommended to me by my boss, so we walked over and headed down! It was pretty crowded, and it’s a cafeteria style restaurant, so we walked through the line and checked out what they had. Unfortunately, nothing appealed to my family, so we headed out again.

St. Martin in the Fields

We found a place that apparently doubles as a disco in the evenings! It was kind of weird – there were literally disco balls, and a dance floor. In England – most pub type places you go and order and pay at the bar, tell them your table number (it’s on the table) and then they bring you the food. They don’t really expect tips either (okay by me!). So we found a table, checked out the menu and ordered. We noticed a sign on a post near our table that said “pickpockets operate in this area.” We were amused by this, but also a bit alarmed. Was this the place that they were supposed to operate? Was this a warning to us or an invitation to the pickpockets? Luckily, we didn’t encounter the pickpockets during our visit to this establishment.

We shared a hamburger, potato skins and nachos. It was decent food, not so good that I would tell you to go to this place! I’ll have to check and see if I can find the name of it anyway. I didn’t write it down, so you know I wasn’t going to tell you all to go eat there! There are lots of other options! There are tons of ethnic food restaurants – lots of Indian and Asian places. But at least we didn’t end up at McDonald’s again! (this time…) I guess I don't have any pictures of this place - I'm going to go check again when I get home because I thought one of the kids took a picture of the sign about pickpockets.

Okay - the rest of this will have to wait - got to go do some work!

 

[MEK]

Well, I added one more ADR for our October trip today. I was re-thinking our plans and trying to decide for sure what night to go to MNSSHP. So I started checking for switching some ADRs around. Nope, not possible! I was surprised, but it forced me to decide what I was doing! HA!
I want to order my MNSSHP tickets tomorrow, and I have enough Disney Visa rewards to pay for them PLUS we get the DVC discount! (YAY!). So I am keeping my first plan in place. We'll be going to the party on Tuesday 10/16. But the bad part is that means we have two full days at WDW before we set foot in MK! Kind of a bummer there. We'll be watching the fireworks from the Poly beach on Sunday night after our Ohana dinner (the day after we arrive) though.
The ADR I added is Kona Cafe for breakfast. Another first for us! We'll do this on the day we plan to go to Celebration and then MNSSHP (10/16). I made it a bit later - 9:30, so we can just leave from there to go to Celebration. I'd like to eat lunch at Celebration Town Tavern, and then we'll head back to the resort to get ready and go to the part. So if anyone is going to MNSSHP on 10/16, let me know!! I know a few people are going different nights that week.

Well, that's the latest on the October trip.
I've got a busy few days coming up - MAYBE I can get an update up on Sunday!

My flight gets in around noon on the 16th. That's the night I stay at AKL!!!!! If I'm at the resort when you leave for the party I have to see you, your family, and your costumes.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

My flight gets in around noon on the 16th. That's the night I stay at AKL!!!!! If I'm at the resort when you leave for the party I have to see you, your family, and your costumes.

That's a great plan! I'll pencil it in! "Meet Mary Ellen at AKL before heading to MNSSHP!!" We'll exchange info when the time gets closer.

 

[MEK]

That's a great plan! I'll pencil it in! "Meet Mary Ellen at AKL before heading to MNSSHP!!" We'll exchange info when the time gets closer.

Yeah!

Rest of your update was fun! I couldn't comment until I got home to see pics. Despite it being a dreary day, the city certainly looks interesting and it sounds like you had a fun day sightseeing again!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Shoot! We'll be at MNSSHP on the 16th. I hope we can cross paths sometime! As it gets closer we'll all have to share some plans!

Sounds good! You are at OKW the second part of your trip, right? I think I remember you saying that on FB. That is where we will be.

A cloud day, but still beautiful! I just love all the architecture pictures.

 

[maryr1oz]

Another great update!

The flight from Australia is about 21 hours - we are flying 14 hours from Melbourne to Doha, then on another 7 to Paris... long flight... But my husband keeps reminding me we've done similar flying home from New York- LA - Melbourne.

Last time i did the long haul from Europe to Australia i was a teenager and just remember sleeping the whole time, something tells me it will be different this time...

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I love the first sighting of Big Ben!!! I would've been so excited catching a glimpse of that!

It does look mighty rainy and dreary, but that's just how I picture England anyway. I guess it's the Charles Dickens influence!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Yeah!

Rest of your update was fun! I couldn't comment until I got home to see pics. Despite it being a dreary day, the city certainly looks interesting and it sounds like you had a fun day sightseeing again!

Thanks! We tried to remember that we didn't go to London for the great weather! There's so much to see and do there!

Sounds good! You are at OKW the second part of your trip, right? I think I remember you saying that on FB. That is where we will be.

A cloud day, but still beautiful! I just love all the architecture pictures.

That's right! We can meet at OKW - we move there on the 18th and plan to spend the day there at the pool and DTD.
The architecture is just stunning - and even more amazing to me because it's so old - some of these buildings are hundreds of years old!

Another great update!

The flight from Australia is about 21 hours - we are flying 14 hours from Melbourne to Doha, then on another 7 to Paris... long flight... But my husband keeps reminding me we've done similar flying home from New York- LA - Melbourne.

Last time i did the long haul from Europe to Australia i was a teenager and just remember sleeping the whole time, something tells me it will be different this time...

Thank you!
Well, that will be a long trip, won't it? I hope you get to sleep at least part of the time!

I love the first sighting of Big Ben!!! I would've been so excited catching a glimpse of that!

It does look mighty rainy and dreary, but that's just how I picture England anyway. I guess it's the Charles Dickens influence!

I was so excited when I looked up from the steps at the Nat'l Gallery, looked down the street and said, LOOK! and pointed! The girls were saying "It's Big Ben!" They knew what we were looking for! It was kind of funny to me that it was straight down the road - but quite a long distance.

I got interrupted (since I was doing my update at work) yesterday before I had a chance to complete my update - so I'll get more up today.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

We headed back to Trafalgar Square where we were going to meet up with Jenny and Jake (the younger son). I had Jake’s cell phone so Jenny had a way to reach us. Our phones didn’t have service (I didn’t want to shell out the $$$ to get international). So it was nice to have something when we needed to get in touch with our friends. We took a bunch of pictures while we waited. Notice how much brighter it looks? The sun came out and it actually felt warm!

St. Martin in the Fields church in the sunlight!

Okay, you're probably wondering who this girl is. No, she wasn't with us. We were waiting our turn to have the girls sit up on this lion and she couldn't get down. She was afraid to jump, and her grandma couldn't really help her. So Dave spent a good 5 minutes convincing her that he was really a nice man and he could help her down. It was kind of funny, but the poor thing just wasn't sure what to do. The other kids with her were telling her it's okay, it's easy.... In the end, she did let Dave help her down and they were very appreciative. Really, we just wanted to get her out of the way so we could get a picture of our kids!!!

You can see how it would seem kind of high to a little kid to jump down from there.
The countdown to the Olympics!

Isn't this cute? I've no idea what the significance is, but I liked it!

Chasing pigeons!

Sarah wanted to catch one and keep it as a pet. Uh, I don't think our bird-chasing dog would appreciate that. Nor would US Customs!

When Jenny and Jake found us, we decided to get tickets for the on-off bus tour. We had a coupon so we saved a little $$ on that. We didn’t have a ton of time as it was getting later in the afternoon, but we figured it would be fun.
In the ticket office- photo op:

Another brush with Royalty!
We had to wait to get on the bus as they were being delayed by a big protest march/rally that was heading to Trafalgar Square. We eventually got on and climbed up top! This was another Bird’s Eye View! (we could consider the plane a bird's eye view, even though all we saw upon landing in London was fog!).

We drove through the city and got our first glimpses of the sights! We didn’t think we’d get off and go into anything, since some places were closing, and we wanted to take the whole tour first. We’d do more detailed sightseeing when we came back from Paris. Jenny and Jake had never done the bus tour, so it was fun to do something with them that they’d not done yet.
The bus was not allowed to drive in front of Buckingham Palace (!!??) so we got some great views of the backside! HA! We also saw Big Ben, Parliament, and some places that were like war memorials – a big arch near a park for example – but I couldn’t catch all the names as we passed by them.

Yes, most of the shots have someone else's hands, head or camera in them!

These are little flowers popping up in the grass everywhere!

This might be the "other" side of the same statue as in a previous picture!

Funny pub names were everywhere!! - Bag of Nails!

The Houses of Parliament

It is just HUGE!
Closer to Big Ben!!

Oliver Cromwell - the First Lord and Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland
See the London Eye?

A glance back toward Westminster Abbey

Big Ben with lots of heads in the shot!

When we got down by the River Thames, and saw the London Eye, we decided to get off the bus and take our river boat cruise – this was included in the bus ticket!

Cont.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

continued...
I had this update almost done, and clicked the wrong button and it all disappeared. GRRRR! Let's try again!

When we got down by the River Thames, and saw the London Eye, we decided to get off the bus and take our river boat cruise – this was included in the bus ticket!
So we hopped on the boat and got the water view of places along the Thames – Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, a new skyscraper that they were building (it was sort of oddly shaped, curved and a little pointed toward the top – use your imagination here! Oh my!) and then the Tower of London and Tower Bridge! Oh my gosh! That place is so big!!! I knew we’d be going back to tour it later, but it was so cool to see it even from the outside!

Sarah and the Eagle were ready to get on the boat!

The girls got activity packets with stickers and "passports".
The girls with Jake - we had to ride on the upper level of the boat!

That London Eye looks pretty big and high doesn't it?
I'm not sure we want to go up that high!
This might be the Millennium Bridge

Can't be sure what this old building is, but I remember our guide (who was really funny!) mentioned something about it! (helpful, huh?)

Shakespeare's Globe Theater

Any guess as to which bridge we're going under? Look carefully...

New skyscraper -going to be the tallest in the city when done. Not sure I like the design...

Military boat (and Paige obviously looking at something else)

The Tower Bridge - note, this is NOT the same as the London Bridge. Apparently that's a common mistake.

There's the Tower of London "campus" off in the background

There was a bus stop here for our on/off bus, so we got on there and rode the bus back to Trafalgar Square. Here DH bought himself a London sweatshirt (he might have done this earlier, but I don’t remember).
I really WISH I could remember what this was - I think it's so cool!

We walked back to the Tube station and headed back to the house.
Bye for now London - we'll be back!

Our evening was spent repacking our stuff to take to Paris – we didn’t want too many bags to lug onto the train – and charging our cameras up. We were leaving at 7:30 a.m. to go to the Eurostar Station in St. Pancras (which is in the city) and Brent was kind enough to drive us to the station.

Next Stop – PARIS!!!! (well, after a stop at the Lillie station!)

 

[ClaireW]

You got a lot done in a day!

Although all the sights are familiar to me it's still on my to-do list to take a proper tour when my girls are older. A friend went a while back and can tell you all sorts of fun facts now! Plus she says she has a much better idea of where everything in the city actually is. So much of my moving about around London has been done on the Tube that I'm not always sure where places are on the map

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Another fun day in Olde London town!!!
You must have felt so pressed for time to get it all done!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

What a fantastic way to spend an afternoon! I love the bus tour, but the river cruise is awesome! Loved all the bridges and architecture! Just gorgeous! I don't know if I could do that London Eye though! I know I would want to, but I bet I would chicken out!

So glad the weather cleared up for you. Turned out to be a beautiful day! Can't wait for PARIS!!!!!!!!!!!!