Our family's 6 week European adventure!
Aug 6th, 2013, 09:09 PM
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Our family's 6 week European adventure!
After many many hours of research and reading this forum, we were finally off to the airport. We are a family of 5! We have a daughter15, son 13 and a little girl aged 5. My husband and I are in our mid forties. My husband and I have taken a tour of Europe before eight years ago. This time, I was responsible for everything! The travel agent booked our flights and cruise, but in the early days, I decided I could do a better job myself and so embarked on a fun filled but very time consuming job of plotting where we wanted to go and finding accommodation and planning sight seeing! We arrived at Melbourne airport and were all very excited .We had about a 14 hour flight to Abu Dhabi and then 5 hrs to London. We had fantastic seats on the aeroplane and kids were so excited about the inflight entertainment. Eliza,5 couldn't wait for takeoff and to have a midnight feast on the plane. Our takeoff time was 9.50 pm. Then came the announcement we all dread!!. Due to the thunderstorm raging outside there will be a delay in takeoff. We sat on the tarmac for 2 hours but due to edihad's great thinking they put the entertainment system on and we were all happily entertained! We finally took off at midnight and After one wheel had left the ground, Eliza fell asleep! Sadly she slept through her midnight feast and felt ripped off when she woke in time for breakfast! My son was so thrilled with the whole experience he kept repeating "Oh this is so cooll! Thank you so much for taking us on this holiday!" After a short stopover in Abu Dhabi, due to Edihad trying to make up time we finally arrived in London at 2.00 in the afternoon. I had paid for a maxi cab to pick us up and we all thought it was pretty cool seeing a man holding a sign with our name on it! We arrived at our apartment which was to be our home for the next 7 days. It was nice and spacious and girls thought it was cool to have a room set in the roof! We then went and got supplies from a great supermarket round corner and later went on the hunt for a London pub to have dinner at. We settled on a pretty ordinary place but we were getting very tired so were all inbed very early and slept relly well!
Aug 7th, 2013, 08:10 PM
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irishface I was really thrilled to hear Thomas saying thank you too as often kids today get really complacent with what they have!
29Feb- you are so right and that's why I stopped! However I have now mucked around and discovered how to do it! I'm not to0 good with computers!
29Feb- you are so right and that's why I stopped! However I have now mucked around and discovered how to do it! I'm not to0 good with computers!
Aug 7th, 2013, 08:22 PM
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Day 2- We had a nice sleepin and then had breakfast and were all excited about our hop on hop off bus tour. After wasting almost an hour where we were given wrong advice from locals about which bus and where we could buy our tickets from, we finally reached the centre of London and climbed aboard our hop on hop off bus! The guide was fantastic and totally engaged the kids and told little jokes while imparting history of all the major tourist sites!
It was a beautiful sunny day and was so relaxing sitting there while we saw tower bridge, tower of London, St Pauls Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben just to name a few! We were all in 7th heaven and Thomas was thrilled to be seeing all the sites he'd read about in history books! He took hundreds of photos and especially loved Tower Bridge and the setting around it.
It was a beautiful sunny day and was so relaxing sitting there while we saw tower bridge, tower of London, St Pauls Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben just to name a few! We were all in 7th heaven and Thomas was thrilled to be seeing all the sites he'd read about in history books! He took hundreds of photos and especially loved Tower Bridge and the setting around it.
Aug 7th, 2013, 09:28 PM
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Day 2- We had a nice sleepin and then had breakfast and were all excited about our hop on hop off bus tour. After wasting almost an hour where we were given wrong advice from locals about which bus and where we could buy our tickets from, we finally reached the centre of London and climbed aboard our hop on hop off bus! The guide was fantastic and totally engaged the kids and told little jokes while imparting history of all the major tourist sites!
It was a beautiful sunny day and was so relaxing sitting there while we saw tower bridge, tower of London, St Pauls Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben just to name a few! We were all in 7th heaven and Thomas was thrilled to be seeing all the sites he'd read about in history books! He took hundreds of photos and especially loved Tower Bridge and the setting around it.
We took a lunch break at McDonalds- I know but kids wanted to see if it had same things as we have in Australia and it is a bit of a novelty as we don't go there very much at home!
After lunch we went to Buckingham Palace and then went for a walk in St James Park. Kids thought this was great and asked if we could come back for a picnic another day! They were delighted when we spotted some squirrels as we don't have these back home.
We then caught the train back home which was so easy and had dinner at a little place close to the apartment in Fullham, which was just ok.
Day3- We got up and headed out for a day at Tower of London. We navigated the tube easily and arrived there before the crowds and got our tickets quickly and went on in! We followed advice others had given and went straight to Crown Jewels which was an amazing spectacle. We then went to the White tower which held the chapel and kids thought it was amazing how many steps there were on the spiral stairs. Thomas and I then joined a yeoman Warder tour and found that really interesting which then ended up in the Chapel Royal. So unbelievable to think who had been buried here and the events that took place here!
We also went to Royal Beasts and were blown away by the animals they kept here! We felt sorry for the polar bear who was allowed to catch his fish while on a long chain, and for the poor visitors savaged by the tiger!
We then went back to the apartment and had an early dinner. I cooked and everyone loved it! I think we were all missing our vegetables! We then headed back to the London Eye and bought our tickets for the 9.00 time slot as we wanted to see London all lit up at night! It was fantastic and we were all in awe of how beautiful it looked! We all thought Big Ben and the parliament buildings looked so serene not to mention Tower Bridge! Such a beautiful backdrop!
On the way home, we discovered sugar roasted peanuts which we all loved and became a regular treat on our London outings! We fell into our beds very happy and content with all that we had seen that day!
Day 4- The alarm went off bright and early at 6.30 as today my eldest daughter, and I were heading off to Highclere Castle. We are both Downton Abbey fans and love the castle and beautiful scenery1 It was Michaela's dream to go there!However during the time we were in London, it was meant to be closed but unbelievably it had a special guided tour of the castle with morning or afternoon tea on three days while we were in London! At first I put in in the too hard basket,but after my mum's gentle pushing, I decided it was meant to be and bought tickets on line before we went. Due to my procrastinating, we could only get a morning tour which meant a very early start!It was an hour out of London and I was a bit nervous about catching train on our own but it was all apiece of cake and we arrived at the castle atabout 9.45 ready for our 10.00 tour.The castle looked so majestic and every bit as good as it did on tv. WhenI turned and saw the joy and wonder on Michaela's face, it was worth every pound and so glad we did it! We then walked up the gravel path and entered Highclere castle. We were welcomed by the countess herself who was very down to earth and lovely to talk to!The tour was fabulous and we saw every room shown on the show and more except servants quarters which aren't filmed here. we then had a lovely morning tea with pastries and we were able to wander all around the garden for as long as we wanted! Again it was such a beautiful sunny day so we sat on a seat in the garden and dreamt about who played here as children and which adults wandered around as we were doing!
It was a beautiful day and lovely time spent with my daughter!
It was a beautiful sunny day and was so relaxing sitting there while we saw tower bridge, tower of London, St Pauls Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben just to name a few! We were all in 7th heaven and Thomas was thrilled to be seeing all the sites he'd read about in history books! He took hundreds of photos and especially loved Tower Bridge and the setting around it.
We took a lunch break at McDonalds- I know but kids wanted to see if it had same things as we have in Australia and it is a bit of a novelty as we don't go there very much at home!
After lunch we went to Buckingham Palace and then went for a walk in St James Park. Kids thought this was great and asked if we could come back for a picnic another day! They were delighted when we spotted some squirrels as we don't have these back home.
We then caught the train back home which was so easy and had dinner at a little place close to the apartment in Fullham, which was just ok.
Day3- We got up and headed out for a day at Tower of London. We navigated the tube easily and arrived there before the crowds and got our tickets quickly and went on in! We followed advice others had given and went straight to Crown Jewels which was an amazing spectacle. We then went to the White tower which held the chapel and kids thought it was amazing how many steps there were on the spiral stairs. Thomas and I then joined a yeoman Warder tour and found that really interesting which then ended up in the Chapel Royal. So unbelievable to think who had been buried here and the events that took place here!
We also went to Royal Beasts and were blown away by the animals they kept here! We felt sorry for the polar bear who was allowed to catch his fish while on a long chain, and for the poor visitors savaged by the tiger!
We then went back to the apartment and had an early dinner. I cooked and everyone loved it! I think we were all missing our vegetables! We then headed back to the London Eye and bought our tickets for the 9.00 time slot as we wanted to see London all lit up at night! It was fantastic and we were all in awe of how beautiful it looked! We all thought Big Ben and the parliament buildings looked so serene not to mention Tower Bridge! Such a beautiful backdrop!
On the way home, we discovered sugar roasted peanuts which we all loved and became a regular treat on our London outings! We fell into our beds very happy and content with all that we had seen that day!
Day 4- The alarm went off bright and early at 6.30 as today my eldest daughter, and I were heading off to Highclere Castle. We are both Downton Abbey fans and love the castle and beautiful scenery1 It was Michaela's dream to go there!However during the time we were in London, it was meant to be closed but unbelievably it had a special guided tour of the castle with morning or afternoon tea on three days while we were in London! At first I put in in the too hard basket,but after my mum's gentle pushing, I decided it was meant to be and bought tickets on line before we went. Due to my procrastinating, we could only get a morning tour which meant a very early start!It was an hour out of London and I was a bit nervous about catching train on our own but it was all apiece of cake and we arrived at the castle atabout 9.45 ready for our 10.00 tour.The castle looked so majestic and every bit as good as it did on tv. WhenI turned and saw the joy and wonder on Michaela's face, it was worth every pound and so glad we did it! We then walked up the gravel path and entered Highclere castle. We were welcomed by the countess herself who was very down to earth and lovely to talk to!The tour was fabulous and we saw every room shown on the show and more except servants quarters which aren't filmed here. we then had a lovely morning tea with pastries and we were able to wander all around the garden for as long as we wanted! Again it was such a beautiful sunny day so we sat on a seat in the garden and dreamt about who played here as children and which adults wandered around as we were doing!
It was a beautiful day and lovely time spent with my daughter!
Aug 8th, 2013, 01:00 AM
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millie2112- How exciting! Where are you going?
While we were out at Highclere castle, my husband took my son and daughter to Westham's home ground. He loves the soccer and wanted to get some souvenirs. They had a lovely time andthey then went to Madame Tausaud's wax museum. That night we had a great time sharing our day with each other!
Day 5- Today we had a lovely sleep in and then went to Oxford st and shopped to our hearts content. Michaela and I were happy as we got make up and skin care products much cheaper than we can at home. The kids all got souvenirs to take home and then we headed to Westfield shopping centre to the Lego shop.Thomas is a mad leggo fanatic and he has been talking about going there ever since we started planning our trip. He was so excited he couldn't stop to look at any one thing but kept darting all around. Finally he chose his birthday present which we carted all around Europe with us and he bought quite a few other things. Eliza my 5 yr old has also discovered the passion and was soon stocking up with sets she wanted too. Finally, almost broke, we got out of the lego shop and Thomas took a photo of the shop as we left! We then headed for home, all of us with a purchase or two from our day out!
Day6- Today we got up early as we headed out to Bath for the day!Again the weather was beautiful- so lovely and balmy! The trip went quickly and we arrived and were delighted with the ambience of the city. We went to the baths and were surprised to see how green the water was. We were amazed at how clever the Romans were and the fantastic set up of the roman baths. We then had lunch and went to see Sally Dunn's house- the oldest house in Bath. We went for a horse and carriage ride around Bath andwere lucky enough to share our carriage with a tour guide who was showing a couple around so she gave us lots of history and pointed out all the sites for free! Talk about the right place at the right time!
We then went for a walk to the Circus area and thought the architecture of the houses looked so nice and would love to live here! We then wandered back to main area of Bath and watched street performers and had an ice-cream. There was an event on and watched all these glamourous people arrive on the red carpet looking fantastic. The girls loved looking at their outfits! We then ate dinner and headed for the train station and got back to London around 9.30. Another wonderful day!
Day7- Today we woke up and went and bought some rolls and pastries to take for our picnic in St James park. We decided to go and watch the changing of the guard 1st and then enjoy our picnic! We got there in time to see the parade which the kids loved with the music and outfits. We then went and fed the ducks and enjoyed watching the swans. Unfortunately the weather wasn't as good as all the other days, but it was still warm. After our picnic and watching some more squirrels, we then went to look at St Paul's Cathedral, which was very impressive. My husband then took the girls home and Thomas and I went to take a tour of Tower bridge.We really enjoyed this and found the engine room very interesting.
Wow what a week we had in London! We then packed our suitcases ready for our journey in the morning on the Eurostar to Paris!
While we were out at Highclere castle, my husband took my son and daughter to Westham's home ground. He loves the soccer and wanted to get some souvenirs. They had a lovely time andthey then went to Madame Tausaud's wax museum. That night we had a great time sharing our day with each other!
Day 5- Today we had a lovely sleep in and then went to Oxford st and shopped to our hearts content. Michaela and I were happy as we got make up and skin care products much cheaper than we can at home. The kids all got souvenirs to take home and then we headed to Westfield shopping centre to the Lego shop.Thomas is a mad leggo fanatic and he has been talking about going there ever since we started planning our trip. He was so excited he couldn't stop to look at any one thing but kept darting all around. Finally he chose his birthday present which we carted all around Europe with us and he bought quite a few other things. Eliza my 5 yr old has also discovered the passion and was soon stocking up with sets she wanted too. Finally, almost broke, we got out of the lego shop and Thomas took a photo of the shop as we left! We then headed for home, all of us with a purchase or two from our day out!
Day6- Today we got up early as we headed out to Bath for the day!Again the weather was beautiful- so lovely and balmy! The trip went quickly and we arrived and were delighted with the ambience of the city. We went to the baths and were surprised to see how green the water was. We were amazed at how clever the Romans were and the fantastic set up of the roman baths. We then had lunch and went to see Sally Dunn's house- the oldest house in Bath. We went for a horse and carriage ride around Bath andwere lucky enough to share our carriage with a tour guide who was showing a couple around so she gave us lots of history and pointed out all the sites for free! Talk about the right place at the right time!
We then went for a walk to the Circus area and thought the architecture of the houses looked so nice and would love to live here! We then wandered back to main area of Bath and watched street performers and had an ice-cream. There was an event on and watched all these glamourous people arrive on the red carpet looking fantastic. The girls loved looking at their outfits! We then ate dinner and headed for the train station and got back to London around 9.30. Another wonderful day!
Day7- Today we woke up and went and bought some rolls and pastries to take for our picnic in St James park. We decided to go and watch the changing of the guard 1st and then enjoy our picnic! We got there in time to see the parade which the kids loved with the music and outfits. We then went and fed the ducks and enjoyed watching the swans. Unfortunately the weather wasn't as good as all the other days, but it was still warm. After our picnic and watching some more squirrels, we then went to look at St Paul's Cathedral, which was very impressive. My husband then took the girls home and Thomas and I went to take a tour of Tower bridge.We really enjoyed this and found the engine room very interesting.
Wow what a week we had in London! We then packed our suitcases ready for our journey in the morning on the Eurostar to Paris!
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