London--November 2008

 Day #1:  The Tower of London.  Not at all stroller-accessible, so we took turns exploring while Toby stayed out.  For the most part, Thomas saw everything twice.  The weather was pretty nice this day.

Toby enjoying a pretzel while waiting outside and bored to tears.

I did finally let him run a bit.  We were in a corner kind of to ourselves, so he wasn't bothering anyone.

I could not believe how much the Logan LDS temple looks like this!

This could have been our "Christmas card pic" if only Toby would have cooperated!

Day #2: we walked A LOT this day, seeing all the city sights.  It was much colder this day.  But still manageable. We wore our coats.  This part of London reminded my of NYC.

This boys & I with a horse guard.  I know the pic is a little fuzzy.  It's the only one I have.

The "London Eye".  We didn't ride on it.  It wouldn't have been any fun with Toby. It takes thirty minutes to go around once.  Need I say more?

The Parliament House

Big Ben

Harrods.  It was CRAZY!  But, nothing like the next day when we went to Hamley's.  Hamley's is a huge, famous toy-store in London that is five stories tall.  We went on a Saturday.  It was like when you're exiting a basketball game or concert and there are people everywhere but you are trying to shop and you have two kids.  It was a nightmare and I will never return.  We had a much nicer experience shopping at the Hamley's kiosk at the airport on Sunday.  Harrods was fun, though!

Day #3: It was bitter-cold, we wore our coats, layers, hats & gloves and still we froze to the bone.  Makes me cold just thinking about it.  Toby took his naps regardless, when he did, we brought his bundler up over his nose.  Did I mention it was cold?

Buckingham Palace

James, Toby and Thomas taking a ride on his buggy board.  It's a little contraption that hooks onto any stroller, so he can have a rest.  He may be six, but we walked a ton, and it was worth cutting down on the whining.

This is Carnaby Street.  It is a major shopping district.  Again, wall-to-wall people.  I had a friend in my German class that was going the next week with her three kids and I advised her to stay away from this area on the weekend.  I did think the snowmen were really cool.  My lungs feel like they are crystalizing as I am looking at these pictures.  We did quickly go into GAP because we decided that Thomas had outgrown his stocking cap and I just wanted to see what their clothes were like.  We don't have GAP in Germany.  Thank goodness for online shopping, but it isn't the same.  Well, I found really cute stocking caps for both Toby and Thomas but then the kids were breaking down and there were the crowds so we decided to leave without even looking at my section.  I thought, no big deal, I'll just go online.  Only problem: GAP London's clothes are totally different!