Landing in London was a breeze. I was actually amazed at how well the kids did on the plane. They were also great once we hit the ground. They carried their own backpacks and made it through customs and passport control without an issue! Our driver meet us and we were off…
We hit London about 1pm. After settling in we decided to walk over to the Victoria and Albert Museum. I’ve been to England several times and even spent two summers there, but some how I never went to the V and A.
We were hungry and went straight to their famous cafeteria. In case you don’t know, the Morris, Gamble and Poynter Rooms are the first museum restaurant! (It started and carries on the tradition of not so good, overpriced food.) It was a lovely LOOKING facility, but the food was horrible. The kids refused to eat and that was the start of some eating challenges with the kids in London.
The V&A offers some great programs to introduce children to the collection. You can check them out here! We picked up a children’s scavenger hunt and went from room to room in search of the various items. The Princess LOVED the scavenger hunt. She was running from place to place declaring that she discovered the items! I am not sure the typically understated British really appreciated that–we got quite a few disapproving looks. (We were living up to the stereotype of being loud Americans.) But The Princess was having a great time and we really engaged with the museum, so as far as I am concerned it was mission accomplished!
The kids really loved the Court of Casts. We took some time to look at the copy of Trajan’s Column. But, what we focused on were the casts of William Marshal and his sons effigies. The real Marshal effigy suffered some damage during the WWII bombings. The casts were made prior to the war and therefore depicts the effigy intact.
The architecture room was also a favorite with Cinco. And, we spent a lot of time in the outdoor garden. There were a number of British children playing the wading pool so the Princess kicked off her shoes and joined in… running wild in the water.
Jet Lag caught up with us soon enough and we went off to bed.
The Booky Mom 