Fun filled day in London!

Today was full, full, full and, as my Mom would say, fun, fun, fun!

We got up and had breakfast at the apartment and then headed out for a day in the city.  The underground transit had a strike that started today, so not all services and stops are running and there are delays throughout the system, so instead we hop back onto the tourist bus, which we have access to until 10:45 with our 24 hour ticket.  There is a stop (number 40 of 44 before the loop starts again) right at the bottom of our street and stop 13 is at the Aquarium, which is where we are headed.  Because of the tube strike the traffic is crazy!  I think that there are more buses on the road and definitely more cars - so the trip to the Aquarium takes over an hour...but we're on the open top of the bus with a commentary on different things we see along the way, so I don't mind.  There is a combination of commentary and classical music, so the girls keep taking their earplugs out and putting them in saying "is there talking now?  Now?  Now?"

Plus we got to see more of beautiful London!

 The Aquarium was really cool, and set up nicely so that it wasn't too crowded.  In fact, Jay didn't say "Oh my God, get me out of here" even once!  Lol, Paige was a little nervous of the shark tank!

After the Aquarium Paige really wanted to go on the London Eye, which was totally shocking to us since she hates rides and professed on this trip that she doesn't like heights..but whatever, I said to Jay "If she wants to go on the Eye, I'll take her on the Eye.  I mean we're in London, when will we be here again?"  He said "They're going to go to school here"...he REALLY likes London!

Clearly the height didn't bother her.

I didn't get a photo of Buckingham Palace, which we could see from the Eye, but while Paige and I were up there Jay and Sophie walked to Buckingham Palace and I texted Jay from my phone to the phone that we got with our rental and told him we were almost to the top.  He said - "we're right by the monument and Sophie is waving" So we waved back and then Jay texted back and said "She says she can see you!"  Weird kid.

I can tell from my photos that I have a weird obsession with the Parliament buildings.

Once we got off the Eye I texted Jay and he said that he and Sophie were heading over the Regent Street, the shopping area.  So Paige and I headed over to the 'double bunker bus' stop and found a bus heading in that direction.  Traffic was bad again so Jay made it there before us and waited with Sophie until the bus arrived and met us at Piccadilly Circus.  (Circus means circle, as in roundabout - though most of the Circus' no longer are roundabouts but regular intersections - Piccadilly is still a circus with about 8 exits so when I got there and Jay tried to tell me to meet him on Regent and there are 2 exits for Regent we had a mini text domestic before we met!)

Jay really wants to go into Burberry and get the girls jackets - he's nuts!  I won't allow it anyway, but I humour him.  We walk in.  We walk out.  Maybe The Gap.  Gram sent me a text this morning that said to buy the girls sweaters while in London for their birthday and to spare no expense...pretty sure she didn't mean Burberry either!

Sophie got a super cute denim jacket from The Gap :)  Here she is modelling it like only she can.

 On the way home, because of the strike, we could only get to either a few stops before or after our stop on the tube we took the bus to Marble Arch and then walked through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens to get back.  Now Jay and Sophie had walked from the Eye to Buckingham Palace, from Buckingham Palace to Regent Street and now from Marble Arch to Ossington Street.

Jay needed a nap.  Sophie came to the park and played for 2 more hours with Paige and a new friend they made, named Ava.  Ava said at one point "I need to go ask my Nanny if I can go over there"..the girls said to her later "did you want to ask your Nana?"  - they don't know what a nanny is.
 

Here is them playing on the pirate ship!

After playing at the park we went out to dinner to an Italian restaurant called Zizzi that was awesome!
Then back to the apartment, put the girls to bed, we packed to get ready for flying home tomorrow and hit the sack!

Only 9 days until Dubai!