London According to My I-phone

4:00:00 AM Out And About Global 1 Comments

We spent two weeks in London and the only camera I carried around was my i-phone, which, to be honest, was kind of nice. My good camera weighs a lot and I got tired of carrying it around. I tend to be tied the idea of having to take great photos everywhere I go and to free myself of the expectation was a revelation. So, here is the fun we had--

London ArcelorMittal Orbit slide. Oh my word, so much fun! I was totally nervous, but it is way more tame than I anticipated and great for families. Make reservations online a head of time.

We spent one evening in Camden. It's got quite a unique crowd. The store fronts are fun and the market has great food stalls! We tried The Cheese Bar and holy cow, they know how to make a good grilled cheese sandwich.

The girls and I went to see Annie. I meant more to me because I grew up with the movie and I knew all the songs--it was all I could do to keep from singing! So much fun!

Regent Park may very well be the best park in London. We rented a paddle boat, took a bike ride, climbed trees and laid in the grass. Great day at the park.

We took an East London Food tour and with 8 stops our bellies were stuffed! Lots of fun, our guide was great and he gave us a lot more than just food tips. He was a young 20 something with energy, wit and really good information.

This was the best dessert! It was so good I took my girls back for a lunch just so we could eat dessert.

Along with good food, we saw a lot of fun street art.

Call the Midwife has filmed in this locations a time or two. The row house is intentionally kept looking shabby to represent London from by gone era.

We got super lucky (or at least two of us did) when we won the Wimbledon lottery this year; centre court, row 3. Since Eliza was the ticket winner she and Bob spent the day watching fantastic tennis! I caught them on camera on tv.

Good Morning Buckingham

When I heard U2 was on tour I checked to see where in the US they were playing. When I realized they would be in London the same time we were I jumped at the chance to get tickets. The concert was AWESOME! Loved every minute!

Our friend's daughter is studying with the London Ballet. We were fortunate enough to get tickets to see her end of year recital.

Now that Eden is 12 we were able to go to the temple together.

And while we were at the temple, we met a blind para-olympian and her mother. We chatted on the train ride back into London. I asked her for advice on running faster and her answer was genius! She said, "why run faster? If you are happy at your pace, keep running it." I can let go of my slow runner guilt.

The girls were missing their cat, so we paid a ridiculous price to get into the London Cat cafe. At least the food was good and a cat did climb into Eliza's lap.

Eden never smiles! Seriously, any photo you see of her smiling has been coerced out of her.

We went out to Notting Hill to check out the Portobello Road flea market. I wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be. The neighborhood was fun to walk through though and we did find the best donut I've ever eaten in my life. You can find them at Happy Donuts.

And that about wraps up our London holiday. As I look at the pictures I am reminded of what a good time we had and how blessed we were to make such good memories together.