We have spent the last two days in London. Doing basically EVERYTHING. Yep! Everything London has to offer, we have pretty much done, in two days!
Let me go back a step... at the weekend we had a very lazy two days. We made a nice meal and saw family, we spent the best part of Saturday doing nothing because last week was so busy. We watched family films, we read books, we chilled out. It was a good thing.
Here is Caden attempting the German words for animals in his German 1000 most common words book.
Miles is drawing a squid.
A particularly excellent piece of work by Caden. This is a Mummy squid and a baby next to it. So cute!
Then London happened to us...
This is us on the train. The boys are giggling away!
We took someone's advice to get off at London Bridge tube station for Tower Bridge (our destination) and were very happy to see The Shard when we looked up! It really is an excellent building.
It was really pouring it down when we arrived (it had been sunny in MK and I almost didnt bring coats for the boys, let that be a warning to all you who leave for a day trip in the warm sun! ;)
Do you see the rain water pouring down the trench next to Caden's feet?
A little aside. Here is an interesting looking free festival of films screening in London in September. PM me if you want to jointly attend something that the kids will find interesting.
This is what Miles did.
With his socks on.
His only socks....
...but fortunately he was wearing crocs (haha!).
I think we we were sent by the Universe that day to amuse the jaded workers of London. Everyone was smiling or laughing as Miles chuckled his way up-trench! He is so joyful with it!
We all noticed lots of beautiful and unusual buildings.
This is a little fountain we found. This happens in three stages. I knew what would happen next , so I stripped him to his shorts.
Miles looks hard into the water jet to see where the water went...
The water goes away more... he looks harder...
and then BOOM...... (Miles' little moment of shock)
Caden laughed so hard... Miles loved it! He wanted to go back in for more but we didn't have that much time!
This was the view from the fountain across the Thames.
The Tower of London.
Apparently this is a dragon's egg.
Us at Tower Bridge, about to ascend. They had tickets on the door for £1.20 each that day, which is why we came. Miles was free so it was a good experience for not too much cost.
After the little queue the boys got a balloon and set off up the stairs eagerly. There were a lot of stairs. They did really well. I was zonked at the top!
Enjoying the view. I pointed out Canary Wharf and we talked about the bankers that work there (!)
We were right at the top of Tower Bridge. Walking between the two towers so the view was great. The other side and we saw The Shard again.
We saw the Gherkin too. Caden liked this. We also saw what we thought were window cleaners on the massive building to the left.
We walked back down and they didn't want to go into the engine room so we walked across the Thames to the Tower. We couldn't meet the entry price so we walked around it and had our packed lunch on some steps. There were lots of pictures of the history of the Tower around and we saw how it had used to have a moat and that the outer wall was built later. Caden and I also talked about a fire that burned half the Tower down and about how the Tower was built to resist invasion and the use of the turrets and small cross windows.
This was a remnant of the ruined original City wall.
They made a Caden and Miles' bum shaped imprint in a hedge along the way! They thought this was very funny!
Balancing and running. Enjoying their environment.
I bought them both a promised ice cream/lolly
Here is Miles examining his... no doubt planning what came next ;) haha
Again, in the true spirit of being sent to amuse jaded Londoners we bring you.. Ice-cream Miles!
How the passers by laughed...
and Oh, how he enjoyed it!
They were both full of wonder at the window cleaners on this building which, no doubt everyone else will know the name of.
We have been listening to The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me! by Roald Dahl, back to back. Caden said it was like the ladderless window cleaning company (this will make sense to those that know the story).
We were very lucky to see a building being constructed. Miles loved all the cranes. Then, as we were walking, we saw a crane lowering a steel vessel with a large material pipe from the bottom of it. We didn't know what it was but it was coming towards the ground. Then a concrete mixer pulled up and a bus parked between us and the event so we crossed over really close to it. The construction workers seemed happy to see the boys so interested in what they were doing and said hello and were kind to the boys, talking with them a little bit. The vessel is lowered in the picture below. We are watching as the concrete mixer pours mixed concrete into it. Then we watched the crane pull the full vessel right up high to floor 9 of the building and we realised it would be pouring the concrete into a mould up there to make the building. It was really excellent to watch. It was also an opportunity to talk about hard hats and steel toe caps and high visibility workwear. Seems simple to us but to a 6 and 3 year old this is important environmental knowledge and opportunities like this make great learning experiences. Caden sat cross legged on the pavement to watch this all happen. He didn't move until he couldn't see the lifted vessel any more.
Smiling for the camera at St Paul's cathedral. We didn't have time to go in but we named it and saw it in passing.
Me and Miles. He was a tired boy today and I was lucky enough to get a Milesy carry all the way on our walk from London Bridge Stn. to Buckingham Palace. Caden did SO well! He hardly complained (a little but not that much).
An interesting reflective sculpture we found outside St. Paul's.
It makes an interesting photo I think.
Had to post up this superb bit of unusual architecture. The windows fade into the building and look at those angles...
Caden liked this tree. There were lights wound around its trunk and branches. It is a shame we couldn't go and see it at night.
Taking a well deserved rest.
We passed by a sweet shop. ( A Grubber - for readers of Dahl )
The Royal Courts of Justice.
Trafalgar Square. We all had a little rest here and they chased pigeons.....
Caden liked the dolphin sculpture.
Miles liked dipping his toes in the water.
We found a war memorial and talked briefly about why. We will cover the World Wars when it seems right. We are starting to talk about historical events a bit more recently so it will happen.
We got to Buckingham Palace. My God! The rain! We were drenched. We tried to see the window that the BFG sat Sophie on but we couldn't really tell which one it was.
We rather mischievously had a giggle at this poor soldier. He was marching solemnly from end to end of his post but because it had been raining, at the end of every march, his boots skidded and he slid a bit. The kids cottoned onto this and we kept watching and giggling each time he slipped slightly. The poor chap! It was funny though!
I don't really know what this is supposed to be.
Chasing pigeons.
Then FINALLY! (after relenting and getting a taxi outside Buckingham Palace to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground because there was still an hour's walk to go) we made it!
It was totally worth it!
This, my friends, is an AMAZING playground. We will visit again and again! (Except in the school holidays when I doubt we would even get in and I am sure they must queue).
Treasure chest No 1.
We saw sediment layers in some rocks and hunted for more sedimentary rocks.
Caden found what he called a fossil.
Miles splashing about.
Caden has a thing for burying himself in the sand lately.
Miles made a friend.
Playing in the various parts of the playground. It is really big and has loads of different places to explore.
The music garden.
It was a really amazing day. We also did loads of other 'educational' things. Too numerous to mention them all but it includes reading tube maps, reading localised pedestrian maps and also reading the names of tube stations as we go.
No comments:
Post a Comment