I booked this cruise strictly on that it was the only 1 that fit my work schedule, lots of ports and it was Disney so it should be ok. Well the more I researched and read other trip blogs the more excited I got as it looked like a great introduction to Europe for the girls.
Tuesday July 27 arrived, but there was a tons of last minute work that needed to be done. I think I talked to about 6 different people that I had not talked to in the last 6 months and they all needed something urgently before I left. I ended up having to take my laptop home and working right till we were about to leave, but it all got done.
We almost did not make the flight. We were flying Air Canada and did on line check in and got to the airport at 9:00 for and 11:30 flight and the line to drop bags off was snaking all the way through the International departure area to the US. People were not happy as the line was not moving. They had 4 people working and there were 5 international flights leaving at the same time. Luckily they called for all people on the flight to London and we got to drop our bags off, as we were no where near the front and would never had made it. A supervisor came out to try and calm people down and was arguing with a man that he should know it is summer and you need to be in line more than their posted recommended time. I kept thinking you know it is summer and that you have 5 flights leaving why do you have 10 terminals but only 4 of them manned.
Luckily there was no line for security and we made it just as the flight was about to board. The flight was not full and we ended up with an empty seat beside us. Sydney got the extra space and she got the most sleep, but none of got much sleep.
We arrived in London and were off the plane by 11:45 AM London time, it took about an hour to get our luggage and get through customs. I had originally planed to take the tube into London, but I decided to book a car service, Simply Airports was on time and we were off to our hotel, the Park Plaza Victoria Station, which we arrived at by 2:00.
The hotel was very nice and the lobby was full of legs, we later found a torso in the elevator lobby but we never found the head. Our room was ready and we were able to drop our bags off. Lauren really wanted to have a nap as she was tired, but we kept going. It was a beautiful day in London sunny but not too warm.
Our first stop was lunch, we decided on McDonalds in the train station, it was fast and girls ate and were perked up and really to head to the Mew at Buckingham Palace. I wish I had chosen the Palace, but the last admission was 3:00 and I did not think we would make it so I prebooked tickets to the Mews instead. The Mews are the stables where all the Queen’s horses and carriage are stored. It was interesting and Sydney was thrilled that the Queen has a horse with her name.
We spent about an hour there and then headed out through the gift shop. Lauren decided that she was going to collect coins and got one of Buckingham Palace and Sydney was going to collect book marks, so she got hers.
There was a restaurant we had passed that had been recommended to me, but there was no way the girls would stay awake for dinner so we found a grocery store and picked up some bread, salads and fruit and also some pink marshmallow cookies that were way too sweet.
Lauren lasted till 6:30 and she was out until 8:00 the next morning. Sydney and I stayed up till about 9:00, but we all slept through the night.
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