Heeeeey cute Airbnb door. And hello London! Adam and I stole away for a couple days without kids to meet up with his sister and her husband so we could see HAMILTON. We've been eagerly anticipating it for ages, it seems, and the entire weekend did not disappoint.
We all arrived in London on Sunday night at our apartment in Clerkenwell neighborhood. Adam and I and the kids stayed in this neighborhood
two years ago for Christmas and loved it. It was so fun to be back and recognize some spots. We walked down the street to the adorable Exmouth Market street and had delicious Indian food at Cinnamon Tree restaurant.
The next morning we all went for a run to Big Ben and back. Then we set out for the big day. We stopped for a photo op at St. Paul's Cathedral. The only thing I know about this is Tuppence a Bag from Mary Poppins was filmed here. We didn't go inside. Sorry, I'm sure you're really pretty. We just had other plans.
For you, mom:
Borough Market, our breakfast destination.
I tried the vanilla donut this time. Good freaking stuff.
Sooooo fun to spend time with Natalie and Joseph. We've never hung out just the four of us without kids. Last time we saw them was 2.5 years ago and we were just digging into a juicy conversation when all the kids interrupted. It was so nice to have unlimited time to discuss all the things together.
This photo is trying to capture the awesomeness of the rooftop chimneys and the double decker red bus. I was going for "quintessential London" but I think I just got BUS.
Cute litte vintage book shop.
Adam outside the bookshop.
British Museum. Joseph feeding a donut to Natalie. Hahahha.
Inside the British Museum!! I did not know I was going to see the Rosetta Stone! Really cool surprise.
This was Natalie's choice for a museum, so I did no research on it. But I did love it.
Joseph is a human Google, so anytime I wanted to understand anything in the museum I just asked him.
Adam was digging the Easter Islands statue.
I was digging these Egyptian goddesses.
And this room. All the heart eyes.
Contemplating mummies. Really nuts when you stop to think about it.
The best chess pieces of all time.
A stop outside Buckingham Palace to watch the guard march back and forth like a boss.
A pose in front of Victoria Regina Imperatrix: The Queen Empress. Latin. Obviously.
A colorful and meaty dinner at The Stoke House before the show.
Inside Victoria Palace Theatre, waiting for Hamilton to Start.
The show was amazing, as expected. Gotta start a new nation, gotta meet my son! So many golden moments. I did that thing where every song starts and I think "THIS is my favorite song. No THIS is my favorite song." And then it came to Eye of a Hurricane and THAT truly is my favorite song. The whole number really knocked my socks off.
Afterward I had a peanut butter concrete at Shake Shack down the street, so basically my life was officially complete. If I had been hit by a double decker bus, how perfect would that ending be?
The next morning we grabbed breakfast near our Airbnb at Grub on the Green, then walked to the London Eye. Why is it called this? Why didn't I Google it? Or better yet, why didn't I ask Joseph this question? Anyway, really neat to see a bird's eye view of London. Hey - eye. Bird's eye. Hmmmm.
We had a bit more time after that to go inside Westminster Abbey. So glad we did. I wish I'd had more time in there. So huge, so many tombs, so much history, so many weddings. It just feels important. Also, can you just see Kate?? In her exquisite wedding dress? And Pippa? Holding that train? Ugh. So great.
Adam and I zoomed through the Abbey and then booked it back to the Airbnb. I picked up my luggage and had to go. He was staying a little longer and then going to Paris with Natalie and Joseph. After a couple Tube snafus, I made it to the airport with plenty of time. My flight was delayed, so I relaxed with a Hello! magazine and Cadbury chocolate. Awww, London. I can't wait to see you again.
