Got into London Liverpool Street by 10:45. Got tube pass for underground, figured lines to Buckingham Palace, 11. TUBE IS NOT STROLLER-FRIENDLY! I couldn't have done it without Mayowa's help. She was great. So was Addie. We literally ran to Buckingham Palace to catch the end of the 40 min. changing of the guards ceremony (started at 11:30, got there by 11:50).
Above, the band marching out. 
By 12 we were walking passed St. James' Park (below)... 
(and ate pb&j sandwiches) to Parliament/Big Ben (below).
Got pictures (poor Mayowa didn't know who she was traveling with when she signed on to go!)...
...and then to Westminster Abbey, 
where almost all royals have been crowned since 1066 - the coronation chair was so COOL! old and wooden with names and all carved into it. 
Above, Addie running through the cloisters. Addie and I went through it all in 40 minutes (the audio tour kept her entertained while I saw all the people's graves that I researched - paid off!Lots of royals including Edward the Confessor, Henry VII and Eliz. of York (below),
Mary I and Elizabeth I (below), 
Mary Queen of Scots, then others like Lady Beauford, Wilberforce (below)
Pitt, Chaucer, Dickens, Dryden, Handel,
Kipling, Tennyson, Clementi, 
Purcell, Ralph V. Wms.,
Darwin (who had nothing on his gravestone) Livingstone, Newton) while Mayowa rested. She called me the energizer bunny, darting thru tourists w/ the stroller. 
Above is Addie in front of the Abbey.
Admiralty Arch, above.
Adelaide LOVED the water fountains and splashing in the water.
View from National Gallery of Trafalgar Square, Nelson's Column, and in the distance that's Big Ben to the left of the column.
Then to the National Gallery - free! 
Again, research to find paintings I wanted to see paid off. 40 minutes, saw lots of Monet's work like 'Grand Canal, Venice' and 'Waterlily Pond' and Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers', Delaroche's 'Execution of Lady Jane Grey', Seurat's 'Bathers at Asnieres', Turner's 'The Fighting Temeraire', Caravaggio's 'The Supper at Emmaus,' van Dyck's 'Equestrian Portrait of Charles I', Velazquez' 'The Rokeby Venus', Rembrandt's Self Portrait, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Botticelli's 'Venus and Mars', and my favorite painter Bruegel's 'Adoration of the Kings'.
Then on to Piccadilly Circus to see Eros Statue. 
Muscles sore from carrying stroller up and down stairs in tube stations, but glad to be in London!!! Across town to Tower of London (2 for 1 pass b/c we took the train into London!), 
Medieval wall/postern.
Got there by 4:30 so had an hour to see crown jewels which are in the building below...
Below is the white tower - Mayowa got to go through but it was closed when I went through. Armor, etc. inside. 
Below is the bloody tower where Richard III kept his nephews in 'safety' and then they died so he could take the throne - although I've read that Shakespeare's made him more evil than he really was, compared with the times, and it was actually written as Tudor propaganda!
Below is the scaffold site where Henry VIII had 7 people executed - yet that was better to be executed inside the tower than to be executed or hung in front of all the commoners. Two of his 6 wives were executed here - Anne Boleyn and her cousin Catherine Howard, as well as Lady Jane Grey. 
Above is the Roman city wall.
Above, Mayowa standing in front of the torture area.
Above, Mayowa in front of the medieval palace. We didn't go inside. 
It's like a small city inside! Addie slept the whole time, again very thankful, and this was going over old cobblestone streets and all! To the Riverwalk to see Tower Bridge and get pics in front (got Joshua alot of pics of Addie in front of famous places - hopefully a few will turn out!). 
Back to the tube (Mayowa saw THREE people she knew in just one day and just on the tube - shocking to me! and she's not even from London!) to go across town to Marble Arch station. Did some great bargain shopping at Primark, grabbed sandwiches for dinner at Sainsbury's, pics of Marble Arch.
and back on the tube. 
I LOVE being in a big city, not to live in but definitely to visit and explore - reminded me of running around Budapest, Vienna, Rome, and Paris w/ Szilvia and Hilary. Quite a bit more work with a baby but glad Addie got to go, and SO glad Mayowa was up for going!
About 7:30 now, wanted to go to Harrods but decided to just go to London Eye and call it a day. Walked up Oxford Street to the next tube station so we didn't have to change lines again. That's a pain w/ the buggy. To Waterloo, to the river on the southside. 
On the Eye by 9 pm, 30 minute 'flight' 
Looking at St. Paul's Cathedral - something we didn't get to see today.
Parliament, above.
Above, what the capsules look like. We're at the top! Below, Addie made friends with a 6 yr. old girl...
...and other tourists, talking up a storm to them and i guess telling them about the airplane we were looking at. She had NO fear of looking over the edge down at the water (we were all enclosed in glass, but it still freaked me out!). 
Headed back to Liverpool - SCARY TIME getting off the tube. Mayowa had put the brakes on when we first got on and i was getting the stroller off the tube and forgot the brakes were on. When i realized i didn't want to take the time to unbreak b/c we were in a rush to get off as alot of people had gotten off before us. And i didn't take the time to let Mayowa in front to grab the stroller in front. Thought the gap wasn't too big but it was, and b/c brakes were on the front wheels just fell off the edge and got STUCK b/c the pavement & train! PANIC! couldn't get it out. A lady outside grabbed the front end and someone (Mayowa) shouted 'get the baby out' so franticly unstrapped her, thinking if the train takes off and the stroller is smashed to pieces ok as long as she's out. The lady was saying 'I've got her I've got her; but Addie's arms were still in the straps. She started crying, probably scared by the screaming and hussle, and by now we had a crowd, i think all panic struck and didn't know what to do. Train started closing/beeping about to take off and everyone screamed 'STOP THE TRAIN!!!!' THANKFULLY it stopped and we got Addie out, the lady holding her and then some guy just walked up and grabbed the front of the stroller like it was the easiest thing! I'm thinking it was now since Addie's weight was out. Got out, grabbed Addie and just started crying holding addie so tightly while Mayowa thanked everyone - alot of people she said missed the train in order to help. Lesson learned - don't take a stroller on the tube, esp. when you're tired and not thinking clearly, and take the time to do it right and MIND THE GAP- literally. No joke to me anymore. And if you go to London and they've banned 'push chairs' and 'prams' from the tube, it's probably b/c of us.
I held Addie all the way to the train, which we got to in time to catch the 10:38 back to Cambridge. Arrived 11:45, Cambridge buses dead and it's a 40 minute walk to home. SO TIRED and not sure of the area at night w/ a baby and obviously tourists, so splurged and gota taxi. I never take public transportation in town, so figured this paid off. And it was only twice as much as it would have been for Mayowa and I to take the bus, and probably 20 minutes faster even if the buses were running. SO GOOD to be home, to hug David, tell him about the day, and take a shower, albeit at 12:30. Couldn't get to sleep b/c replaying the tube scare over and over. I've had fears of something happening to Addie like getting hit by a car or bus, so it was really surreal when it all happened, and it happened so quickly. PRAISE GOD he answered our prayers that morning to keep us safe. I sometimes think it's silly for David to pray so for us when we leave, but was very thankful he did so afterwards.
So that's London in a day w/ a baby, and that's not starting out until 11! Pretty good for just having less than 12 hours in the town. Missed kensington gardens, british museum, tate museum, St. paul's, but saw so much so very happy. And safe - most important!
2 comments:
Wow Sarah! That story about the tube is so scary. So glad to hear you and Addie are safe. Again, Scotty and I had a good time with you and David while you were here in Edinburgh. Hope your remaining time in Cambridge goes really well.
-Rebecca
So scary about Addie! Praise God that she is safe, and that so many people were willing to help (even at the expense of missing their train). I'm glad you guys had a fun, fast and furious trip to London! I'd love any pointers, as our time there will be just as fast and furious.
Love, K
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