Boxing Day

Boxing Day is an official holiday here in the United Kingdom so there were many places closed today, but we found lots to do!

We started off with our local Starbucks near the Vauxhall Station then proceeded to have a leisurely walk along the Thames River before meeting up with our nieces who have already been enjoying England for a few days. Crossing the Westminster bridge we caught glimpse of the London Eye - built for y2k celebrations and left up because it’s a new tourist attraction! Nobody was interested in a ride and that was fine wth me. Luckily my stomach has settled from the crazy cab driver yesterday. . Sadly, this poor girl is running a fever and feeling a little sick. If you’ve followed our travels in the last, we know that we like to visit ER’s while our of town. We shall see what the future holds for this one. Such a trooper though!

We started off by checking out Big Ben which is currently being remodeled so there’s a ton of scaffolding around it (Katie’s head is blocking most of that above though). Still beautiful though. Then we found Westminster Abbey which is where this photo was taken in front of. And this cute little church that had the most darling church kneelers ever. All crocheted and personal. So cute!

  

Then we found Trafalgar Square where we found these cool lions and stopped to take a touristy photo.

We also explored Covent Garden and all the shops in that busy area including our lunch spot, The Punch and Judy Pub! Delightful food and drinks were consumed.

After stuffing ourselves, finding a closed up church, and buying a few souvenirs, we decided to become real Londoners and take The Tube! We picked the perfect station to induct ourselves - the only one that’s 15 floors underground. Grandma’s legs were a little shaken after that but we had a real locals experience all throughout the day as we trotted around on the Tube. 

Oh yeah. There was a sign. We didn’t read it. Anywho, we got these folks laughing again when we asked for a tourist photo in front of those red phone booths.  Iconic, am I right?

We walked, and walked. Then we walked some more. Not sure who was keeping track but I’m sure we hit at least 5 miles today. Maybe 10. So off to Hyde Park we went where it was suddenly dark (because the sun sets at 4pm here) which was perfect for the lights of The Winter Wonderland! It’s this glorious park that’s partitioned off and there’s essentially a big carnival inside. Very merry, and excellent for holiday cheer. It was delight and sweet with churros, donuts, pretzels, and hot cocoa.

A few pictures from the night...

Oh you might think that since it was dark out that we were done. But nope! We have only two days here so a walking we went to Harrod’s - apparently a well known London shop. It was huge. They sell everything from sushi, lingerie, coats, to sliced meats, breads, and Dolce and Gabana clothing. Yeah, a bit of a hodgepodge you might say! Pretty from the outside!

Since our tummies were growling and Chinatown was nearby, we killed two birds with one stone and checked out the sights while having a delightful meal with dim sum, chow mein, sweet and sour chicken, and rice. Our table of 9 was full and happy. 

After checking out the sweets at a nearby shop, the rain started falling and our feet started crying, so we hopped in an uber and jetted home.

 We did a ton today, but we are currently setting out clothes (and jackets of course) for our second day in London tomorrow. Can’t wait!