LONDON PART 2

After a crazy month back at home, that included Marcus recording an EP and playing a show with his band, we were back to our adventure! A few days before Christmas, we packed everything up and flew right back to London This time, Marcus’ parents and brother’s family were coming with us! Since I had just had an incredible trip to London with my mom, I felt like a bit of an expert on the city and did not hold back in showing off by spouting off a nice piece of history here and there. Mostly, it just felt really good to get back to our backpacks and nomadic lifestyle.

We got off the plane at Gatwick and took a train into the city. We had to transfer to the tube at London Bridge, so we decided to pop out and take a peek. We found a great spot to look at Tower Bridge and even found Morgan Lane! Then on the way to meet Marcus’ parents, we spotted a bunch of Santa Clauses in the station and tried to take a selfie with them as stealthily as possible.

Once we met up with Marcus’ parents, we walked to our hotel for the night and while I worked (hey, someone has to fund this operation) the three of them went off to explore the Christmas markets going on in the area. We woke up the next morning and headed to the Airbnb we would all be staying at for the rest of the week. Our flat even had a tree that I swear played the Whomping Willow in Harry Potter.

While it was just the four of us, we decided to explore SoHo, Trafalgar Square, and Piccadilly Circus. Because it was Christmas time, there were tons of lights everywhere; it was quite a spectacle! There was an ocean theme in SoHo, which made for a really fun atmosphere. We popped in the National Gallery and took a quick tour of the highlights, including Berlini and the Impressionists. To end the last night with the four of us, we got Marcus’ parents to buy us a steak dinner. Not just any steak dinner though, we had a fancy meal where we cooked our steaks on a super hot stone in front of us. Delish!

The next day, in an effort to get through the jet lag, we forced ourselves to get out to wake up a little bit. We took a great shot of the Shard from directly beneath it, and then moved on to the Victoria and Albert museum. The statues were particularly compelling to us, as well as the moulds of various statues from around the world, including the David. We also took a stroll through the Japanese and Korean installations, as well as the photography.

And then, tragedy struck. Marcus’ dad left us at a Pret in Kensington so we could work a little bit for the night. We spent a few hours there, and even grabbed some adorable melting snowman cookies. We snapped a selfie, which ended up being the last picture Marcus would ever take on his phone. While working on our laptops, someone approached our table and, with some sleight of hand, stole Marcus’ phone. We filed a police report, but we were well aware that we wouldn’t be seeing it again.

Even though it was a bit of a tragic day, we came home to Marcus’ brother’s family arrived, which cheered us up a bit!

Now that our posse was complete, there were 8 of us and we had tons of fun everywhere we went. Our first day all together was Christmas Eve, and we decided to explore the South Bank area. After finding a Christmas tree in the underground station, we perused the Christmas markets again and then moved on to Hay’s Gallery. We found a few last minute Christmas presents and had an all-around great time. We found our second giant Christmas tree of the day as well as The Navigator, a statue of a ship that is surprisingly lifelike. With stomachs full of bratwurst, we ventured off to Harrod’s, the biggest mall I have ever seen. It didn’t take long for Marcus and his brother to want to go off on their own and visit Denmark Street, a street full of guitar and musical gear shops. Off the boys went, claiming they wouldn’t be making any big purchases…more on that later. The rest of us went off to Covent Garden where we saw some great street performers, and got some ice cream (despite the cold). We saw our third Christmas tree and the hordes of Christmas shoppers and decided to call it a night.

The next day was Christmas!! Our Airbnb had the cutest little Christmas tree, with little bit of a Charlie Brown vibe, and we had a great morning opening presents as a family. It was really fun to have kids around for Christmas, it just seems so much more magical with them there. We had a great English breakfast and then headed out to see what was open on the holiday.

London was certainly more shut down than any of us had anticipated, so we decided to head to Buckingham Palace as we knew that would be worth the visit any day. We took some great pictures all together and then walked over to St. James Park. The kids chased some birds and squirrels for a while, and yes, Marcus is included as a kid here. England is so green and the parks in London are such a breath of fresh air in the city. We walked over to Trafalgar Square and grabbed some fish and chips in a nearby pub. It was packed, and we were lucky to get a table, but the food was great! Continuing our Christmas excursion, we went down to Westminster Abbey.

At this point, the true travelers separated from those with a less adventurous spirit. Marcus, his dad, our sister in law, and myself continued down past Big Ben and the parliament buildings, across the Thames, past the London Eye, and across the Thames again via the Jubilee bridge. As it was sunset, we were able to get some amazing pictures. We stopped for a while and watched the street gambling games where you bet on which cup a ball was in as someone moved them around quickly. Spoiler alert: it’s a massive scam. We watched as the same people would bet and win, convincing other people to place their own bets and lose hundreds of pounds. It was honestly hard to watch, so we grabbed some candied peanuts and continued our walk. Satisfied that we had a very Happy Christmas, we headed home.

The next day, Boxing Day as they call it, was our last day in London. If you’ll remember, Marcus and his brother had visited a guitar shop and apparently had found a really great Gibson Firebird in a cherry finish. So, despite the rain, we all got on a bus bound for Sixty Sixty Sounds. Marcus’ dad had generously offered to lend Marcus the money for the guitar and we could pay him back. Needless to say, Marcus didn’t hesitate to turn that offer down. After a long day of guitar shopping, Marcus walked out of the shop with a brand new 2019 Gibson Firebird, and as a guitarist even got the Gibson-sponsored price.