Tube Riders Guide- by Dallin & Sam

TUBE RIDERS GUIDE

By Sam and Dallin

dark green writing from Sam

dark blue writing from Dallin

Tip to getting to the underground: find an UNDERGROUND sign 

It would be useful to have an oyster card before heading to the tube, because you need it to get past these bad boys.

Tap your card, cause you didn't buy it to have it sit in your wallet

It would also be wise to go down the escalator.

AAAAHHH!!! Faces!

I had to mind a different gap before I got braces.

It would also be wise to not play chicken.

Big families are rare, so we get a few extra glances
(big families are like water bed shops, more common in the 70's, but still really cool)

Addy decided to play it cool.

Sam had just told me a weird joke.
bada chhhh!

I wonder what happens when I get too close...
When you're on the tube it's like people think other people won't notice what they're doing.
For example: someone kept staring at me and I see people kissing. :(

NOW you know how to ride the mysterious tube, wait, WHATS THAT! grrrrk! it's got, grrk, me! Its a, grrk rush hour, grrrk, squishy attack! going down  grrrk. Warning you might get squished and die of suffocation during rush hour.

All of the rails are electric enough to make you wet yourself, but the 2nd and 4th are lethal.

A Little about shopping in London....

Shopping in the city is fun...well, maybe it would be if I didn't have 7 people to feed, 2 of those being boys that are growing like weeds and eating more than Preston and I ....combined! I go to the small grocery store at least 3 times a week. I am looking forward to living outside of London in a city that has a Costco! Yay! The food has been tasty and I can find what I need. My sister-in-law told me that British strawberries are wonderful and she was right. They are delicious!! Things just come in small containers here. I find a lot of the food costs more than it did in the US, but things like milk, eggs, and bread seem to cost less. It will be interesting to see if there is a difference when we are out of London.

Boots is a pharmacy, yep, that was tricky for me to figure out as well. NO boots or shoes for sale here! There is a small area in the grocery store of toiletries, but Boots is the place to go for toothpaste, razors, etc...

This is TESCO, my local grocery store. All the clerks know us, I'm sure, by now. I'm the crazy lady who comes in 3 times a week and fills up a cart every time. They have about 5 carts for people to use in the store. Everyone else seems to only carry a shopping basket with about 3-5 items in it.

I always take a boy with me to help me carry the groceries home.

This is a wheeled basket that I use when I forget to bring a pound coin to rent a cart with.
Luckily, I get the coin back when I turn in the cart!

The section for all us Americans. We haven't needed to buy anything out of it so far!
We are enjoying trying new things here. Some we've liked, and some we haven't :)

Changing of the Guard and St. James's Park - July 22, 2015

It was time to see the changing of the guards. It is the touristy thing to do here in London. I also needed to go to Preston's office to sign some paperwork for the house we are going to rent(yay! we got a house!)and he is really close to Buckingham Palace, so it was a great day to do it.

This wasn't the best spot, but we got there later than I planned and it was against a fence,
so no one was blocking the kids' view.

We were just across the street and the best part is the parade anyway, so it was great for that. The flag you see on top flies when the queen is staying there. The Union Jack flies when she is gone from the Palace. 

Watching the parade

A band marches and plays in front of the guards, once they got inside the gates we heard them play "Happy Birthday" and  Star Wars. That was fun.

Entering the gates

Police on horses, crowd control

They wanted to sit down, but they could still see

I really couldn't take the kids anywhere in the city without this guy!

The Queen's Guards. They guard all the royal residences in the UK. Some think they are just for the tourists, but they are actually real soldiers, guarding the Queen and her family. 

The horse guard

After the changing of the guards, we walked across the street from the Palace to St. James's Park. 

It is my favourite park here so far. It was lovely!

Perfect place to race...

and play tag

The lake in the middle of the park is surrounded by a fence.

Lots of ducks, geese, and birds.

Seeds from the trees

We could see the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace from the park.

The kids were planting the tree seeds :)

My favourite picture from the day. Addy just kept attacking Sam with kisses!

A lovely and shady place for our picnic. I have learned to take lots of food and drink whenever we go out.
We are sure burning a lot of calories walking and walking and walking!!

Lots of people were enjoying the park today.

Huge trees

Trying to climb up with some sticks he found.

This was a tree we wished was in our backyard. So fun to play under.

On the bridge that crosses the middle of the long lake.
That's Buckingham Palace in the distance.

This is facing the other way toward St. James Palace. Beautiful, right?

Another tree the kids want.

We saw two black swans in the lake! I don't think I've ever seen one before.

Just beautiful foliage everywhere(and cute kids, too)

There is a playground for the kids there, too. Yay! We played there for awhile.

Addy was so excited, she was swimming in the sand.

After the large crowds were gone, we walked back closer to the Palace 

so the kids could see it up close.

The Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace.

Lovely flowers and plants.

At the gates

The guards inside the gates.

Exhausted! In the elevator up to our flat. Mom was exhausted too!