Our Trip to London (pt.1) - Itinerary

Wow, it's been so long since I've blogged that I don't even know really where to start. I posted these photos soon after our London trip and then never did any of the journaling. There are a few reasons for this. We found out in February that they were ready to place Gabe into a new job. Within a couple of weeks the offers started to come in. The first being Barksdale AFB, LA. Ummm...No! I am very flexible in terms of moving around and living in new places (I've lived in 9 States and 2 countries) but Louisiana has never been high on the list of desirable places. I have actually never even visited The South (except Florida but they say that doesn't count) and honestly, being a Yankee the only "southern" state I care to call home is Texas! (God blessed Texas, truly). We did not rule it out right away. We did some research as we always do and then politely declined. Besides, the job did not really appeal to Gabe anyway.

The second offer came in and it was Hill AFB, UT. And that one took me about 1 second to say, "No thank you!" I have been through the state of Utah. It is beautiful (minus trees) and the idea of a dry climate is appealing but let's face it...it's isolated and a but to "conservative" for me. 3.2 beer...no thanks!

Then the offer of going to Washington, D.C. came up. I was really excited! My sister and her family lives there and we are really close! The cost of living is high but coming from Europe we were used to that. So, two possible jobs were coming available. One at The Pentagon and one at Andrews AFB. In the end we chose The Pentagon. The job appealed to Gabe, the commute was fairly simple as there is a Metro stop right there and he'd get the experience of working at The Pentagon.

Alright, more on the move later....let's get back to the final trips we took in our last few months in Germany...


London! Oh, London...what can I say...I love you. I think this was one of my favorite trips. I love the Brits. I watch British television and think their accent is louvleigh :) I practice it all the time and my family always cracks up. We ended up getting a flight for something like €30/person round trip. That's a great deal, one we couldn't pass up. We booked a room at the Premiere Inn near St. Paul's Cathedral. We took the Standsted Express train to liverpool station and then the tube to St Paul's. Easy.

St. Paul's Cathedral

The tube is so simple. It's color-coded and it seemed like anytime we stared at the map for more than 2 minutes we had someone offer to help us. Pay attention to the colors inside the train...they will indicate whether or not you're on the right one.

Westminster Abbey

We did not buy tickets into Westminister Abbey because Gabe and I now know that after 2 years our boys have expressed to us they've seen enough churches. At £18/person I was fine with their decision.

Across the street from Westminster Abbey there is a phone booth that you can hop into and get Big Ben behind you. I saw a friend of mine's picture on Facebook of this and had to do it.

I love this...the London Eye behind us...

We made our way to Trafalgar Square before the 2:30 show for Wicked...

Wicked is literally right outside the Vitoria Station. If you don't see it as you walk out, walk back into the station and exit another door...you can't miss it.

This was the first show the boys had ever been to. They absolutely loved it! I was so happy to see them enjoy something Gabe and I both love. 

Inside the theater...don't believe photos are allowed but we were quick about it

The tube...we bought daily passes for Gabe and I and the kids were free. Can't beat that!