We did it! We got passports, booked flights, pulled the kids out of school a week early, and flew to London. After years of saying “when do you think the kids will be old enough to take to Europe” we decided that 6.5 and 8.5 is the age to do it. (I’ll keep you posted on if we still think that when we are back home…)

We flew out from PDX on Monday night on a 10 hour overnight flight. I had no idea what to expect and was fearing the worst, but the flight actually went better than I expected. We all slept at least a few hours, watched movies, ate some food, and arrived in London without any tears.

We’re staying in at VRBO in Notting Hill, which is a few blocks away from the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens. We checked out the playground on our first afternoon and the kids declared it magical. It’s a pretty great place, with a pirate ship, sand pit, several hidey holes to play in, and the whole thing is fenced in so the adults can let kids have the run of it without worrying that they’re going to leave.

(Not pictured, a 6 pm bedtime where we all crashed HARD. Also not pictured, a midnight bowl of cereal when the kids woke up hungry and then had a hard time going back to sleep. Jet lag needs no pictures.)

We all woke up on our first full day in London feeling rested. So we decided to brave the Tube (England’s subway). We took the St. James Place and walked through the park (found another playground) and then checked out Buckingham Palace.

We didn’t see the queen, but Clare thinks that she and Queen Elizabeth would be friends if they ever met. “She’s a grandmother, so she probably likes kids. And I like grandmothers!”

We wandered through Trafalgar Square, spent about 45 minutes checking out art in the National Gallery, fought the crowds in Leicester Square and ended up in Covent Garden to watch buskers and eat ice cream.

(Sam is impressed by Van Gogh… not really.)

Cheers to successful first day in London!