Well, we have arrived in London for the first month of our 4 month leg in Europe and things are off to a (shockingly) good start!

I have to give my kudos to Virgin Atlantic airlines once again for just being awesome and once again showing me all of AA’s faults.  This photo is of the main flight attendant apologizing to my 11 year old because our take-off was delayed because of a storm in the area.  I took this photo with a glass of complimentary champagne in one hand and my phone in the other.  TAKE NOTE AMERICAN AIRLINES!

Once we were in the air all was smooth “sailing.”

Once again, I’m reminded of how worth it it really is to shell out the $$ for upper class on trans-Atlantic flights.  After a few refills of fine French wine, and dinner, my attendant happily made my bed and I was off to sleep.  Here is my first tip to all of you traveling with kids…DON’T go to sleep until you are certain your kids are doing the same.  The kids were in their VA bed clothes and SEEMINGLY tucked away for the night, but my mistake was not taking away their access to the personal tv/game system. I woke up a few hours later as breakfast was being served to 2 wide awake kids who hadn’t slept a wink!

 

They soon realized the error in their judgement on our taxi ride to our new home for the next month, and even though I was annoyed that they were missing the experience of driving on the “wrong” side of the road, and all the different looking views/cars, I reminded myself that this is the beginning of 10 months of travel so they will have plenty of time to be amazed.

 

Our first week was full of typical London tourist adventures, and even with mega jet-lag the kids hung in there, and enjoyed learning all about London history, foods, traditions etc.

We visited Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London etc.  We managed to figure out the tube, train, and bus systems like real Londoners, and yesterday I felt great pride when my 11 year old asked if we were going to be able to get a drink at the neighboring pub after her long school day.

 **I should probably make this point before DFS jumps on a flight to the UK-the kids enjoy the UK version of “lemonade” when mom and dad ask for a pint of Ale.  NON-ALCOHOLIC for them.  (Just thought I would be clear.)

In between all the site-seeing we have been hard at work with their schooling and our work.

We chose to spend long periods of time in each location to live like locals do and not feel rushed.  With the crazy high temps (and lack of AC in our flat,) we have spent some of our work time working from our neighborhood cafes and yes, pubs (it’s what they do here!)

We capped off the weekend with a trip to the Nottinghill Carnival (Europe’s largest outdoor festival.)

 

Sunday was apparently “family day,” and I was completely amazed at the sheer numbers of people attending, and the entire Nottinghill area completely shutting down for this event.  I have seen nothing like it, and I can tell you that we never will.  If you’re ever in town for this event, it is a MUST.  The music, the colors, the Caribbean food, the Red Stripe, and the beauty of seeing so many unique cultures together to celebrate this annual festival was truly amazing to see.  America take note!

All in all I am pleasantly surprised with how well we are all settling in to this new year-long adventure.

 

For those looking to travel with kids here are my first TWO biggest tips…

1. Packing Cubes- OMG. These were a LIFESAVER!  I was able to fit all of this into these small compression cubes and then into my amazing back pack (more on that in an upcoming blog post,) but even better was being able to unpack in less than 20 seconds!  I purchased a few different kinds andthese are by far my faves. They compress to be able to give you more space in your luggage/backpack and they can easily be transferred to dressers/closets in your hotel/airBNB.  When it’s time to head to our next destination we simply transfer them right into our back packs!  You can find them here if you want to order…
   

    

   ALL OF THAT FIT INTO THESE–2.Purchase these amazing Mission Scavenger Books for each major European City you plan on visiting.

   

We bought these from Amazon back in December for each of the major cities we are headed to and so far it’s one of the best purchases we have made for this trip yet (2^nd to the packing cubes.). Each book is one large scavenger hunt with points for the kids to earn when they find each item/answer each question. Of course, mine made it a competition which DID lead to some refereeing in the naïve of Westminster Abbey, BUT it kept them engaged and eager to keep going to find their specific items. Kudos to the author for making it really fun for young boys by adding in clues like “who was buried without her head” to keep them interested (not hard with the gory/violent histories of these European cities.)   To find them click here.

Stay tuned for more fun updates and tips next week after our first ever Premier League game and high tea with my 11 year old daughter…who doesn’t drink tea. 😉

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