I've been so excited about this trip! It's been three years since we've been back, and that trip was only for a day. Alastair had a consulting trek and Emre and I got to tag along. Hollie and Connor are living there, so they were my tour guides the whole time! London is a potential place to end up after grad school, so we'll see if he gets an internship over the summer.
The first leg of the flight, Emre was so tired because we skipped his nap, so we were all able to take a nap. He was so tired that he asked Alastair if he could nap on his lap. He never asks to nap, so it was really cute! We hit a rough patch when we were standing in line during border control; he was just crying and crying, making it miserable for everyone!
We made it to our "dwelling" around 11 at night. I don't know what to call it cause it was cheap, looked like a hostel, didn't see the owner for the first three days, and there was no hot water. We didn't shower the whole time we were there. So gross! It wasn't just a tad bit lukewarm, that would have been bearable. But it was ice cold! I did brave the cold water to wash my hair. Don't know if it was worth it though...
The first day, Alastair was pretty much busy the whole day, excluding a two-hour break for lunch. We have been promising Emre a dinosaur from London, so that was the first thing he wanted to do ever since we landed. We had to lie and say that the shops were all closed. Alastair left for the trek and Emre and I headed out to the museums. It was fun to walk hand in hand with my son in London. Emre is a legit British citizen, so introducing him to his motherland is quite memorable! We met Connor at the front of the museum, gave Emre a hug, and Emre said in a dinosaur voice, "let's go see some dinos!" We started at the science museum, looking at trains and rocket ships. Emre was not happy. We went up to the 2nd floor and he threw a fit in the atmosphere exhibit, so we left and went to the natural history museum. Once we entered, we saw a stegosaurus! Emre was talking to him, he was so happy. We went up the escalator that went through a sphere-like structure that turned red, which Emre claimed to be lava. The next level had an exhibit about.... lava! And volcanoes!
Dinosaurs and lava are Emre's favorite things right now. I really hope he becomes a geologist, that's my dream! I had so much fun teaching Emre about lava! Once we got through that, we made our way to the dinos. Emre was so scared of the life-like t-rex, so we had to go past it and get through everything else. I didn't want him to let his fears get the best of him, so I brought him back and held him. He held on tight but eventually got confident to let out some roars. He mimicked the t-rex, it was so cute! We went back the next day with Alastair to let him pick out a big t-rex. The new t-rex's name is Tee Tee.
We met up with Alastair for lunch by Buckingham Palace. Connor and I walked through Hyde Park along the way, talking about our lives and everyone else. We grabbed some things from the store to eat (found an Appleteiser!!!!) and just walked around London. I have no idea where we were, but we love walking around. After Alastair's break, Connor and I walked to Hamley's, a massive toy store, and met up with Hollie. Emre was looking at Cars toys when she showed up. He was too excited about all the toys that he couldn't focus on her. He truly was excited to see her, he has been talking about seeing her in London for a while, he was just distracted. We looked at all the toys and I had him pick this baby dino, only 2 pounds, and some candy. Candy persuaded him to hold my hand while walking around. Connor had a headache, so he went home and Hollie and I (including Emre, he was with me the whole time) went to Covent Garden for dinner and a show. While walking there, we went through some great shopping spots with their Christmas decor getting set up. I guess that night, they had a lighting ceremony. I guess we missed it by an hour or two. But we ate at Shake Shack, something that Emre and I would like. But he didn't eat his grilled cheese, so I had to eat that too! Can't waste food these days, we are poor! After dinner, I thought it was getting pretty late, so checked the time on my phone.... it was only 5:47! Ha!
So we walked around and watched a performer that had quite the facial expressions. Emre thought he was so funny, he would tilt his head back and let out a breathy laugh! He even wanted to join in on the guy's performance, he took his gloves off and threw them in the air, imitating the guy. Emre was so funny but I didn't want to ruin his performance, so we left. I felt bad for Hollie's feet, she had heels on for work, so we ran to H&M to grab some cheap shoes. Only 4 pounds and they were these furry burgundy sliders. It was so funny! The best part, they were the same color as her heels. We had a good laugh! We headed to Trafalgar Square, but it was under construction for a concert (U2 and David Guetta), so we walked across the bridge to see the London Eye, House of Parliament (my favorite building), and Big Ben. It's been fun to point all these sights to Emre, they're all in his "Hollie books." Hollie gifts him some great books about London! We took the underground back to our dwelling. Hollie stayed for a bit, chatting about life. Seriously, I love chatting with Hollie and Connor, I could talk to them all day! While we were chatting, Hollie was giving Emre a back scratch and he was starting to glaze over. We had him lay down, she started scratching his belly, and then he started to fall asleep. We woke him a bit because his chocolate biscuit was on his face, and he had this perfect chocolate nose! When Hollie eventually left, I successfully changed Emre out of his clothes, diaper, put pajamas on, and tucked him into bed, without waking up! First time that has ever happened! Alastair came home soon after, smelling like Indian food. Smelled like a great dinner!
Alastair got off around late afternoon, so Connor and I took Emre to Kensington Palace to play on the park grounds. There's a big pond with various birds and Emre loved it! He even imitated a bird call, it was spot on! There's an amazing playground with a wooden pirate ship, we all had a good time playing around. The weather was pretty great, minus the chilly temperature. We played for quite a while but had to leave because I couldn't stand the cold anymore. We went to TK Maxx to grab some winter gear to keep us warm. After grabbing gloves and beanies, we went to Five Guys for some warm food. Love Five Guys! After lunch, we met up with Alastair and headed to the museum. That's when they bought the t-rex. We met up with another IESE family for dinner at a pub. Wished we ordered two orders of fish and chips instead of a burger cause the whole family wanted the fish. After dinner, we met up with Hollie at Picadilly Circus. We took a double-decker bus across the bridge to see all the sights. Emre had such a good time on the bus! We walked along the River Thames for a while, then parted ways in the underground.
Saturday was spent walking around London, seeing the same things, but that's what we love. And to be fair, Alastair was busy, not being able to sightsee like we did! We bought a cheap stroller to push Emre around, our backs were hurting after the days we carried him! We saw the same sights, sipping hot chocolate and eating our favorite treats. We stumbled upon the changing of the guards, didn't have to wait longer than a minute for it to start and there wasn't a big crowd either!
The roads were blocked off for some parades for Armistice Day. We watched them march down the street, bagpipes, and drums. We also bought some poppies to wear, Emre loved it. We met up with Hollie and Connor in the late afternoon near Tower Bridge. While walking around, Hollie took some family pictures. So happy she did that cause they're some of my favorites! We also went to a mall with great views of St. Paul's Cathedral. It was great to walk around and Hollie telling me stories of the great fire of London. After the cathedral, we went to Hamley's to let Emre play. We all sat on the floor while Emre played with the toys. Emre didn't want to leave. He told Hollie, "How about Auntie Hollie and Mommy go and eat dinner. Is that a good idea?!" He wanted to stay so bad, so Alastair stayed with him while we figured out dinner. We walked all over the city and eventually went to Covent Garden for the meat pies. The food came out fast and we waited for forever for Alastair and Emre. An hour later, they arrived with a new dinosaur! It's a stuffed triceratops named Pachy. His horn quickly got dipped into the mash and gravy! We didn't stay out that long because we were all so tired, so we said our goodbyes in the underground.
We had such a good time, I didn't want to leave. But I quickly had to tell myself that we live in Barcelona, so it's really not that bad! I hope Alastair gets an internship so we can spend the summer there!
