Departure and Iceland
We flew out of Dulles airport on Wednesday night without any issue, didn't leave bags at security like the last time we flew out of there, and didn't have to rush for the plane. In fact, we had extra time and hung out in the airline lounge, enjoying snacks and wi-fi before our 11:50pm flight to Iceland. The kids did great on the 5-hour flight, sleeping for most of it.
When we arrived in Iceland at 8am, getting through the airport was easy, and a very stern driver picked us up to take us to our hotel in Reykjavik. The weather was beautiful when we arrived, in the 50s and sunny, so we stopped at the Viking Museum near the airport to explore. It was a small, but cute museum and cafe, right on the water, and a perfect way to start our trip. After spending about 90 minutes there, we headed to our apart-hotel in downtown Reykjavik. It was sort of like a cross between a hotel and an AirBNB, and had two bedrooms, and plenty of space for us to stretch out. We basically just dropped our luggage and then walked out to find some lunch and do some more exploring.
The main shopping and tourist area was about a 5-minute walk away, so we stopped at a few stores and found a cute pizza cafe/restaurant for lunch. However, by the time lunch was over, it was raining--a cold, icy rain that we weren't prepared for. We attempted to stay out in the weather for a bit to see more, but it was too cold, especially for little Jasper, so we made the wet walk back to the hotel.
Back at the apartment, we dried off and basically just relaxed the rest of the evening (and watched Icelandic TV, which is strangely stuck in the 80s--lots of episodes of Highway to Heaven, Matlock, and Murder She Wrote), except for Eric going out to find us some food for dinner.
We knew that we had to get to bed early because we had a 4:30am transfer back to the airport. The transfer was easy, and getting through the airport was no problem even though it was extremely busy as this began our VIP treatment because we had a baby with us. The ticketing area had a special line for families with young children, security had an express line for families with strollers, and when we arrived at the gate, the worker took one look at our stroller and kids and escorted us to the very front of the line to get on the plane first. It was all amazing.
The flight from KEF to London Gatwick was only about 2.5 hours and uneventful, as was passing through Customs and all that (thanks again to special lines for families). The only challenge was fine but finding the hidden elevator to the train platform to take the Gatwick Express took forever and then we accidentally got into a first class car on the Gatwick Express. They told us we had to move or pay the difference so we paid the extra $20 because we weren't moving a million pieces of luggage and four kids on a moving choo-choo.
We got to Victoria Station and found a cab that could fit us all and came to the hotel (Citadines Trafalgar Square). It was nice enough and in an amazing location. We settled in and then walked out and got lunch and explored Covent Garden. In total, we did about 4.5 miles. The kids loved Convent Garden, eating ice cream, looking at all the shopping stalls, listening to music, etc.
Around 4pm, the kids started falling apart so we stopped at a grocery store and then went back to the hotel. They had a small kids area in the lobby so we relaxed there a bit and then went to our room. That evening, Eric went and got us all pizza and salad for dinner. We all ate while watching TV and then crashed, after a long, but such fun day.
On Saturday, we had the most amazing day, with perfect weather. I woke up early and got coffee and sat outside of the hotel and enjoyed the weather. Eric and the kids didn't wake up until about 9:15am, and then we ate breakfast at the hotel and took the Tube (just a 2-minute walk from our hotel) to Tottenham Court Road and walked to the British Museum. The kids loved the museum, especially Fletch with all of the Egyptian and Greek and Roman exhibits, as he has been into all of those things for months. I also loved the museum, much more so than I remembered--the atrium was so beautiful and it was just a lovely time.
We walked around from about 11am-2pm and then ate lunch in the pizzeria in the musuem. After lunch, we went to the gift shop, and everyone got souvenirs. We left the museum around 3pm and walked a very roundabout way to Leicester Square, stopping at the official Harry Potter store (House of Spells) and then the world's largest Lego store, and M&M World. At the Lego store, Fletch found some lego kits that are totally discontinued but he's been wanting for years. He was almost in tears, he was so excited.
We walked back toward the hotel after that, stopping to climb on the statues at Trafalgar Square. The kids couldn't get enough of the statues and monkeying around on them. On the way back to the hotel, we left Eric at a restaurant to order dinner for us, and bring back to the room. We had another night of dinner and crashing into bed.
On Sunday, we had tickets to the Tower of London, and we had another amazing, awesome day. We all slept until about 730am, and then got dressed, had breakfast, and headed out. We walked to the Tube station, and rode to the Tower of London. It was pouring when we got there but cleared up within 30 minutes and then was gorgeous out. We walked all around the Tower, and the kids loved it. It was a little tough going up and down all the narrow stairs with Jasper and the folded stroller, but we survived. The big kids couldn't get enough of it. Fletch especially loved the ravens, and was so sad when they were sold out of raven stuffed animals at the gift shops.
We stayed there until about 12:30pm and then walked along the Thames, took pics by Tower Bridge, and ate lunch at a cafe outside in the sunshine. Around 2pm, we rode the Tube to St. James Park, where the kids loved all the swans, ducks, and geese. We got ice cream in the park and played at the playground and just enjoyed being outside.
Around 4:30pm, we left the playground, which was right by Buckingham Palace, so we walked there and then walked along the Mall next to St. James Park and made our way back to Trafalgar Square because Piper and Deke wanted to climb the statues again.
We stayed there about 30 minutes, and then Eric, Fletch, and Jasper went back to the hotel, and I took Piper and Deacon to a souvenir store. Then we came back to the hotel around 6pm to do laundry, showers, and bedtime.
Monday was our final day in London. Eric went to an Orangetheory in Aldgate at 615am and the rest of us got up when he got back around 730am. We got dressed and had breakfast, and then packed up the room. We then checked out of the hotel and walked to Westminister Abbey, passing by 10 Downing Street and the Queen's cavalry.
The abbey was really cool; I know I've been before but didn't remember much. The kids were only mildly entertained and slightly creeped out. We left there around 1pm and ate lunch, and then went back to the hotel for our luggage.
We took a taxi across town to St. Pancras train station, and got on the Chunnel train. It was all really easy. The 2-hour train ride was relaxing, and as soon as we got to the train station in Paris, our driver was waiting.
The driver took us to our hotel (Aparthotel Adagio Tour Eiffel) where we realized that I forgot cash for the driver so he took Eric to the ATM while I checked us all in. We all got into the room, and the view of the Eiffel Tower was beyond gorgeous from the living room and bedroom. The kids were in complete awe.
By that time, it was 930pm and we hadn't eaten dinner yet so Eric went to the grocery store up the street and got us delicious bread, cheese, ham, salad, etc., and we all ate looking at the tower, watching the gorgeous light show, excited about the next stop on our adventure.
