Hurry and Do All the Things We Have Been Meaning to Do Before We Leave...

The clock is ticking and it is time for the family to see some of the sites that we haven't collectively ticked off our London sight seeing box yet.  

St. Paul's Cathedral

No pictures were allowed inside but here are a couple I found online to give you an idea of how beautiful the church is.  We walked the 259 steps to the Whispering Gallery which runs around the interior of the Dome about 1/2 way to the top.  It gets names from a quirk in the construction which makes a whisper against its walls audible on the opposite side.  We tried it, it worked and it was cool.

The Whispering Gallery is within this circle inside the dome. 

Next was the London Eye.  Each pod fits about twenty people and the trip lasts 20 minutes. 

Great views of London.

 St. Paul's Cathedral

 Big Ben and Parliament

 Trafalgar Square

 The Shard

On Good Friday the boys and I took the train back into London for some shopping (me - Brooks Brothers, them - Hamley's Toy Store), lunch (5 Guys Burgers) and more sight seeing (Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum for the Star Wars exhibit).

Carnaby Street 

Lego Queen (Happy 90th Your Majesty)

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The museum was absolutely packed.If you ever find yourself in London on Good Friday avoid Madam Tussaud's museum.

Before Star Wars, we walked through some of the other exhibits. The boys wanted a picture with almost every wax figure. 

Tom Hanks

 Charlie Chaplain

Henry & Oliver love the wax figures, even when they have no idea who they are standing with. I'm not sure what Henry is doing here. 

 Yippee Ki Yay

 Note, Oliver buttoned his own shirt. 

Usain Bolt 

Pele

Henry the VIII

I can't remember who this was but the boys seemed quite scared. King Arthur maybe?

Princess Di

 The Royal Family.  Quite a dodgy Prince Charles in my opinion.

Van Gogh.

Einstein

Sir Isaac Newton

Picasso. One of Henry's favourite artists 

Spider-man.  Oliver's favourite spider

 Now on to the Star Wars exhibit. 

Piloting the Millennium Falcon with Chewbacca

A great day with the boys in the city.

P.S.  Here is Henry showing what we learned in a battle with our neighbors Olivia and Sophia

Jesse & Cassidy Visit Marlow

We  had the pleasure of having Jesse and Cassidy visit us for a week.  We think.  We barely saw them as they were out exploring London and surrounding areas from dusk until dawn each day...

The cousins

Cassidy has mad light saber skills

 Jesse teaching Henry how to do a proper push-up

Day 1 was the Marlow tour that you all know so well.

With Sir Steve Redgrave

 Then a stop by the Rebellion Brewery for a quick sampling.  We are pretty sure that Jesse had more than the two pint limit...

 Then Cassidy took a 4 hour nap while Jesse helped me clean the garage. While cleaning the garage  he had an epiphany and decided to enroll in law school.  Good for you, Jesse!

 Sunday we went on the Pub Walk of Hambledon (unlike the time I took the walk with the rest of their family, we did not get lost). We even bagged a geocache on the way.

 Life imitating art (or is it art imitating life?)

Cassidy, Jesse and a larger than life Bentley in front of the Stag and Huntsman.  We were joined by Beth and the boys for a Sunday roast at the pub.

 Next was a hike to the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang windmill in Skirmitt.  It was a lot more difficult than it looks. 

Professor Potts was not at home but there were plenty of cows at the top.

 No rest for the weary. As soon as we got home Oliver & Henry wanted to show their cousins the infamous tunnel.

 Books were read

 and Legos were assembled.

 Then Jesse and Cassidy spent the rest of the week exploring London, Windsor, Oxford and many, many pubs (I mean museums) along the way.

Here are a few of their photos that I borrowed. Cassidy must be camera shy or in witness protection as she is no where to be seen...

Jesse and Big Ben


Jesse and a van (he'll pose with anything)

Jesse posing in front of the back door to the Windsor Castle

It was great having you both here. You have the honour of being our last guests before we head back to the US!  See you soon!