Bus Tour and Wicked Times

We woke up much later than we expected today. We were actually woken up by my mom knocking on our door at around 10am. We hadn't expected that we would need to set an alarm, since we just assumed that Zach would wake up at some point during the night, but that great little guy made it through until morning! We got ready as quickly as you get 5 people ready and then headed off to enjoy breakfast at the Starbucks which was just a short walk from the hotel. The weather was a little rainy, but we were hopeful that it wouldn't interfere with the day.

We made our way off to Piccadilly Circus where we thought we could catch the bus. We ended up walking to Trafalgar Square after finding numerous buses but being told that we couldn't get on them until our tickets had been validated at the main office. We decided that in this case we may have been better just buying from the street vendors than booking online. As we waited for the bus to arrive the wind started to howl and the rain was coming down. We all stood under the one umbrella that we had with us (although Josh had 4 in his car and told Hayley to take them with her!). It was at this point that I really started to worry about our day. The rain then stopped and Hayley told me that Thomas had come up to her and said, "It's OK. I said a prayer that it wouldn't rain and then it stopped." That child of faith had saved us and it didn't rain for the rest of the day!

We had fun on the tour soaking in the sites. We've seen them all before lots of times, but its always fun to do it again.

This is how Thomas spent most of his day. We gave him

our old camera and he just loved snapping away. 

And this is how I spent a lot of my day... keeping Zach in line!

Here are some of the sites that we were able to see

Westminster Abbey 

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

Downing Street

(Where the Prime Minister lives)

St Martin of the Fields

As soon as we spotted a Tesco Express we hopped off the bus so that we could pick up some sandwiches, crisps, fruit, and drinks. We then made a short walk to Covent Garden where we sat and ate. There weren't any street performers around so we didn't stay much longer than to take a few pictures and walk through the market. 

We then made our way to St. Pauls Cathedral but not before stopping for a picture in front of an old red telephone box. 

St. Paul's is pretty beautiful inside and out. You're not allowed to take any pictures inside though because it is still used as a house of worship and a church service was just about to start. There was a pretty blue stained glass window in the back of the chapel and it was fun to look up to the top of the dome. 

St. Pauls Cathedral

On the steps of St. Pauls

Hayley and Olivia with their "Hayley Boots"

The dome

On the bus again...

Zach had to be passed around from person to person!

Looking down the Thames to Tower Bridge

The Tower of London where many a

man and woman lost their lives (and heads!)

We finally hopped off the bus a short walk from Buckingham Palace because Thomas wanted to see where the Queen of England lives. Spense and I went in a different direction to get something to eat before our show started.

Buckingham Palace

The guards outside Buckingham Palace

Grandma and Grandpa with the kids

The Victoria Memorial

While the rest of the group were enjoying Buckingham Palace, Spense and I ran off to the Apollo Theater to see Wicked. Neither of us knew very much about the show, only that people said that they like it. I was a bit worried though because I had heard from a few people that the book on which its based is a little crude and dark in places so we weren't quite sure what to expect. I'm pleased to report though that it was a great musical. The music was wonderful and the script was very entertaining. It's a lot different than your classic type show, such as Les Miserables or Phantom, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone. I loved how lighthearted and entertaining it was and it was fun to see how the Wicked Witch of the West and the scarecrow, lion, and tin man came into the Oz story. 

The lady who took our picture did it a little close up so after the show we asked someone else. Her's were blurry so I guess the moral of the story is to be grateful for what you have!

After the show we caught the tube from Victoria back to our hotel where we found two of our kids asleep (guess which ones!) and the other was trying very hard. After a little more milk and some rocking he finally managed to make it off to sleep too. It was a fun day. Thanks mum, dad, and Hayley for taking the kids so we could have a 'wicked' time! (cheesy I know)