Day Three

Day Three (Thursday, March 24^th): We woke up this morning bright-eyed and busy-tailed at 7:15. Most of the kids were so exhausted last night that they just passed out when they got back into their hotel rooms. So this morning was a great change of pace because most everybody was well-rested. We ate an amazing breakfast which included beans and toast, a very traditional English breakfast dish. After breakfast we jumped on the bus and took a city tour of London. Daz was there but then handed the reigns over to Erik who became our guide for the rest of the day. We took a quick stop at St. Paul's Cathedral and I even stood on the steps that were in the film Marry Poppins were the bird lady was (Feed the birds tuppence a bag). Brian grabbed us a quick coffee (from a European coffee place called Pauls- soooooo good!!!!) then it was back to the bus.

From there when went to Buckingham Palace. The Queen was actually there to work today we could tell because her flag was flying on top of the place. We also saw the royal guard enter the grounds it was pretty cool. As we headed back toward the bus our guide Erik stopped us. He saw a royal car and said you never know it could be The Queen, and it was!!! I snapped a quick pic, it's blurry but The Queen nonetheless.

Then were we off to Winsdor Castle! It was about 45 minutes on the bus and we are sharing our bus (for the entire tour) with a group of 8^th graders from Colorado. The bus is always loud but our tour guide was entertaining enough and informative enough to hold most of their attentions. When we arrived at Windsor we took an audio tour of the castle. It was amazing, the history, the rooms, the decorations and the collections of everything, unfortunately we were unable to take pictures inside and we had little time for souvenirs. Time has been a serious issue. We have a very tight schedule and time is most definitely of the essence, but I find most of my kids and myself are getting a little frustrated with this. We have had too many instances when our kids were late (it started this way too). So that have been one major problem I have been trying to remedy.

When we left Windsor we headed back into central London. We ate dinner at an English Pub called Ye Olde Cock Tavern. Everyone was introduced to a traditional English meal of fish and chips. We even tried it with Vinegar and salt (in that order). I loved it1 Most of the students seemed to enjoy it, but of course everyone mention how small the portions were. It's funny that we are so accustomed to large portions while the rest of the world thinks we are crazy. (I'm beginning to feel that way too) :) For dessert we had an amazing stuffed pastry with a type of ice cream within it drizzled with caramel.

After dinner we split up into two groups. Group one (my group) headed to London's West End to see a little show called Wicked! I cried and sang along the entire time. It was amazing. I couldn't believe I had the opportunity to go. The best part is that is was half price Thursdays so not only did we get to see one of the most amazing musicals ever, but it was very decently priced. Brian stayed behind and took the smaller group back to Piccadilly Circus where they took a wrong turn and spent a couple of blocks in a very shady and very “red-light”sort of area. I hear they had quite the adventure :)

We all made it back to the hotel around 11:30 (after I had to stay back and wait for a chaperon to catch up. She decided to take the lift (elevator) while the rest of us took the stairs so I waited about 15 minutes for her to catch up. Fin times. :( In the end we all arrived back at the hotel and everyone crashed within minutes of returning. One things is for sure, busy days make sleepy kiddos. :)