Friday, July 4, 2014

Day 1 on vacation - Takeoff and Landing in London

July 3rd - our first day of vacation.  Well.....not really.  Our plane didn't leave until 10:45pm Boston time - so the 3rd was almost over.

We had a very smooth flight.  This was the first time the kids and I flew overseas, and it went well.  It was a little over 6 hours in the air, and we actually slept some.  What was weird is them serving us a full dinner at midnight and then waking us for breakfast at 4am (East Coast time).  Not much rest, so we are weary.  But we are determined to stay awake so that we can right ourselves.

We arrived in London at 10:20am (it would be about 5:20am back home).  We were on a double decker, 12 seat across airplane.  It was huge and the kids really enjoyed it.  Cainan couldn't stop commenting on how something so big could get off the ground.  We landed and went through customs very smoothly and had our luggage and off with our driver by 12pm.  We had hired a car to take us to and from each airport/train station because it ended up being cheaper since there are 5 of us.

Our apartment is very nice and very clean.  I am glad we went with this option.  Again - it was the cheaper option BY FAR for a family of 5 in the summer in a major city.  Two hotel rooms later, we would have been paying more than double.  It has two full bedrooms, a full kitchen (even has a washer!) and a full bathroom.  The living room is big.  We have WiFi (obviously) and cable TV, a dining space, etc.  Plenty of room for us to spread out.  We are in a quaint neighborhood, but close enough to walk to two major Underground (subway) stations and shops and restaurants.

We spent sometime in the apartment unpacking and just resting.  The kids did well just playing with their electronics while we are showers and changed before heading out to eat and get groceries we will need for the few days we are here.

We walked the streets for awhile before settling on a burger joint.  The kids were tired and hungry, and not in the mood to try new foods.  It worked out fine - the food was really good and the kids got a second wind to carry them through until bedtime.

We stopped for a few quick groceries and then came back to rest for the last remaining hours before bed.

It was a long, long day, but a good start to our vacation.  I am excited to see how tomorrow goes - our first full day in London.

Enjoy the pictures!

The restaurant we chose for dinner:
Cainan and Finley at the restaurant for dinner:

 Arlington was fascinated with their ketchup container:
 Arlington in the restaurant:
 Cainan spent 10 minutes like this while we waited for our food:
 Arlington on one of the couches in the living room:
 Finley on her bed:
 Dr. Who!  Just Kidding.  Police station on a corner:


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Happy 4th of July and you made it!!

Have a fun day tomarrow!