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On our last night together we took a picture of all our kids. They became friends so quickly and really enjoyed each other’s company.

Morgan enjoyed their guinea pig named Donut.

One last ambulance.

Walking to board our plane.

Hanging out on the plane. Joel generally sat with me and Morgan and Leah sat in front of us.

Though we were back in Canada, Joel still found some more interesting vehicles. We arrived at my mom’s house just in time to get dressed up for my brother’s wedding. We weren’t there long before this limo arrived.

Morgan and I.

My Uncle was happy to show Joel his nice wheels.

We drove up to Northern Ireland to see the Giant’s Causeway. First stop was a local convenience store to pick up some Timmy’s coffee.

Then it was off to the ocean to see some amazing rocks.

There are tens of thousands of naturally formed, interlocking rocks, mostly hexagonal.

We all enjoyed walking and climbing on the rocks.

It’s hard to believe that these are naturally occurring. They are only in Northern Ireland and across the water in Scotland.

These were very large columns of the rocks.

Then we drove nearby to a rope bridge.

The ocean was so clear and such a magnificent colour.

It was an amazing last day to spend with our friends and see such amazing sights.

We had a lovely, quiet, rest day. We spent the day just hanging around and joined in my friend’s normal rhythms of life. These two sure hit it off.

Joel ‘fed’ their cat Smokey a piece of ham. I love how kids are so excited about the simple.

We went for a short ride over to visit my friend’s mother in law. The Irish are so friendly and kind. We sat on her couch and she told us all sorts of stories about her history and the history of her house. Her husband lived his entire life in her current house and it has been passed down throughout the years. She lit her old stove with newspaper and some twigs and threw in some coal to keep it going. She used to cook in it and still hangs her laundry above it to dry. It felt like we went back in time. It was nice to relax before one more grand adventurous day.

A cool ‘boat’ right next to our bus stop.

We took the bus out to Phoenix Park which is an expansive park in the city. They had a neat visitor centre highlighting the features of the park as well as its past. It was great to visit when it started to downpour. Thankfully the rain passed quickly. There was a garden with a large wall around it to keep the deer out. There were many vegetables growing alongside beautiful flowers.

There were lots of lovely, large bumblebees.

We spent some time at the playground before going off in search of the deer.

We found the papal cross. Morgan is standing at the bottom. Pope John Paul II held mass here for 1.25 million people.

We also found this vehicle.

After some more walking we found the deer.

The park was commissioned by a Duke for royal hunting grounds.

So a large wall was built around the entire park and pheasants and deer were placed within the walls for the royals to hunt. The deer from that herd hundreds of years ago still reside there.

Then it was off to my friend’s house where we ate a lovely dinner and spent the rest of our evening outside. Their neighbour was wrapping hay bales in the field so we had to check it out. (It’s hard to see unless you enlarge the picture.)

They have a metal fence in their front yard to keep the sheep out.

We roasted marshmallows by the fire.

It was great to be back at my friend’s place and share all about our journey and see familiar faces again.

We spent a couple of days in Dublin on our own. We decided to check out Dublinia, a hands-on, Viking museum. We had learned a lot about Egyptian, Greek and Roman history throughout our travels and now we were ready to learn about the Vikings.The castles and churches in Dublin had a lot more of a block feel to them.

This museum was a breath of fresh air after visiting so many other museums and churches where touching most objects was strictly forbidden. There were so many opportunities for hands-on learning and interacting.

Joel cooking in his viking house.

We learned the good, bad and the ugly. (Fun fact – they used moss as toilet paper)

Watch out for these not so mighty, happy warriors. We got to hold their weapons and learn all about viking raids. Joel was so intrigued about all the different kinds of swords along with an axe.

Inside the museum.

The buildings in Europe are unique to each country and so neat to see.

We had so many picnics in so many beautiful places with amazing scenery, including this lawn.

The diversity among the buildings that are built right next to each other makes for a great view.

After learning all about the Vikings, we went off to visit Morgan’s work in Dublin.

Every city we visited had a major river running through it except for Amsterdam which had canals everywhere.

Morgan in front of Temple Bar, a super old bar.

Another day on the road and in the air. We checked out the gift shop at the airport.

We were waiting for our plane.

This is all so old hat now but we acted like it was our first time.

Joel always likes to touch the outside of the plane on the way in.

In the morning we played at the park for a bit before heading off to church. After church we checked out the British Museum. It rained off and on but it was still quite warm.

I have starting taking all these amazing things in museums for granted as we have seen so many museums. I feel like I’m getting a crash course on history.

The Rosetta Stone.

We explored the Egyptian Wing.

A mummy.

The obligatory phone booth picture.

London has been a great city to explore. They have so many museums and many are by donation. It felt refreshing to be back in a culture that feels like home while still seeing some amazing things.

Speaking of home, I’m starting to look forward to being at home. This trip has been amazing with awesome sights and also so much time together with our family but it will be nice to slow down a bit and be in our own space.

It will be an interesting transition back home as the kids will both be off to school for full days and Morgan will be back at work. My September is slowly falling into place and it’s shaping up well. Wherever we will be heading off to in the fall, we will have stronger bonds together because of this time.

It was another early morning for the kids due to the one hour time change from Rome. We had breakfast, packed some lunch and then went off to the playground to run off some early morning energy. I liked this swing as the kids could wind it up on their own. I even joined them for a few rounds.

It’s part of a much larger playground with different areas based on age. I love their use of wood and rope and the variety of equipment.

We went to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. We came pretty early so the kids sat in front of the palace fence colouring and playing with their cars. Once the ceremony started, they were interested and had lots of questions.

The band that marched in played a medley of songs from Frozen. It was funny to hear the people around us once they realized their music selection. I was rather surprised too.

Right in front of the palace entrance.

We walked over to a grassy patch in a park and happened to find ourselves right by a momument to Canada and Newfoundland’s contribution to the first and second world wars. Leah and Joel decided to take out all the dead leaves in the fountain.

The Canada gate we gifted to Britain a long time ago.

Then we went off to Trafalgar Square.

We checked out the National Gallery. We were excited to see Van Gogh again.

I used to teach at a preschool that taught a different, famous artist to the kids every month. I learned a lot about art that year. One of the artists was George Seurat. It was fun to see his paintings and show them pointillism. The second painting was done in that style.

We also got to see many other artists such as Monet and Rembrant.

We found Canada House but didn’t have time to go in.

Joel can feel left out because he is in a lot of pictures but isn’t taking any. On the bus ride home he asked for my phone and started to look for cool things. This is what he found.

Every bus we ride Joel goes immediately to the top and front and sits himself down by whoever happens to be sitting there. If those spots are full, he stands in the aisle at the front and someone in the front stands up and moves to give him a spot. We’ve spent a lot of time on transit but these buses are still very exciting for him.

Today we checked out the Tower of London. It’s a pretty large piece of property with many buildings on it.

They had actors in period costume talking about some of the attacks on the castle and had some reenactments. The kids loved it and followed closely.

There was a small army museum on site.

It was very interesting learning the history of the tower and visiting some of the surrounding buildings. We were able to tour the vault where the Crown Jewels are held as well as see the old royal residences and learn about those who live on site now.

The view from Morgan’s work office in London.

Practicing their saddest faces.

A bus to London Bridge.

Over the past few weeks we have toured many residences of royalty and leaders of the common people of times long ago. To see their splendour and learn about how the people they ruled over were living at times is troubling. To see how the church worked with the state was so frustrating at times as well.

Looking back on history, it’s so easy to criticize what decisions were made. I wonder what people looking back on our current times will think. It wasn’t that long ago that Hitler ruled parts of the world and white and black people couldn’t swim in the same pool, never mind the many dying in the world today because of malnutrition, easily curable diseases, war and dirty water supplies. The rich still routinely exploit the poor and it hurts us all.

I’m not sure what my call is in all of this but it does have me thinking as one who is living in comfort in a world class city with my healthy, happy family.

This morning Leah and Joel were up early after a later night. They were a bit more tired today but we made the best of the day. We are staying less than five minutes away from a very large park and discovered one of the best playgrounds I’ve been at. We were there early and had the playgrounds all to ourselves and the kids had a blast.

Once Morgan sorted out transit cards, we hopped onto a red, double decker bus and found Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. No pictures were allowed in the Abbey but we enjoyed our visit and they had a scavenger hunt for the kids which was helpful.

The oldest door in London.

Joel and I pretending to be monks.

We had a snack in the garden of the Abbey.

We eyed the London Eye.

We saw some cool vehicles.

We walked over the Thames before heading back for dinner and bed.

It has been a great adventure exploring different places and living in different cultures but now it is nice to be in London which feels like home in so many ways.