London- Part 4

Last post about our trip! This is a ton of pictures, but I tried to get London in one post. 

On Friday, we took a train from Paris to London. Again, some oddly delicious food and wine

From there, we took an uber to Heather's house! Heather is one of my best friends from middle school and she lives in London. I have been dying to see her across the pond, and this was the perfect opportunity. Her husband got a job opportunity there and they're there for several years with their 2 precious children. 

Friday evening we ate dinner at The Dove. When I asked Seth what he wanted to do, he said "Eat fish and chips and drink Guiness". Alrighty then. He's been to London a couple times (my first time) so I guess the touristy stuff wasn't high on his list. Heather researched pubs (really our whole itinerary was carefully planned- she's awesome) and found this amazing place!

We had a terrific dinner!

My happy man with his meal

The fish and chips with mashed peas was delicious!

On Saturday morning, we went to Westminister Abbey. You couldn't take any pictures inside, but it was really cool! 

Had to get in a red phone booth!

We walked all over London. We ate lunch in a pretty park

Heather and me

Buckingham Palace

Largest toy store I have EVER been in (it was 5 or 6 levels)

Sorry, Seth.... this costume is not coming home with us (Bobba Fett for 1,000 pounds)

 

That night, we ate at Milos. Trevor ate at one in NYC and London has one too.

 It was fun to get dressed up for a double date night!

 Milos is a fish market. You select your fish and they prepare it

 Our fish before the chefs worked their magic

Lightly fried Zucchini and Eggplant with Tzatziki sauce

The wine cellar downstairs

 

This couple was FOR REAL. We cracked over his blue leisure suit and her massive lips!

 Afterwards we went to a jazz club that served the funkiest drinks I've ever seen!

Hello? Mine had dry ice in it!

On Sunday morning, we got up early and went to Stonehenge

It was a cold, windy, rainy day but we saw it!

Next, we had lunch in Bath and then went to see the Roman Baths

It was fascinating!

We spent the night at The Pig, just outside of Bath. It's a "restaurant with rooms". There are several rooms in the main part of the hotel/restaurant, but Seth and I got to stay in this little cottage. OMG, SO CUTE!

bedroom downstairs

bathroom upstairs

You better believe I soaked in that tub!

On my way to dinner

Before dinner, we met Heather and Trevor and played some pool

Fun martinis with my bestie

We had a little more time, so we hung out in the lounge. The restaurant/hotel was SO cool! See the deer above Heather and Trevor? It's paper mache!

Dinner was amazing! We tried all sorts of crazy dishes. This one is Scotch eggs (quail eggs wrapped in sausage and fried).

Fried pork of some sort

When we were walking back to our little cottage from dinner, Seth accidentally kicked a cat (it cut right in front of us when we were walking through the garden path). He bent down, pet it, apologized, and we continued on to our cottage. There was a fireplace in our bedroom, so we thought it would be pleasant to sleep with a small fire and the windows cracked. Next thing we know, that cat jumped through the window and was in our room! Seth is NOT a cat fan, so I had to snap this picture of him snuggling kitty. :)

On Monday morning, I walked around the grounds. The garden was just amazing!

They also had deer and quail (sorry guys....I know we ate your eggs last night)

Hunter Wellies were available for guests to wear while walking around the grounds

Exterior

Bye, Pig! We loved our stay here!

We dropped Trevor off at a train station and he went to work Monday morning. Heather, Seth, and I continued on to Windsor Castle. When we arrived it was sunny.

We climbed the round tower and got amazing views of the surrounding area.

We left the castle for a quick bite to each. Upon reentry, it looked like this! There was a quick little downpour and then we continued our tour. We did the queen's apartments, but you couldn't take any pictures inside. Queen Mary's dollhouse is inside. I SO wish I could have taken pictures of it. It was amazing and had every detail imaginable (real paintings, cleaning tools, toys, kitchen dishes). Check out this link: https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/5000050/queen-marys-dolls-house

I'm sure this guard loved us posing beside him!

Crowns on the exterior lights

We enjoyed a royal ice cream treat 

We were at the castle the bulk of the day and hit traffic coming home. Heather is a great driver and London traffic is NO joke! There are different rules than in the US (coupled with driving on the opposite side of the road). Joggers, bicyclist, and motorcycles having no limits add another element of stress. It was like being in a video game! 

That night, we walked to a restaurant near their house. They live in a great area with a huge park, restaurants, and shops within walking distance. 

On Tuesday morning, we flew home bright and early! While waiting for our flight, we chilled in the lounge. I need this chair at home! 

We were home by 3:30 in time to see our babies after school! It was a long but wonderful 13 day trip. It's so hard to leave your kids for that long, but they were well taken care of by my parents (10 days) and Seth's parents (3 days). I was aching to see James and Adelyn and it's good to be home to our normal routine. 

Adelyn requested a doll from France and London. We looked in every city but never saw a doll that represented France. I couldn't find on in London either (even in that giant toy store). We found this one on Amazon and ordered it. She has a tube map and a London shirt. Sweet girl just loves Nancy. :)