~McLean Family Adventures In Germany~: April 2009

~Frohe Ostern from the McLeans. We had a beautiful, sunny day and the boys had a lot of fun getting surprises all day long. On Easter-eve when I was putting Kade to bed.. he started crying hysterically and began begging me to please say a prayer asking the Easter Bunny to please leave the chocolate on the doorstep instead of coming inside the house. It felt a little silly giving this request during the prayer.. but it worked and put him at peace. When the boys woke up they ran to the door and saw that not only had the Easter Bunny brought them some wonderful chocolate surprises.. they each received two other baskets from our amazing neighbors who dropped off some delicious treats and toys for the boys. We had a wonderful day at church and were reminded of the beautiful reasons we celebrate this Easter Sunday... our Savior, Jesus Christ. After church, the boys put a request in for a picnic lunch on a blanket in our backyard. When we got outside, we realized that our sweet, old neighbors next door had hid Easter eggs all over the backyard for our boys. These were the eggs that come from the chickens in our backyard.. and the boys had such a great time searching and finding. What would we have done without these amazing neighbors? We are so incredibly blessed with these generous people around us~

~After a delicious picnic lunch, egg hunt, and jumping on the trampoline... the boys got out their bikes and we went on a bike ride. Cole is so proud that he no longer needs training wheels because he taught himself how to ride a couple of months ago. It is hysterical watching him ride down the street... as fast as he can.. and doing tricks.. legs out, no hands on the handlebars.. it brings back fun memories from my childhood. Kade is loving his European bike. They do things differently here and start their young kids on these bikes that have no pedals. They focus on learning balance before the pressures of having to learn how to pedal. You can really get going fast on these little bikes~

~It was time for bed and I had the boys in their pjs when we got a ring at our door. The boys ran downstairs and were greeted by another set of neighbors who told the boys to come outside and find a basket that they hid for them - more treats to enjoy. Another fun surprise to end a perfectly, wonderful day~

~I was definitely counting down the days until my next adventure to London. There were five friends together on this trip.. and we were all very excited to be without kids and without any stress for 4 whole days. We walked up pulling our suitcases and came upon this beautiful hotel. Always a great way to start your vacation when you love where you are staying. The best part about this adventure was that I had no expectations, and no shedules {the "C" is silent in England} to have to stick to..priceless~

~Of course the first thing that caught my eye were all of the red double-decker buses zooming around quickly down the busy streets. No matter how many I saw, they always put a smile on my face. Of course when we would get on.. I always wanted to head up the narrow stairs and sit on the top level.. much more to see from up there. Although it was life threatening making it down the stairs while the bus was coming to our stop... it was definitely worth the risk~

~I loved these British cars that filled the streets. I felt like I was in an old-fashioned movie watching them all whiz by while I walked down the sidewalks. We even got to ride in these cars a couple of times when we would take a taxi around the city. It took a lot of getting used to seeing the drivers sitting on the "wrong" side of the car, and watching them drive down the "wrong" side of the road. The best advice I received was how important it was to remember to look to the right when crossing the street.. wow, it is a good thing they painted "Look To The Right" on the road... because I forgot every single time.. habits are hard to break~

~Why don't all phone booths look like this? I love the bright red booths that just scream London! If I lived here, I would have a hard time carrying a cell phone because I would always want to go inside this sassy phone booth to make all of my most important phone calls. I really hope that they never have to do away with these due to underutilization, right now they are scattered all over the city - you definitely cannot miss them...thank heavens~

~London definitely loves their Lions. They have statues throughout the city. These also represent their local sport's team mascots. They have become a popular symbol for London, and in the background is a very popular tourist attraction, the London Eye. This Lion stands tall & strong at the entrance of the London Bridge, welcoming everyone to the beautiful sights they are about to behold~

~At the end of the day we definitely were exhausted. Lots of sightseeing, walking, & shopping. When we came into our rooms this is what we saw. They had come in and tucked down our beds and placed a chocolate on our blanket. I don't know what it was about this tiny little chocolate coin, but it was the perfect mix of milk chocolate, crunch and mint... ahh the little things we receive in life to put a perfect end to our perfect days in London...I guess I enjoy being pampered~

~Just taking a break to make one of those important phone calls... I tried to reach you all to tell you how much fun I was having.. but I could not get the call to go through - so I decided to go shopping instead ;-) ~

~I must say that the shopping is wonderful in London. Oxford Street is one of the most popular streets with fabulous stores lining both sides of the street. You could find anything... shoes, scarves, dresses, cosmetics, chocolate, accessories, & tea.. to name a few. One of the things you stop doing when you become a mom (especially a mom to boys - their hate for shopping starts at a very early age) is shopping. I loved walking into any store that I wanted.. no whining, no tugging, no tantrums.. just pure, uninterrupted shopping. We spent almost one full day walking amongst the locals down the Oxford Street sidewalks with lots of bags in our hands, and of course we were giggling about the deals we were finding and the delight this brought to us~

~After a full day of shopping, we decided that we could not come to London and not enjoy a delightful Afternoon Tea. The Orangery at Kensington Palace offers one of the finest tea experiences. We enjoyed cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, fruit scones with Cornish clotted cream & strawberry jam, and finished it all off with delicious chocolate cake with fresh whipped cream... of course served with a fresh pot of chamomile tea. The view inside and outside was beautiful. Our visit was wonderful~

~We are standing in front of the Kensington Palace which is a royal residence set in the beautiful Kensington Gardens. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century. Today it is the official residence of The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke and Duchess of Kent; and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Kensington Palace is also used on an unofficial basis by Prince Henry. Until 1997, it was the official residence of Diana, Princess of Wales.

~We enjoyed a beautiful walk and watched the sunset in the park after our tea~

~One of my most favorite parts of our trip was watching the Broadway musical, Wicked. It was amazing and very entertaining. The voices were incredible, the costumes were spectacular & it was definitely something not to be missed. I am a huge fan of the Wizard of Oz movie, so I really found this musical fantastic and it was very fun to get to experience the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London's West End~

~We had to see if it was possible to get us all in the phone booth.. a little tight, but mission accomplished~

~London has a terrific underground train system that zooms you along to any destination you need to get to. We used the London Tube many times on our trip. I must say it was very clean and there was not one time that I felt unsafe or uncomfortable.. OK, not true about being uncomfortable.. we were sometimes very, very close to one another with not even a little wiggle room.. nobody is a stranger on the London Tube~

~On Saturday we decided to spend a full day being hardcore tourists. We bought our tickets for the double decker tour bus that promised to give us lots of valuable information and drop us off at all of the most famous stops in London~

~London's Chinatown is in the Soho area. It contains a number of Chinese restaurants, bakeries, supermarkets, souvenir shops, and other Chinese-run businesses. I was not brave enough to try the pig intestines that were so beautifully displayed in the store windows. There's always next time...~

~Trafalgar Square is a famous square in central London. With its position in the heart of London, it is a tourist attraction; at its center is Nelson's Column which stands guarded by four lion statues at its base~

~Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north-eastern end of the Palace of Westminster in London. The nickname is often also used to refer to the clock and the clock tower. This is the world's largest four-faced, chiming clock and the third largest free-standing clock tower in the world~

~The London Eye captures the public's imagination. It brings a rush of excitement because it is 443 feet tall. It is the biggest Ferris wheel in Europe, and has become the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over three million people in one year. Paris has the Eiffel Tower, New York the Empire State building, and now London has the London Eye - an extraordinary symbol for an extraordinary city~

~This is the famous London Bridge over the Thames River that we all know about from the "London Bridges Falling down" song~

~Tower Bridge is a suspension bridge over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name. It has become an iconic symbol of London. Tower Bridge is sometimes mistakenly referred to as London Bridge, which is actually the next bridge upstream~

~Another requirement when you come to London is visiting a pub and eating fish-n-chips! We went into The Minories Pub which is tucked below the railway line. I unfortunately did not know this, and while we were eating I almost jumped under the table because I thought we were having an earthquake. This pub has the original arches & brick work above you and gorgeous flagstone floor below you. It had a great atmosphere and delicious food~

~Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London is a historic monument in central London on the north bank of the River Thames. The tower's primary function was a fortress, a royal palace, and a prison. It has also served as a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom~

~The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament is where the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom meet. The palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames. The palace contains around 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases and 3 miles of corridors~

~ Westminster Abbey is a large & very beautiful, mainly Gothic church. It is famous throughout the world as one of the greatest churches, and draws visitors from all corners of the globe. The Abbey used to have a policy of asking for donations from visitors as a way of admittance, but they now charge for admission. I have a big problem with being asked to pay an admission fee to Westminster Abbey or any other church for that matter~

~Kara, Lisa, me, Kathleen, Cindy~
~I was finally able to find enjoyment from eating at restaurants once again! We ate some delicious meals while in London. Incredible Indian, Tastey Spanish Tapas, fantastic fish-n-chips, awesome Afternoon Tea... the list goes on and on. We had a fun time talking and reminicsing about our day. What I will definitely not miss is the traditional English breakfast. I hope to never see another runny, watery, scrambled egg with baked beans and sausage links ever again...yuckers~

~On our last night there I didn't want to pass up on doing a night walk along the River Thames. We stopped and had some delicious chocolate cake and then continued down along the river. It was very entertaining to see the nightlife in London.. lots of clubbers in costumes and people out having a good time. I loved seeing Big Ben and the London Eye all lit up. Definitely an amazing way to end this trip~

~If we look tired, it's because we were. We did our walk and lost track of time. We were down in the London Underground (the Tube).. and since it was 3 a.m. we missed the last train. We went back up to the street and took a double decker bus as close as we could to our hotel... it was definitely an adventure... and I was very glad that I got to sleep in the next morning~

~We had a beautiful, sunny day on our last day. I was very sad to leave, but had an incredible time on this trip. The only thing that I wanted to do that we hadn't yet was seeing the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace. We were running a little late so we ended up taking a taxi.. it was like being on a very scary roller coaster ride. I think I encouraged the driver a little too much by giggling and putting my arms up in the back seat. There were so many people there.. more than I expected. We were able to get these pictures by asking some girls if we could swap places with them for a few good shots. I am glad that we saw it.. it felt like a requirement on a trip to London. This ladies Lodon trip was even better than I dreamt it would be.. I will definitely be going back... with Steve~