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.
We got up early this morning and started a very long travel day. We cleaned up, packed up and headed off to the Metro.
Once we arrived in London we checked out our home for the next few days and then we were off to get some food. We found some good grub in an English pub.
We are looking forward to exploring London. We’ve enjoyed everywhere we have visited but it does feel nice and relaxing to be in a place that has the same language and amenities as home.
Dear Rome
We’ve spent the last week together and I’ve learned you are quite the city. A short walk down the street shows off your magnificent buildings and a few will have doors open to see the magnificence inside. You’ve built aqueducts for miles long with precise engineering for all to have fresh water at their disposal. Piazzas welcome lounging to enjoy the foundations, food, wine and conversation. You’ve preserved buildings thousands of years old and welcomed the world to admire.
I know I only visited a short time but could I offer up some suggestions to make your city even better? More bathrooms would be greatly appreciated, especially ones that are clean, have toilet seats, have toilet paper, have water and have soap. Also, if those serving the tourists could be trusted, that would be lovely as well.
Based on all your astounding works in the past, I trust these things can be easily remedied. That’s all for now. Thanks for a great week.
Sandy
We took a train to Anzio today because Morgan wanted to spend a day by the Mediterrean Sea. We boarded a train with a reminder of Canada.
It turned out to be a great decision.
Leah loved playing in the water and swimming. Joel enjoyed the water too but liked to stay much closer to the shore.
After cooling off in the sea, we focused our attention on the sand and got to work.
The sea was a beautiful green and blue with a great, sandy beach. The view from the water wasn’t bad either.
It was a nice day to let the kids play and be loud and enjoy the fun of the beach. We’ve been hushing and guiding them a lot and I’m so glad they had time to roam free.
A quick stop for gelato before boarding the train home.
Tomorrow we are up early and off to London!
We walked over to the church of San Clemente to explore some history above and underground. No pictures were permitted which is a shame since it was a very interesting place.
The ground level slowly builds up over the years in Rome and the surrounding areas. This has helped preserve some of the old buildings as they have been shielded from the elements. If you have to walk down a slope into a building, you know it is a really old building.
The church of San Clemente that you can see from the street is a fourteenth century church that is still in use. We walked down a large staircase into a church built in the fourth century that was discovered less than a century ago. It was much less ornate but you could still see frescos and a fancy alter. When the fourth century church’s building was starting to need some repair, they decided to build a new church. They filled in the old church and just built another church on top.
After we explored the second church, we descended into the world of the first century where there we could walk through a house and see the remains of a pagan shrine.
We ate some lunch in the church’s courtyard before checking out Trastevere, a neighbourhood in Rome.
These trees have been here awhile.
We found a great gelato shop. What better way to top some gelato than with some whipped cream and a wafer.
After walking around the city for a bit we headed back home to cook up some fresh pasta and call it a night.
Today we went to an English speaking church that we all really enjoyed. It was the most multicultural church I’ve ever been to. It brought back memories of the church I grew up in as we used hymnals and all the children were called to the front before the sermon for a teaching time just for them before heading off for Sunday school.
After church we went to Piazza Navona where the heart of Rome is.
Then we went to aqueduct park. Our first stop was legitimate gelato. We sure enjoyed our treat and had to eat quickly before the gelato melted. (There is good and bad pizza, pasta and gelato in this city. Unfortunately we didn’t learn that the easy way.)
Aqueduct park was a lovely, quiet outing with a few people scattered around the park, mostly lounging in the shade.
The Romans had much skill and tenacity to build these aqueducts for miles upon miles with a one foot drop every three hundred feet. One of the aqueducts we saw was about 43 miles long.
I asked for their cheesiest smiles.
Leah and I got to do just a little bit of climbing.
There were lots of places to walk over the aqueduct.
Morgan found this spot where we got to play in the water from the aqueduct that still was in use. The water was very cold and the kids loved walking through it as long as they could stand.
Here is Morgan and Leah in front of the inside of an aqueduct.
It was nice to spend an afternoon just hanging out in a park, especially after the crazy crowds at the Vatican yesterday. It still seems surreal in a sense that we are here and that we were able to do things like play in water from a Roman aqueduct and see sculptures and paintings from almost two thousand years ago.