Last day in London, and on to Paris!

Our last day here in London! I could use a few more days to see everything, but we for sure wanted to see Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. We decided to stop by the Courtauld Gallery on the way. It houses some art of the Impressionists and has a cool staircase that we took some pictures of, more fear of the dizzying heights. But with Camille’s fearless camera work we got some cool shots of the building.IMG_2284 IMG_2286 IMG_2285

We then ran over to the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. We enjoyed learning more about the amazing transportation over the hundreds of years in London. Going on all the busses and trains and boats and the tube has been a highlight of our trip!

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They had a history of many of the posters from the tube over the years. There is some brilliant graphic design in all of that.

We headed out to Covent Garden to find lunch and got a feel for the outdoor markets there.IMG_2296 IMG_2297We finally found lunch at a noodle place called Wagamama. Fun place.

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We hopped on a bus over to Westminster Abbey. Erik found an app for the busses in London that has helped us navigate that part of the transport.

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Westminster Abbey is massive and impressive and full of history. So many people are buried here, from British royalty over hundreds of years, to poets and authors. We had a children’s tour that kept us moving and learning in our hour at the abbey.IMG_2301 IMG_2302 IMG_2304 DSC_6794 IMG_2303 IMG_2307 IMG_2305 DSC_6791 DSC_6787 DSC_6786 DSC_6782 DSC_6781Many of these places don’t allow photography inside, so we just settled for some pictures outside. Parliament was in session, but the line to get in was two hours long, so we visited Jewel Tower across from Parliament. It is a building form the 1600s that housed many documents from the government.

Here is the view of Parliament from Jewel TowerDSC_6801IMG_2309 IMG_2311 Jewel TowerIMG_2308 IMG_2313 IMG_2310 It was time to go and get packed up for our train through the chunnel to Paris. So we got back on the tube and back to the apartment. We changed beds, vacuumed and left some goodies for Rob Flanigan who lent us the use of the apartment. We got all our bags out the door and headed for the tube.IMG_2317 IMG_2334 IMG_2318

Somehow there were not many trains heading the direction we needed for St. Pancras. So we waited about 15 minutes for a tube train, it was around 5:15. And when the tube train arrived it was packed and we had 7 rolling bags and our other hand carried items. We barely squeezed on and were on a packed train. We made it! It was a little stressful. But we got to the train station, and it was a very nice station to get on the Eurostar over to Paris. We got sandwiches and dinner. And then we waited for them to call our train. We had to go through a passport line again, but we did not have to check our bags. We did have assigned seats. We read and played games and relaxed on the train. It was very smooth and fast. We were only in the chunnel for about 20 minutes I think. The whole trip from London to Paris was just over 2 hours.DSC_6806 DSC_6805 DSC_6803We arrived in Paris a little after 10, got some euros, and then found 2 taxis to the Flanigan’s apartment in Paris! We arrived and got buzzed in. Jennifer was there and was so kind to us. Her eight year old boy was still up. And they shared some bunk beds, the front couch, and a downstairs bed and loft bed with us. We got settled in, had some drinks and snacks, and then went to bed. What a blessing their hospitality has meant to us on this trip!

Hampton Court Palace and Friendship

Today was just what we needed after a long day of walking and touring yesterday. We let the kids sleep in a bit. We decided to just take our time and just go to Waterloo Station to catch a train out to Hampton Court Palace. We got some sandwiches and had a half hour to relax and be in the station until our train took off. Escalators and good pastries keep us happy when we are in between events. We had decided to go the half hour out to Hampton Court and then the Ashtons invited us to dinner. Shannon has helped me so much while I have been planning this trip. We are excited to see the palace and have some time with our friends.

DSC_6634 DSC_6653 DSC_6651 DSC_6647 DSC_6644 DSC_6642 DSC_6640 DSC_6638Hampton Court Palace was built by Henry VIII and was full of history. We learned so much about the history of Henry the VIII and his many wives, as well as the history of monarchy and how they lived. It was amazing to see the majesty and art and extensive palace and gardens here.

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One of the highlights at Hampton Court is the maze. We all spent 20 minutes trying to find the middle. It was harder than I thought.

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After we left Hampton Court, we headed across Bushy Park toward the Ashton’s home. It was a big park with some fountains and even wild deer that live in a section of the park.

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The front door of our friend’s home.  We had a delightful tour of their three story home and had some great talks and a great dinner with delicious hamburgers and hot dogs and salad and ice cream. We laughed and laughed and the kids played and jumped on their trampoline and just relaxed.IMG_2254

The two photographers getting the shot of our families set up.

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Photo credit to Shannon

The kids took us part way to the train that was just around the corner from their house. We laughed and had so much fun visiting with the Ashtons. It was great for us to just be in a family home with books and games and great food and conversation. We loved our evening catching up in London!IMG_2257 IMG_2258 IMG_2259I wish we could have stayed longer. It makes me grateful for loving homes full of learning and the gospel. I hope our home feels like that refuge for people. We needed some home time after being on the road for 5 days! We took the train back to London and found our way back to the apartment. We will have to get up early for church tomorrow, so we had some showers and reading and then went to bed.