The other day someone asked me to give her the “true story” about the start of our world-schooling adventure so far.  She wanted to know if the kids were really acclimating and if we were losing our minds yet with being a full time family for 10 months.  Believe me that I ALWAYS tell the whole story, and never sugar-coat. If you know me well, you know this to be the case, and I plan on sharing the good, bad, and ugly on social media and in this blog…BUT even I have been amazed at how well we are all settling in to this amazing journey SO FAR (EVERYONE KNOCK ON WOOD NOW!).

The first week did have some complaining about being “tired” and feet hurting after long days of walking, but in week two we settled more into our new routine and city life.

The jet lag is now gone so we are naturally waking up around 7AM and now have extra time to get our work and school work done while still having time to take in some sights and get the most out of our month here.  We decided that taking full days to rest and work in between site seeing trips work better for us than working and site-seeing every day.  We worked all day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and used Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday to get out of the flat and do our “tourist” things.

Windsor Castle and WorldSchooling on trains and in Pubs

On Tuesday we hit up Windsor Castle, and even got some work done on our 45 minute train ride there.  You have got to love free wifi on the train system here! I have been to England countless times and have never visited Windsor which is shocking considering my strange obsession with all things British royalty.  This is the weekend home of Queen Elizabeth, but during the summers she spends her time in Balmoral, so we didn’t get a chance to see Lizzy, BUT we learned so much about how the kings and queens lived over the last 900+ years.

The tour itself was only a few short hours, but it was such a gorgeous day that we decided to get some work done in the outdoor garden of a local Windsor pub before heading back.  It’s the only “school” that’s ok with mom and dad enjoying a beverage while educating the kids.

High Tea at The Ritz

Thursday the girls and boys decided to split up for the morning.  I had some friends back home recommend that I take Dylan (my daughter) to high tea at The Ritz so I booked our reservation before we left the states, and I am so grateful for that recommendation! In turn I HIGHLY recommend this to you all if you are ever in London.  Make sure you book well in advance,and mind the dress code. We were fine, but borderline underdressed compared to some of the other diners there.

The Ritz is a gorgeous hotel that makes you feel like you walked straight into an episode of Downton Abbey; valets with top hats, fresh flowers throughout, ornate décor, and impeccable service fit for a King (or Kardashian by American standards.) They offered us a choice of 16 unique teas, an assortment of tea sandwiches, desserts, scones, cream etc., while providing live piano
music as we dined.

My daughter and I got to spend some quality time together which was obviously the best part.  It has been the 4 of us together non-stop for a while so it was nice to have some girl talk.  To be honest, I don’t think the boys would have appreciated the beauty of this experience the way we did anyways.

 

Speaking of the boys, while Dylan and I were spoiled at The Ritz, Tod took Owen to the Winston Churchill War Rooms.

Tod and I had visited this amazing museum and underground WW2 bunker while we were in London a few years ago (sans kids,) and LOVED it.  This is something that many people don’t talk about when they give you their “top picks” of what to do while in London, but for history junkies like me, this is a MUST.  While I wouldn’t recommend it for every child, our 8 year- old son is also a history nut like me, and since we plan on taking them to Normandy in a few weeks, I thought this would be a great history lesson for him. Not gonna lie, I was actually worried during tea if he was enjoying it because some parts can be a bit “boring” for some of us, but when we met up later that afternoon he could not stop talking about what he learned.  He can now tell you anything you want to know about the WW2 Allies, Churchill’s nickname, how he lived during the war, and facts about the war itself that I didn’t even know…and I TOOK THE TOUR just 3 years ago!  Obviously, my memory doesn’t compare to his. Unfortunately dad didn’t take any photos of them at the museum so I added another pic from the Ritz because it was THAT awesome.

We finished this amazing week with our first ever English Premier League game!

Again, I wasn’t sure that the kids would enjoy this as much as Tod and myself, but we decided early on that we would not let the fact that they are “kids” stop us from anything (within reason, obviously.)  When we asked the locals, it was highly recommended to go see a Crystal Palace match. We were not quite sure what they meant by “it’s an experience,” and I’m not sure that I can even put it into words for this blog myself, but “woah-what an experience.”  Read on…

First, I should say that Tod and I are no strangers to sporting events.  We have been to countless NFL, NCAA, NBA, MLB games back home so we didn’t expect to see much different at an English soccer (erm-FOOTBALL) game with the exception of maybe different beer and food options (ie fish and chips vs hot dogs and fries etc.,) but that was just one of the tiny differences. For one, this particular stadium was built almost 100 years ago and only seats 25,000 people.  Large for its day no doubt, but tiny for today’s standards. The entrance was so narrow that even I had to squeeze through, and the ticket collector stood behind a glass wall similar to the entrance to an old movie theatre.

Once inside, we saw match-goers (mostly men-another obvious difference in this culture) drinking their beers while waiting in the concession area to go into the ball park. At first, I thought it was just to watch the T.V.’s that were showing the end of another EPL match, but then I realized the sign that mentioned no alcohol in the actual stadium!  With such a culture of beer-drinking and merry-making this shocked me.  We chatted with a local who was attempting to put his beer bottles down his pockets, and he laughingly told us about his experience at a US baseball game.  He told us how amazing it was to see people selling beer in the stands with a cooler over their shoulder during the games while here the only time to enjoy a bevvy was before the game OR rush to try to get one during half time.  He agreed that England is missing out on revenue, BUT he pointed out the blockade a few feet away from where we were standing that separated the visiting team’s fans from the home rivals.  He pointed to the temporary wall and said,  “THAT IS WHY.”

Growing up going to University of Florida vs Florida State University football games, I THOUGHT I could relate to silly sporting rivalry, but NOTHING could have prepared us for the true level of it that we experienced after the game as we exited the ball stadium. More on that in a second.

We were lucky enough to sit in the middle of the home team’s section.  There is not much in terms of side-line distractions. No cheerleaders, mascots, planes flying over-head etc. There isn’t even an instant replay screen.  You LITERALLY can’t miss one second or you miss it all!   No one, and I mean NO ONE leaves their seats to grab food. You don’t even see anyone eating at all in the stands (and don’t forget there isn’t any drinking either.). ALL eyes are focused on the game at hand.

There is no band, or music, but there is chanting and singing, and at this stadium-a lot of drum playing.  Unlike back home, EVERYONE is singing.  It’s “cool” to do so here.  Funny, I took a video and sent it to my mom, and she happily told me that the song they were singing was one of her favorites from the Dave Clark 5.  “WHAT?”  My mother could figure out what they were saying from a 15 second video sent from a tiny town in England all the way to Florida?  Modern technology, you amaze me daily.  She was right, their team song is Glad All Over, and it has been in my head now for over 48 hours.  Does that make me a Crystal Palace fan now?

 

The game (erm “MATCH”) ended with a 1-0 (“nil”) score with the home team taking home the win, and THAT is when we realized the need for prohibition at these ELP games.  As we left the stadium, we heard screaming and cursing from both sides, but “hatred” isn’t even the word for their rivalry. It’s such sheer LOVE and passion for their home team that they OOOOZE it. It’s family.  It’s history passed down through generations.  It seemed as though they almost couldn’t control their emotions and behavior when the other team won.  In this case, a very upsetting penalty call by the referee sparked numerous shouting matches and even fist fighting after the match was over and as we walked back to the train station to get home.

 

The police were obviously ready for it, and all was fine.  Both sides will do the same thing again next weekend against another team with fans equally as passionate, and honestly, if I ever have a chance to do this again I would in a hot second!

 

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Cheerio,

The Davidsons