Actual date of this event: 4-13 December
Ah, Christmas in London. It's sooooo pretty! Of course, I have always enjoyed the Christmas holiday, but I have never felt full of Christmas cheer, if that makes any sense, until I spent my first Christmas in London. It is so great to walk around in the 4pm darkness with lights everywhere! It's pretty magical, and I am so glad I was able to convince mom and dad to visit during the holiday season, so they could see it, too!
{the London Eye is no longer blue at night - it is red as it is now sponsored by Coca-Cola}
The day mom and dad arrived (Thursday), I let them decide what they wanted to do. After dad jogged and they both took a nap, we decided to head into Waterloo and take a walk through Westminster. They got to experience their first super early (at 4pm) sunset while we walked to see the London Eye, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, visit The Feathers pub, and then head back home, so I could cook dinner.
On Friday, all four of us made our way to Germany so we could spend the weekend in visiting the German Christmas Markets. We had a great time staying in
Cologne and also stopping in
Dusseldorf.
Mom decided to stay home to rest on Monday, while dad and I took the train into Vauxhall. From there, we walked to Westminster Cathedral (Catholic) which was great because I had never seen it before. We got lunch at the pub, then walked our way to Waterloo. We stopped at the pub a few times, saw Parliament and the London Eye again, and then made our way back home for dinner.
On Tuesday, mom was well-rested, so we went to Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland around lunch for some fun. We got something to eat, wandered around in the rides, stopped at the Carousel Bar for a drink, and then visited the Bavarian beer hall.
I dedicated Wednesday to Christmas in London! I walked them through the Christmas lights streets, to the pubs decorated with trees and garland, and of course to see the giant Christmas trees in a few different locations. That evening, Luke met us for dinner before we went to see Matilda at the theater. Such a cute show!
Mom loves Borough Market, so we headed there for lunch on Thursday. As usual, she got fish & chips while dad tried a burger. Afterward, they wanted to do some souvenir shopping for my niece and nephew, so we headed back to central for a few hours of shopping.
Friday was their last day in London, and we planned for an exciting one. We started off going to Hammersmith for a delicious Polish lunch, dad's favorite. Then we did the Rock'n'Roll tour with
London Walks at 2pm. Most London music tours are all about The Beatles which dad is not a big fan of. This one was great because it focused on the other British Invasion bands that dad loves! One of the last points of interest on the tour was The Ship pub in Soho which is where The Who used to hang out - The Who is dad's all-time favorite band. So of course we went there for a pint after the tour finished.
It was an easy week in London, but we were still able to add in some new things that they hadn't done yet. They will be visiting again in October, and I've got some great ideas running through my head for their 4th visit! Thanks for visiting, mom and dad, looking forward to the next!
Click each to read about our time in Cologne and Dusseldorf.
RANDOM FACT:
In 1647, Oliver Cromwell banned the celebration of Christmas in England until the law changed in 1660.
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