Day 8: Arnold House, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and High Tea

Well, we finished off our week in London with another jam-packed day.

First, we went to Arnold House in St. Johns Wood, where Daddy went for 6th grade. School won't be in session again until Wednesday, but there were staff at the school and a very kind man (the Bursar) took us on a long tour. We met the headmaster, one of the History teachers, and saw how the school has changed since Daddy was last there in 1978. The girls got to see many of the classrooms and rooms he spent time in. Here are some pics.

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After the tour, we got back on the tube and went to Westminster Abbey. N had a few meltdowns in the church (not good) but we managed to do some of the audio tour. The girls saw the memorial stones/burial sites for a number of famous people: Darwin, Handel, Jane Austen, Lewis Carroll, Shakespeare (just a memorial), the Bronte sisters, and many more. We had to cut the visit a little short because N wasn't cooperating, but we still got a good sense of what an amazing place it is and the role it played in British history. We tried to imagine William and Kate walking down the long aisle to the altar.

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After Westminster Abbey, we walked along St. James Park to Buckingham Palace. We stood outside for a bit and tried to imagine which room the Queen was in. (Turns out she's in the countryside). Then we walked across Green Park to Mayfair, where we had an amazing time at high tea at Brown's Hotel. It helped that N fell asleep right before we got there and stayed asleep for about the first 30 minutes of tea. After one screaming fit, Daddy had a talk with him and he calmed down for the rest of tea. We all agreed that tea was a highlight of the trip.

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Finally, we hopped in a cab and went to meet Daddy's old teacher Diccon Swan and his classmate Edward Dowler the Vicar at a very old pub in Kensington. M, A, N and I only stayed for a little while but they caught up for a few hours over pints.

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It's our last night! We've got some more packing and organizing to do tonight, and then half a day more here tomorrow, and then we leave! So sad. We're having a great time, but it has been exhausting and busy and I think we're ready to get back to a routine.

 

Gayle