London Day 1

Written by:  Amy

I love, love, love, love, love London!  It’s my current favorite city in the world.  Just this year, I’ve been to New York , Washington DC and Dublin.  But, London still remains my abso favo place.  Ker, Mom and Dad and I went to London as part of our trip in 2004 and that’s when I fell in love with it. I’m stoked that it’s our first out of Ireland destination.

Our feet in the Dublin Airport

We flew Ryanair this time. The tickets were super cheap (€35!) and we were able to choose our departure time from Dublin and our arrival time back in Dublin on the return.  We needed to get to London to maximize our Friday morning.  We wanted to see as much as we could before Ker had to go to work.  Further, as we were going over an extended weekend, we needed to be back in Bettystown so Ker could go to work, Colleen could go to TaeKwonDo, and Abby could go to her final crocheting class.  It’s hard to make everyone happy, but we came as close as we could by using Ryanair.

So, we got up Friday morning at 3:15 am.  Even for us early risers, that’s freaking EARLY.  Early enough that not even Colleen wanted to eat.  Got on the road and headed the 20 minutes down the M1 to the Dublin airport.  When we arrived at the airport, the car was scanned and we were let into the long-term parking—all accomplished electronically.  It was pretty sweet!  We boarded the bus to take us to the terminal. 

Once at the terminal, we proceeded to the long line of security.  Thankfully, about half way through the line, a kind lady looked at Ker and the girl’s boarding passes and discovered that they needed to get a visa stamp before exiting the country.  If she hadn’t caught that little detail, we would have missed our flight.  So, we went back through the airport to the check in desks and Ker and the girls got their visa stamp.  Pesky Americans!  If only they had their EU passports! 

Now we are super crunched for time and we fast walked back to security. The nice lady let us cut in line because she knew we were in a rush. 

For those who are wondering—Security at Dublin Airport is a little different than the Security in the States.  First, there’s no silly scanning machine.  Also, while the line was longer, once people moved, it moved.  So, how fast you went through security depends on how fast the people around you get their stuff together.  Also, there’s no request for shoe removal (I’ve always considered this “safety measure” a little like shutting the barn door after the horses got out). 

Anyway, we rushed to our gate and boarded the plane to London.  I caught a little nap, but the girls read   We watched the sun rise in the air.  It was cool. 

Who-vians

and watched Dr Who during the hour plane ride over to London.

We landed at Standstead airport then caught a train (which had Wifi, comfy chairs, and was mostly empty) to Kings Cross/St. Pancras Station which was the closest station to our hotel.  You may remember that the Hogwarts Express left London from platform 9 and 3/4's at this exact station!

King's Cross Station

Once we found our hotel, they let us check in early   A couple blocks away from our hotel, we struck gold—a small café that caters to the local crowd—Café Mayan.  It was awesome!

Ker checking us in.

and we were off to find some breakfast—we were all hungry!

So, there’s something called a Full Irish Breakfast—sausage, eggs, bacon, tomato, white and black pudding, and toast.  But, did you know there is also a Full English Breakfast?  It consists of sausage, bacon, eggs, toast, and baked beans.  Which was weird at first, but really worked.  Especially with the delicious coffee!

After brunch, we dropped Ker off at the hotel so he could work.  The girls and I took the Tube (London subway system) to Trafalgar Square to see the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.  Abby became the official Tube map reader and general Tube navigator for the entire trip.

We went to the National Portrait Gallery first.  Amazing!!  It was filled--I mean filled--with portraits that go back to 1100 c.e. and stretch all the way to today.  Which will just blow your mind completely away. 

Nothing to see here, just me and Isaac

Me and Professor McGonnagall

We rented the audio tour and let it talk to us about the Tudor exhibit which took us through the royalty of England beginning in 1100 c.e.  I wanted the girls to have names and faces to put with all the history they were about to see.  Some other notable portraits were of Sir Isaac Newton and Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter fame.  So, we weren’t supposed to take pictures at the portrait gallery.  Please don’t tell them.  K?

Yes, that is Queen Elizabeth!

We made it!

Once we were filled up on portraiture, we decided a little refreshment break was in order, so we hopped on down to the National Gallery and began our adventure there by having cake for lunch. 

Cake for Lunch!

Well, the girls had cake, I had celery and carrot sticks with lettuce.  

National Gallery

Once we had eaten our fill and saved some to take back to Dad, we were ready for our National Gallery experience. We saw works from every major artist from every conceivable time period since art began. 

Look, I caught some crabs!

Colleen and The Sunflowers

The Execution of Lady Jane

There comes a point where it all washes over you and you just can’t take it in anymore; the will is there but the mental palette is just full.  We reached that point somewhere between Degas and Van Gogh.  It’s just hard to be surrounded by that much brilliance—it’s too much for one afternoon.  So, we scoured the Gallery for the “must see” paintings and viewed them with as much patience as we could.  I was particularly struck by the painting of the execution of Lady Jane Gray.  The detail on that painting was amazingly life like.  Also, it was gianormous!  They let us take as many pictures as we wanted at this Gallery.  So, we did.

After getting lost on the way to the exit, the girls and I stepped outside and walked through the craziness that is Trafalgar Square.  The girls were particularly interested in the street artists who appeared to be levitating.  I told them how it was accomplished.  I guess I spoiled it for them.

Street artists can levitate...not.

We are art-ed out!

We headed back to the hotel and grabbed Ker to go to dinner.  We have been craving food we can not get in Ireland.  So, we headed to the nearest Indian food restaurant.  Don’t get me wrong, Ireland has Indian food, it’s just a lot like Thai food.  So we were really happy to find authentic Indian food.  And, it was delicious!

Subway

Indian food!

But, by then we were pooped by all that we had seen and our early morning.  So, we trouped back the hotel, took a shower (with WATER PRESSURE!!!!), watched some TV and went to bed.