Out of the Office

One of our final days together as a Bates family, my parents took all the kids so that us siblings could hang out together, kid-free in London. It was tons of fun and we covered a lot of ground without the kids. First stop was Harrod's, to their amazing food court for some take out snacks. We were overwhelmed by the deliciousness therein, but finally selected some truly tasty morsels. This is the craziest department store ever.

We then strolled into the Chelsea neighborhood, passing some medieval stained glass of the Michelin man.

I just liked this bright red brick tube station.

We had to let those who had never been to England ride in the upstairs of a double decker bus, of course.

This photo taken, with assumed permission, from alex and amy's picasa album:

We rode and admired the storefronts and buildings, getting off at Picadilly Circus. This street off of Picadilly is such a cool illusion.

We walked to Carnaby Street, as I remembered this to be a fun area to browse funky shops. Unfortunately, a lot of American brands like Diesel and Vans had taken over the shops and there weren't so many quirky ones. The Vans store didn't even have any special Union Jack brit versions! We did find a super fun shoe shop and one or two others.
This photo was taken with assumed permission from alex and amy's picasa album:

There was an art gallery down another street featuring an artist named Finn.

Naturally we had to go in, and got to see this lego shoe.

Lots of cool, old buildings and cars abounded, part of what makes London so fun to explore.

Another alex and amy photo, assumed permission to use:

Next stop, good ole' Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament (which is the factory where they make HP sauce, of course). Right?

We didn't worry too much about the fact that our visit was during the infamous London riots of 2011. The only evidence we saw of this highly publicized event, was the squad cars full of police from other cities, decked out in riot gear.

We went into Westminister Abbey for their Evensong choir service. I really enjoyed a chance to sit down and listen, and take in the beautiful windows and stone work. We saw the burial site of Sir Isaac Newton and other significant British folk.

We crossed the bridge, checked out the London Eye, then crossed the adjacent bridge in search for dinner. Parliament is really a breathtaking building. Can you imagine going there every day for work??

I cannot remember the name of the Indian restaurant where we dined. My brother Alex had scoped it out the previous evening when he came into the city to catch a show with his wife. We were starving and it was fabulous. Afterwards we walked in to see the grounds of a nearby art museum, playing with the camera timer to get a group photo.

The following photo was taken with assumed permission from alex and amy's picasa album:

We then continued our urban hike. We didn't see the muffin man.

But we did chat up some "bobbies."

The next morning was our last together in England as a Bates family, and our last bit of time in the Cotswolds. We took the opportunity to take some photos.
The whole Bates crew

The grandkids (photos taken with assumed permission from alex and amy's picasa album.

Finn with one of his beloveds.

A little Finn shoot. He's so handsome in the British countryside.

We're so indebted to my generous parents for this wonderful time together in a special place for our family. They put a lot of work and money into finding the most ideal places for us to stay. While they heavily sponsored this trip, they sat back and let us plan what we wanted to do, eager to juggle the grandkids so that we could take some time to ourselves. Amazing.

One morning we met my cousins and their brood to ride bikes over to a fabulous little playground. It was a fun morning and I wish we could have joined them all for lunch at the pub, but Finn was nearing tired meltdown so we headed home for his nap.

After naptime we went around to several of the little towns in the Cotswolds. We started in Bourton-on-the-water. Finn and Juniper played in the river. The rest of us explored some of the shops, including pottery and sweets. This town is picturesque and as such, draws a good crowd of tourists. I'm told the best time to visit to avoid the crowds is the evening.

Note that this bridge was constructed the year the US became a country.

Not pictured here, but we next went to Lower Slaughter where we walked to the mill/ gift shop/ tea room. We had some fabulous ice cream. They had a flavor called "Brown Bread," that was really made with brown bread. It was delicious!
We went through the beautiful town of Bibury. This town has a fabulous-looking trout farm for fishing. We didn't go there, but it looked like fun for kids.

I loved the last town we hit for the day, Burford. The buildings were fabulously historical.

Our cottages were situated next to a residence that housed a few farm animals. The kind owner invited our kids over to see their new puppies. Finn was immediately drawn to the chickens, which were a small but handsome Belgian breed.

Finn wanted more than anything to pet the rooster he'd been hearing and imitating since our arrival. The rooster got all defensive, flew up and pecked him. I think it hurt Finn's feelings more than anything.

The sweet new puppies were a hit as well.

I didn't get many good photos of the town of Chipping Norton, but I really liked this place. They had a fabulous outdoor market, including a bakery stand that sold some of the most delicious sandwich bread, called Tiger Bread. Wow. Almost as impressive as these boots I saw for sale.