London with Kids Part 2

I shared a post last week about our travel to London last summer, and now I’ve got part 2 for you!

We started our 2nd day with a trip up in The London Eye, and the view did not disappoint. A fun giant ferris wheel pod, enclosed, to see a great overview of the city, surrounded by the River Thames (pronounced Tems by all the locals).

There was a video we watched inside an air conditioned building across the sidewalk from it, which gave a history and how it was built. I always love a little history behind the attraction.

There were some nerves from some in the family concerned about heights, but we all thought it was pretty cool, snapping pictures inside.

Hard to tell from the above shots, but there were quite a few people we shared our pod with, tricky to stand in certain spots by the window. You can see the ipads attached on the inside, it gave history, maps, and details about what we were looking out in the city.

Our next stop was to the Tower of London. I’d heard from people over and over that my kids would love it, especially the boys. Dungeons and castles and knights in armor…oh my. Then entire site is comprised of 20 towers dating back to 1078.

We started that tour hanging out in a very small tower

I had heard and read to make sure we go on a FREE walking tour with the Yeoman Warder or “Beefeater,” a old-century guard dressed in red and gold, found near the main entrance. The book I used a lot: Around London with Kids suggested we avoid lines and buy our entrance tickets at an Underground station or by phone, so that’s what we did. I think you can also buy online ahead of time.

We even found a DUKE sign within the gates

After that, I REALLY wanted to go up in the Tower Bridge, and so did the girls, but the boys were not interested.

So they stayed down…and we went up.

I decided it was pretty much my favorite spot in London. So beautiful on the outside, and so fun to go up, and see down below on the inside.

They have a fun sticker activity book for kids to use as they give us a tour of the inside of how the bridge operates.

I love that my girls were not afraid…

Just a little nervous at first, but it’s a fun thrill!

There were only 2 small walkways of glass up on the bridge, so you COULD avoid walking over it, but my girls and I dared ourselves, and it was QUITE nerve-wracking/scary!

Love those brave girls!

We found the boys huddling when we came out, making our next plan, I’m sure. My husband is the main one not a fan of heights, I’m sure the boys would have been fine, but figured they didn’t care as much.

The next plan was ice cream

Several times during the 3 days, we stopped for food at Pret A Manger. I’ve lamented the fact since then that we don’t have them in Texas. I did see they are in a few cities on the East Coast, but not here. Boo hoo. LOVED the variety of fresh/pre-made soups, sandwiches, and fruit, among other things.

I secretly love this silly grumpy pic of my daughter. She’s not a fan of sandwiches, and was probably bummed to not have mac n cheese (her favorite travel food), so we got the two thumbs down…haha!