At the risk of sounding redundant, I really lucked out in the DH * department for innumerable reasons!
One of which is that my DH* is an excellent travel/ adventure planner!
He typically starts our family travel plans very well in advance , and this saves on cost and ensures that we get great lodging and travel itinerary.
He honestly does such an amazing job at travel plans that I trust him completely and will gladly pack my bags and follow him to the ends of the earth , without asking too many questions. Okay well I may ask a question or two … typically involving how many suitcases I am allowed to bring 😒
Most summers, my sister and I go on a vacation with our families . Last summer we were blessed to have both our parents andy in laws, join us for a glorious trip to Anna Maria Island. Florida. We had so many extended families on that trip and I will forever cherish it , as it became the last vacation we shared with our Dad before he was called home to Jesus later that year🙏🏾
Memories such as that solidifies for me the importance of gathering with loved ones at any given opportunity.
So this summer, DH planned for both families an exquisite European vacation .
We flew Swedish airline into London, England through Stockholm . It was an affordable smooth flight that even give us a chance to meet Gayle King ( yup! Oprah Winfrey’s BFF🥰) and her son during our lay over in Stockholm .They were delightful and we chatted like old friends..,,Okay okay that was once I finally recognized that the famous person I was staring at was Gayle King, and NOT the Olympian Jackie Joiner Kercee. Gayle was right when she joked about this as a situation of “ all black people don’t look alike”. Sorry. I must have been a little star struck and just confusing my stars … I guess lol
Anyways, we landed in London and made it to what was supposed to be our AirBnb on Piccadilly circus around 4pm , only to discover a big glitch in our reservation! 😱Something about the owners changing platforms and it appeared our reservation ( which DH made last winter by the way) was lost in the process!
Yup we started out homeless in London.
Only for about an hour or so while we called to clarify our reservation without sucess. So we quickly pivoted to book a nearby hotel
Strand Palace turned out to be a great accommodation for our family. It was walking distance and with our four kiddos in tow, we were lucky to get rooms available that evening.
We showered and headed out to meet up with our family and friends for a pre planned dinner.
I had arranged to have a central meeting place for as many of our extended families living in UK to have dinner and enjoy company. It was absolutely wonderful to see so many of our dear ones gathered together. At the dinner. I also got to reunite with my sister who flew into London that same day too from Dallas TX.
The travel crew was now united an ready to take on Europe one city at a time!
On our London visit traveling with almost 4 teenagers, I was grateful that we were able to see and do so much in a short time.
DH continued to lead the charge to get to Buckingham Palace in time to catch part of the changing of the guards , then we walked around Hyde park garren( that apparently used to be hunting grounds for King Henry VII). Our kids found a unique umbrella tree to climb, we had water play at Princess Diana’s memorial Fountain- the water felt refreshing on my tired walking feet 😉
Made our way to speakers corner and accordingl to Wikipedia; Speakers’ Corner is an area where free speech open-air public speaking, debate, and discussion are allowed.
Then off to Tower of London, with all its incredible history, shared London bridge with our kids and their cousins while enjoying some street foods. We also got a chance to see Big Ben and Westminster.
The day concluded with a yummy Asian customer restaurant , that was across from Trafalgar Square but not before randomly enjoying ( snoozing off our jet lag) during a violin concert at St Paul’s cathedral, and ofcourse lighting a candle in honor of Dad for Father’s day.
We spent two fun packed days in London and it was delightful. The sights are amazing as expected but I have to say the reunions and company of our family and friends were priceless!
The next morning, we’re off to our next European spot- Paris , France!
You’re welcome to follow us along on the journey!
As always, thank you for reading my blog and of course I welcome your comments and any shared experiences .
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***DH ( Darling husband)