London Easter trip
Apr. 25th, 2014 01:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rich_jackoAfter the success of last year's trip, I joined the Nightingales again for an Easter visit to London. No Legoland this time, but still plenty of awesome! (Yes, the girls are still singing that song ;o) )
Here's a full write-up and photos:
Day 1 - Thursday 17th April:
I caught the first super off-peak train down (9:29am), checked in and dropped my bags off at the hotel, then went off to meet up with the gang at the Science Museum. We'd agreed 1pm at Launchpad, and I was bang on time!
Ken and Peri were there too, and we all spent an afternoon exploring the museum. Much fun was had with the electric shock pole, and we were all impressed with the glass suspension bridge.
We headed back to the hotel and sussed out various eateries before settling on pizza by popular vote. After dinner, Tim and I headed out to the pub.
Day 2 - Friday 18th April:
On the second day we hit the British Museum. I was quite tempted by the Vikings exhibition, but it was quite pricey and every time I go to the British Museum I end up going to the guest exhibition and neglecting the rest. We ended up just seeing the rest (except the Egyptian stuff which was heaving with people). The girls completed various activity packs.
Afterwards we took a brief hike across London to Trafalgar Square (which we didn't hang around in as there was a Good Friday service on) and popped in the National Gallery. The kids were flagging, though, so we didn't stay long. We headed back for dinner and another trip to a (different) pub.
Day 3 - Saturday 19th April:
The weather was still sunny, though the forecast wasn't good for the rest of the Easter weekend, so we decided today was the day we'd do the Olympic Park. I've been wanting to go back and see how it's changed. Mainly it's developed a fantastic adventure playground, with fountains (Much hilarity as the girls got soaked!), a musical area, climbing walls and all sorts of other stuff.
The Aquatics Centre looks great now the temporary seating has gone and the new windows are in place. It's open to the public too. The stadium is still a bit of a work in progress though. I went up the Orbit tower, which at £15 was exhorbitantly overpriced, but at least I can say I've done it now.
We stayed and ate lunch outside, plus essential coffees / hot chocolates as it was starting to get chilly.
In the afternoon, we went to visit 2 Temple Place, which is something of a hidden gem. I'd seen a BBC article about a University of Cambridge 'Discoveries' exhibition there and wanted to go (Alright, it got my attention with the word 'Muggletonian'). It turned out to be a great little museum, with the building itself almost as fascinating as the objects on display inside.
Day 4 - Sunday 20th April:
Sunday was, as forecast, rainy and miserable, so it was indoors at the Museum of London, a place I've never been to and been meaning to. So many of London's museums cover the whole world, so it was refreshing to see one dedicated entirely to the city itself.
I learned a lot about the city I didn't know (It's ancient name, Plowonida, means 'The place where the river floods' - Sensible place to build a capital, eh?).
I had, naturally, been unable to go away for a week without bringing some Lego with me, so after we retreated back to the hotel, we had a play for an hour or so before dinner. This was at the friendly and rather wonderful Kings Mediterranean Restaurant, which we'd been to before and would do again the following day. We may have all been slightly distracted from eating by Jackie Chan on the big screen ;o)
Day 5 - Monday 21st April:
We went our separate ways on day 5. The Nightingales headed for the V&A, which I'd explored pretty thoroughly not that long ago on a previous trip. Instead I took Good Cop and Bad Cop with me for company.
Having enjoyed the Museum of London the day before, I decided to go to its sister museum, the Museum of London Docklands. It was just as good, and complemented the first one well. There was a lot of focus on London's role in the slave trade, and more on the Blitz which wasn't covered much at the Museum of London. It's another museum in an interesting building too - an old warehouse once used for storing sugar and rum. I decided it was wise not to enter the 'largest rum bar in Britain' in the middle of a hot day...
I left the museum mid-afternoon, sat out in Canada Square having a late lunch and then headed for the rather ridiculously-named "Emirates Air Line" aka the cable car over the Thames. There was quite a queue, but at £3.60 with an Oyster card, it was a damn sight better value than the Orbit. The view was great given that the line is on the big curve in the river, although obviously it's over quite quickly.
The Tower of London was another one on my list of places to visit this holiday. There wasn't enough of the day left to make it worth going in, but as it was vaguely on the way back and it was a nice day, I decided to make one more stop and walk around the gardens and over Tower Bridge.
We reunited back at the hotel (Apparently I had been missed!) and indulged in some more Lego building before heading back out to Kings for dinner.
Day 6 - Tuesday 22nd April:
The last day, but no London holiday would be complete without a visit to the Natural History Museum. We checked out of the hotel and dumped our bags in the museum cloakroom, then followed the usual tactic of going to the dinosaurs as soon as the museum opened, before they get too busy.
For the rest of the day, I determinedly went around some of the sections I'd not really seen much of before, such as the Darwin Centre and the Ecology section, as well as old favourites like the Earth zone (newly revamped) and the mammals.
Six busy days were taking their toll, however, and this was probably one day too many fo all of us. Tim and I set up camp under a Pteranodon while Roo and Tani had a nap and Liz and B soldiered on. We left shortly before closing time. I accompanied the others to the coach station and hung around there for a bit before heading off to catch my train home.
All-in-all, it was a very busy, fun-filled (and tiring!) six days away. I have felt well loved, with three Nightingirls constantly fighting over my attention and who gets to hold my hand :o)
Plenty of stuff in London still to do...!
Here's a full write-up and photos:
Day 1 - Thursday 17th April:
I caught the first super off-peak train down (9:29am), checked in and dropped my bags off at the hotel, then went off to meet up with the gang at the Science Museum. We'd agreed 1pm at Launchpad, and I was bang on time!
Ken and Peri were there too, and we all spent an afternoon exploring the museum. Much fun was had with the electric shock pole, and we were all impressed with the glass suspension bridge.
We headed back to the hotel and sussed out various eateries before settling on pizza by popular vote. After dinner, Tim and I headed out to the pub.
 |
 |
 |
Day 2 - Friday 18th April:
On the second day we hit the British Museum. I was quite tempted by the Vikings exhibition, but it was quite pricey and every time I go to the British Museum I end up going to the guest exhibition and neglecting the rest. We ended up just seeing the rest (except the Egyptian stuff which was heaving with people). The girls completed various activity packs.
Afterwards we took a brief hike across London to Trafalgar Square (which we didn't hang around in as there was a Good Friday service on) and popped in the National Gallery. The kids were flagging, though, so we didn't stay long. We headed back for dinner and another trip to a (different) pub.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Day 3 - Saturday 19th April:
The weather was still sunny, though the forecast wasn't good for the rest of the Easter weekend, so we decided today was the day we'd do the Olympic Park. I've been wanting to go back and see how it's changed. Mainly it's developed a fantastic adventure playground, with fountains (Much hilarity as the girls got soaked!), a musical area, climbing walls and all sorts of other stuff.
The Aquatics Centre looks great now the temporary seating has gone and the new windows are in place. It's open to the public too. The stadium is still a bit of a work in progress though. I went up the Orbit tower, which at £15 was exhorbitantly overpriced, but at least I can say I've done it now.
We stayed and ate lunch outside, plus essential coffees / hot chocolates as it was starting to get chilly.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
In the afternoon, we went to visit 2 Temple Place, which is something of a hidden gem. I'd seen a BBC article about a University of Cambridge 'Discoveries' exhibition there and wanted to go (Alright, it got my attention with the word 'Muggletonian'). It turned out to be a great little museum, with the building itself almost as fascinating as the objects on display inside.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Day 4 - Sunday 20th April:
Sunday was, as forecast, rainy and miserable, so it was indoors at the Museum of London, a place I've never been to and been meaning to. So many of London's museums cover the whole world, so it was refreshing to see one dedicated entirely to the city itself.
I learned a lot about the city I didn't know (It's ancient name, Plowonida, means 'The place where the river floods' - Sensible place to build a capital, eh?).
 |
 |
 |
 |
I had, naturally, been unable to go away for a week without bringing some Lego with me, so after we retreated back to the hotel, we had a play for an hour or so before dinner. This was at the friendly and rather wonderful Kings Mediterranean Restaurant, which we'd been to before and would do again the following day. We may have all been slightly distracted from eating by Jackie Chan on the big screen ;o)
 |
 |
 |
Day 5 - Monday 21st April:
We went our separate ways on day 5. The Nightingales headed for the V&A, which I'd explored pretty thoroughly not that long ago on a previous trip. Instead I took Good Cop and Bad Cop with me for company.
 |
 |
 |
Having enjoyed the Museum of London the day before, I decided to go to its sister museum, the Museum of London Docklands. It was just as good, and complemented the first one well. There was a lot of focus on London's role in the slave trade, and more on the Blitz which wasn't covered much at the Museum of London. It's another museum in an interesting building too - an old warehouse once used for storing sugar and rum. I decided it was wise not to enter the 'largest rum bar in Britain' in the middle of a hot day...
 |
 |
 |
 |
I left the museum mid-afternoon, sat out in Canada Square having a late lunch and then headed for the rather ridiculously-named "Emirates Air Line" aka the cable car over the Thames. There was quite a queue, but at £3.60 with an Oyster card, it was a damn sight better value than the Orbit. The view was great given that the line is on the big curve in the river, although obviously it's over quite quickly.
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Tower of London was another one on my list of places to visit this holiday. There wasn't enough of the day left to make it worth going in, but as it was vaguely on the way back and it was a nice day, I decided to make one more stop and walk around the gardens and over Tower Bridge.
 |
 |
 |
 |
We reunited back at the hotel (Apparently I had been missed!) and indulged in some more Lego building before heading back out to Kings for dinner.
 |
 |
 |
Day 6 - Tuesday 22nd April:
The last day, but no London holiday would be complete without a visit to the Natural History Museum. We checked out of the hotel and dumped our bags in the museum cloakroom, then followed the usual tactic of going to the dinosaurs as soon as the museum opened, before they get too busy.
For the rest of the day, I determinedly went around some of the sections I'd not really seen much of before, such as the Darwin Centre and the Ecology section, as well as old favourites like the Earth zone (newly revamped) and the mammals.
Six busy days were taking their toll, however, and this was probably one day too many fo all of us. Tim and I set up camp under a Pteranodon while Roo and Tani had a nap and Liz and B soldiered on. We left shortly before closing time. I accompanied the others to the coach station and hung around there for a bit before heading off to catch my train home.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
All-in-all, it was a very busy, fun-filled (and tiring!) six days away. I have felt well loved, with three Nightingirls constantly fighting over my attention and who gets to hold my hand :o)
Plenty of stuff in London still to do...!
