Schmidts in the UK!: Hosting the Honeymooners--Part II, London & Tewkesbury

No visit to England is complete without a trip to London! We decided to try out the train trip to London (about 2 hours) with Uncle Craig and Karen in tow. The girls liked the train ride....especially the tvs on the backs of the seats, complete with cartoons and games. We arrived in London and caught the tube to the Tower of London, where we embarked on a tour led by the famous Beefeaters (Riley got confused and kept calling them Meateaters. Tehe!) We had actually visited the Tower and done the same tour in December but it was much more enjoyable this time without the bitter cold! Uncle Craig especially loved learning about the way they tortured prisoners there! We also got to check out the Crown Jewels, which was much more impressive than in December. It looks like the exhibit was revamped for the Jubilee. Hooray! The Tower Bridge also looked gorgeous with the Olympic rings!

Serious train rider

With the Meateater....I mean Beefeater!

Tower Bridge looks amazing!

After the Tower, we boarded a boat for a quick ride on the Thames. It had been drizzling on and off but suddenly started down-pouring the moment we boarded the boat. Luckily it was covered and we somehow avoided getting soaked! By the time we reached Westminster, the rain had stopped and we decided to walk around and take in the sights. We saw Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the London Eye, and Buckingham Palace. Riley learned about London in school this year and was our tour guide, pointing out the sites and teaching us about the Great Fire of London.The girls were champs, with Riley walking and occasionally hitching a ride on Uncle Craig or Daddy's shoulders, and Lyla taking a short snooze in her stroller. We learned how much easier travelling is when you add in two more adults...especially when going up and down metro steps with strollers and kids!

Enjoying the boat ride!

Posing with the London Eye

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Finally it was time to board the train home and everyone was exhausted...except the girls! They kept us busy singing, chatting and dancing for the two hour ride. Poor Uncle Craig and Aunt Karen got the worst of it but they were great sports. An exhausting but amazing day out!

Instead of resting up the next day, we decided to head to the Tewkesbury Medieval Festival. We arrived and parked in surplus parking and found we had to walk along public footpaths to reach the festival. Craig and Karen quickly learned that public footpaths just mean fields that people can walk across...alongside animals and over stiles. The fields were COMPLETELY mud-covered...where were our wellies when we needed them? When we finally reached the festival, it was time for a reenactment of the Battle of Tewkesbury, the final battle from the War of the Roses. There were hundreds of reenactors dressed in armor and a huge crowd to cheer them on. The whole thing was very long and loud and Lyla hated all of the shooting. We hung in there for awhile and then decided to head back along the public footpath. This time a bunch of horses blocked our way over the stile and we had to enlist the help of some locals to help us. Watching Wayne try to "shoo" the horses out of the way provided a great laugh though, complete with Craig yelling warnings about standing behind the horses. Pure comedy! Despite the festival being a bit different than we expected, we had a fun day out that we would never forget!