From a very quick trip I made in November, here are Snapshots of London!

Whenever I go to London, I try to fit in something new.

Or a few new somethings.

I flew down on the first flight out of Aberdeen to London City Airport, which I highly recommend, because as the name suggests, you are already in the city.

You just hop on the DLR, which connects you to the Underground.

I stopped first in the London Docklands, an area which has been completely remade into a hip business district where food trucks dedicated to falafel and fancy barbecue line the water.

I went to the Museum of London Docklands, an old warehouse full of a fascinating history of the shipping industry in London and of the area.

Out of all the exhibits, the one that disturbed me most was dedicated to one kind of cargo that came through these docks.

The exhibit explained that most of London’s great wealth and prosperity came from England’s monopoly on the slave trade, and the slave ships passed through these docklands, where slaves were sold and sent off to work in America.

Our history with slavery continues to be heart-wrenching to me, partly because of how slavery still exists. In some ways, instead of slavery’s being eradicated in the world, it has simply evolved.

It was raining when I left the London Docklands with a heavy heart.

On to the British Library.

Home of treasures such as the Magna Carta, original Dickens manuscripts and napkins with lyrics scrawled by Paul McCartney.

I loved seeing the Lindisfarne Gospels after having pilgrimaged to the Holy Island a couple of years ago. I’d read about St Cuthbert and these manuscripts when Anna and I walked St Cuthbert’s Way. They are from the year 700. (So like, super old!)

Next I headed off to find my room (and a cup of tea!) at the YHA near St Paul’s.

If you are facing St. Paul’s steps, and you look down the street to the right, you will see the YHA.

It is in an older building, delightfully close to St Paul’s.

Hello familiar little green triangle.

Up the stairs.

And into my little happy single room.

After a cup of tea and a little rest, I headed off to Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral.

I have been to a service at Westminster on another visit to London and I went to Evensong again on a visit to York.

This is easily my favorite way to visit a grand church. You get to hear the organ and be a part of the church as it was intended to be, filled with singing and worship. This service, so soon after the attacks in Paris, was very special.

I wrote down a beautiful reminder in the middle of the liturgy that only God can bring peace to our world.

I loved watching people file in and end their day on their knees, souls being fed before heading home for an evening meal.

When the service ended I walked down to the Thames, turning back to look at St Paul’s at night, with buses going by.

I crossed the Millennium Bridge to make my way to Southwark and The Cut.

I passed a Christmas market on my way.

I met a friend at The Old Vic to see a play, because on my last trip to London, I went on a theatre tour where our guide mentioned that The Old Vic and The Young Vic were some of his favorite venues in the city for plays. Such a fun night out and The Old Vic was all lit up for La France!

The lights in the staircase at The Old Vic were my favorite!

I woke up the next morning to a little bit of sunshine coming through my window.

I hit the streets just outside my room in search of coffee and fruit.

As crowded as London is, it amazes me that you only have to get a street or two away from the main thoroughfares to find quiet.

I turned off the main roads several times to look for new spots in London.

So many parts of London can feel like little English villages all tacked together on a map in a string.

Back at the Thames, London’s grandeur astonishes all over again.

PS. I am super grateful to World Vision UK for the opportunity to be a part of #FarFromHome in London in November and to YHA St Paul’s for giving me a cozy bed for the night while I was down!

PS If you enjoyed this post you might like to see more of London or more on our YHA Hostel Stays. Or even subscribe to the Chino House?

The post Snapshots of London appeared first on Alison Chino.

Oh London Town!

You just don’t ever get old. Sometimes I dream about living in London. Just for a season, I think it would be fun to be surrounded by this much history and culture and beauty!

Our most recent visit was a short weekend escape sponsored by Travelodge, City Cruises and Context Travel.

Taido and I planned it as a belated anniversary celebration and we took Simon along because the other three kids had a weekend away.

We started Saturday with a quick stop in Hamley’s (amazing toy store!) and then a visit to The British Museum.

This museum is featured in the most recent Night of the Museum movie, so Simon had a whole list of things he wanted to see. Unfortunately, a lot of the most impressive statues and figures that come to life in the movie are not actually in the British Museum. However, we did see mummies and many other treasures from ancient Egypt and Greece.

After lunch we headed off to the Thames for a boat ride with City Cruises.

Simon loved doing this last summer, even in the rain, so we did the all day ticket this time where you can hop on/hop off and stay on the boat for as long as you like.

I loved being out on the river and I think the cruise is such a great way to get a sense of the layout of London. Everything in the city orients around the Thames.

Since it was such a gorgeous day, we rode all the way to Greenwich.

I have not spent much time in this part of London, but it’s now definitely on my list to go back for a longer wander.

A highlight of staying on the boat for longer was hearing the history of all the old wharfs in London. They have mostly been turned into apartments now. The penthouse of this one used to be owned by Cher, but now Helen Mirren lives there. (Funny little details you learn from the guys on City Cruises.)

After our cruise, we went back to our hotel for a cup of tea and a change of clothes before heading out for dinner and a show!

We saw Shakespeare in Love at the Noel Coward Theatre. It was brilliant! (Even in our last minute, nosebleed seats!)

Simon enjoyed having gelato more than he did the show!

On Sunday we went on our Evolution of London Theatre walking tour which was such a fun follow up to seeing a show on Saturday. Then we walked through Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square before catching our flight home to Aberdeen.

We had such a great visit and we are all anxious to return whenever the opportunity presents itself! We LOVE London!

Our trip to London was made possible in part by Travelodge. We stayed in a family room (for four people) in the Covent Garden Travelodge, and it was the most central location I’ve ever stayed in. You can see images of our room on the six second video (above or click the link to see on Vine). 

Oh, and loads more photos on Google+

The post Snapshots of London appeared first on Alison Chino.

Bankside Beach Combing for History: A London History Tour

Simon was waiting for me as I got my usual pat down in security.

(My dreads always have to be manually checked to be sure I’m not hiding something in them.)

We both walked over to where his backpack had been flagged.

The man behind the counter pulled the long, rusted piece of metal out of a plastic bag,

“What is this?” he asked.

I looked at Simon to see if he was going to answer.

He began quietly, “Well, it’s something we found by the river…” he looked up at me for help.

“Well, you see, Sir, we went on a tour of London today and as part of the tour we went ‘digging for history’ (air quotes) down by the Thames and that bag of spikes, nails, rocks and clay pipe fragments is what we collected. Our guide told us that it’s all really old, like two to three hundred years old. And actually you can tell that this piece (pointing) was made by hand, like by a blacksmith, because of its uneven edges.”

Raised eyebrows from the security guard as he put all our treasures back in the bag.

“Just a minute,” he said. He took the bag to another counter.

I looked at Simon. “Sorry, bud.”

We had told him it was a long shot that we would be able to get all of our newly acquired historical artifacts through security at the airport.

We sat down with Dr. Jim Harris on Sunday morning in the courtyard of The George Inn in London.

He told us a little of his own background. He is a professor of art history at Oxford, and before that he was an actor in London. Then before we set off on our walking tour of London, he asked us about ourselves and our interests.

When Simon mentioned that he really likes dragons, Jim told him that we were going to see a lot of dragons. And in fact we were already sitting near a dragon. The George Inn is named after the legend of Saint George and the Dragon, a tenth century tale of a saint who killed a dragon.

“Go and have a closer look at that sign and you can see the dragon in the corner.”

This was the first of many times over the next several hours that Jim would draw Simon into learning by helping him observe the world around him.

We left The George to walk through part of Southwark, which was the seedier side of the Thames in Shakespeare’s day.

Technically on the outskirts of London, once you crossed the river into Southwark, you could engage in the sorts of past times that were not permitted in the City of London.

And one of those activities was going to see a play.

The official title for our walking tour was The Evolution of London Theatre, but many other stories came into the telling of the story of the theatre, so we received more of London’s general history in the bargain.

But it was also fun to see where playacting actually began in London, as well as where it is today. There is an authentic replica of Shakespeare’s Globe on the South bank of the Thames River today, but it is only about twenty years old.

The original Globe is long gone but its place is still marked in this apartment courtyard.

So much of London’s famous roots are marked like this, small reminders of a long and varied history.

And many more have been forgotten and are buried unmarked beneath buildings.

Often when a new structure goes up in London, discoveries are made in the laying of foundations that are then excavated and preserved.

Jim told us how he used to come to a construction site where the original Rose Theatre (Rival to Shakespeare’s Playhouse) had been discovered. He and his friends protested with others that the theatre should be preserved beneath the new building and their requests were met. You can tour the excavation site today.

So much of London’s history revolves around the river, and so Jim took us right up to it to find a story or two of our own.

He encouraged us to just look along the shore and pick up remnants from the river.

And it turned out that the metal bits at our feet had stories to tell.

Simon would pick something up and show it to Jim, and he would make up a possible scenario of how the wooden caster or iron spike made its way to Bankside.

Then Simon would pass on his new knowledge to us.

He filled his backpack with his river collection, but some pieces had to stay behind.

Like the giant chains.

Jim brought to life in words a picture of the Thames as it was long ago, a river that used to freeze over in the winter.

The original London Bridge was like an entire town on the river, and it could hold back the flow of the river enough to turn it into an ice skating rink.

We heard how Shakespeare actually built his theatre on the other side of the Thames, but then disassembled it and brought it over to Southwark in planks across the river.

Back on the river bank, the clay pipe stems that look like cigarette butts were our most common find, left by folks tossing their pipes into the river hundreds of years ago.

These “penny pipes” that were smoked between the 16th and 20th centuries were filled with tobacco when purchased, so they were practically disposable. The pipe bowls are easier to date but we didn’t come across one. Maybe next time.

We could probably have stayed down by the river for the rest of the day, but we had many more stories still ahead of us.

After the river we warmed up for a minute with a coffee and then we walked on, making stops for playing around whatever we passed of interest.

And of course we stopped for dragons.

All the entrances to the City of London are marked with dragons, a detail I had never noticed though I have visited London several times.

I loved seeing the city from the perspective of a Londoner and hearing stories of outrage over plays depicting real life scandals and modern day references to brilliantly mad directors.

When the security guard returned with Simon’s bag of contraband from the river, he handed it back to him and said surprised us by saying he could take it on the plane.

He could not wait to show it to his siblings when we got home, holding up one piece at a time and explaining to them what he had found in London.

Our anniversary weekend in London was Taido’s first trip to London, so we wanted our time to be full of things he would enjoy. And we promised Simon legos and ice cream along the way. But we were delightfully surprised by how much we all three enjoyed our Context Travel London History Tour. Simon was sad to say “Goodbye” to Jim and he drew pictures of dragons to post to him when we got home.

Context Travel offers many different tours of London (as well as other cities). They gave us our tour as part of a blog exchange, and we loved our experience so much that we are booked to do another one in Amsterdam next month.

Our trip to London was made possible in part by Travelodge. We stayed in a family room in the Covent Garden Travelodge. You can see images of our room on this six second video. 

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It was the boys’ first trip to London, and so we had a list full of what we hoped were kid-friendly places to go.

We arrived SUPER late into London (thank you EasyJet) and took the train from London Luton Airport to Pancras International which happens to be right next to Kings Cross station. Before taking a cab to our hostel, we decided to run over and see if we could still get in to Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross and you know what? It turns out that 1am is the PERFECT time to go see it. There was no one there. Just us and our cameras and backpacks.

So, everyone might look a bit sleepy in the photos but how fun was it that we got to check this off our list as soon as we arrived in London?

Next it was off to the YHA Central, our home for the next three nights. The gals at the front desk got us all checked in and were super friendly even though it was practically the middle of the night by the time we arrived. We all fell into our bunks and went straight to sleep.

Day 1

The next morning it was raining but we set off to find some coffee and what we had heard was the world’s best croissant. Trying almond croissants turned out to be a bit of a theme for our whole European adventure. Whitney and I both love them, and we had many delectable ones!

After coffee, we hopped onto our first of many double decker buses. I cannot possibly overestimate how much our boys loved those buses. They would run up the stairs and try to get the top front seat every time, and if someone was already there, they would sit behind them and then take the seat as soon as it became available.

It turned out to be such a great way to see a lot of London, and we did so much walking that everyone was always relieved to sit down and ride for a while.

Sometimes we intentionally chose a long route just to give the boys more time on the bus.

Our first morning we went to St Paul’s Cathedral, walked across the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern and then had Mexican food at Tortilla (yes, please!)

After lunch we walked along the Thames all the way to the Tower Bridge.

From there we took a cruise on the Thames, and then we met up with our friends Tanja and Chipper.

Tanja is my dear friend from years of Saturday morning Bible study, and her son Chipper just graduated from high school, so they were doing a celebratory trip. They were staying one night in London around the corner from us so they came along with us to our next stop.

At Ben’s request, we made the trip to 221b Baker Street and everyone had to have their turn posing as Sherlock and Dr. Watson.

Next was a wander in Little Venice, which we really only knew about via other travelers’ Instagram pics. Ah, Instagram, you’re always showing us the world and helping us find those perfect photo spots + making us all want to go to Croatia. (Or maybe that’s just my feed.)

In Little Venice, the kids were all suddenly a lotta hungry. And the adults were too. We could only find a couple of little pubs and they were both spilling out into the street with folks stopping in for a drink on their way home from work.

Most people were not ordering food, but we found one that was willing to serve us up some cheese platters, burgers and fish ‘n chips, so we all piled around small tables for local beers, ciders and pub food.

The sun was setting as we walked back over the little bridge to catch the bus to our hostel. Such a great first day in London!

Day 2

We started much the same way, with pastries and coffee, followed by a stop at a giant toy store that was on everyone’s must-see-with-kids list in London. Hamleys was really close to our hostel so we actually made a second trip there the next day. Also, I was meeting up with Tanja and Chipper, so I did not get to see it the first time around and Simon was determined to show it to me. And honestly, it was AMAZING.

I can’t decide what I liked the most.

The Underground, where you could try out the games and toys, including shooting arrows from a real bow.

Or maybe seeing the Royal Family made entirely out of Legos.

And if I was not sufficiently wowed by the inside of the store,  just down the street, the bus stop near Hamleys is also constructed entirely out of Legos.

Crazy cool.

After the toy store, we went to see Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

Then we stopped in at the Tate Britain.

Mostly because I really wanted to see this staircase. (Thank you again, Instagram.)

But I ended up laughing really hard at Chipper’s take on Modern Art.

Our next stop was slightly disastrous and will hereto be referred to as That Trip To The Market That Will Not Be Named. All I can tell you is that some of London’s markets are a bit too crowded to go with a group of nine, and if the crowds don’t get to you, then the seagulls will.

After lunch we said goodbye to Tanja and Chipper and it was raining again so we decided to head to a museum we thought the kids would enjoy. We landed on the Natural History Museum because of the dinosaurs. And while the building was really gorgeous and we were so glad the museum is free to visit, the museum was mobbed. Like, really ridiculously crowded.

The dinosaur room is set up like a rat maze. And dear goodness, once you go in, you can’t get out except by moving forward like a mouse after the cheese. Only you are the mouse and the cheese is AIR TO BREATHE. Simon had a wee panic attack and felt it was the worst museum he had ever been to. We got out of there as quickly as we could and went for coffee and cookies, which pretty much fixes everything.

Then we went to the Princess Diana Memorial Playground, and it really fixed everything. The kids were in heaven. They played and played and never wanted to leave. We stayed until we were literally kicked out at closing time, and the kids begged to return the next day.

We grabbed some food on the way home to fix at the hostel and had dinner in the community kitchen there. Everyone was plenty exhausted after a long day of sightseeing, so we agreed to take it slow the next morning.

Day 3

We had a late breakfast at the hostel before checking out. It was our last day in London and we considered leaving our backpacks at the hostel, which they are happy to let you do, but we opted to keep them with us so we wouldn’t have to come back that afternoon.

We decided that after we stopped in again at the toy store, we would go to Regents Park to play for the afternoon.

We wanted it to be an easier day because our flight to Paris was at 7pm and with the time change we would not be arriving in the city until nearly 11pm. So we ran by Buckingham Palace to say hello to the queen and then we went to play at the park until it was time to catch our train to the airport.

The boys favorite parts of London:

Thames River Cruise
221b Baker Street
Hamleys
Princess Diana Memorial Playground

If you have taken your kids to London, I would love to hear what their favorites were!

I received a discount on our stay at the YHA in London as part of a blogging partnership with them to encourage more families to give hostels a try! We also stayed with them last October at Buttermere (in the Lake District) and again this summer at Windermere (post coming!).

The post Snapshots of London with Kids appeared first on Alison Chino.

On a recent visit to London, we booked a river cruise with City Cruises.

I love walking along the Thames in London, so I thought it would be fun to get out on the river and enjoy the sights from a different perspective. Also, I knew we would have four children with us in London whose legs might need a little break from walking.

I was a little worried when we woke up to rain on the day of our cruise, but one thing I have learned from living in Scotland is that you can’t let the rain hold you back. Besides, the boats have an indoor place to sit just in case, so we decided we would make the best of it!

When we got on board, the rain had stopped so we opted to spread out our raincoats and sit on the upper deck. We ordered tea and coffee from the boat bar to keep the chills away. (Chills in July? Yes, there’s a reason so much tea is consumed on the British Isles!)

One of the benefits of the rain was that our tour boat was almost completely empty. I asked our captain why our boat was so empty (some of the other boats on the river had loads more people on them) and he explained that some of the other boats are commuter boats. I think you can hop on the commuter boats without pre-booking, so I was glad we had pre-booked the Circular Cruise instead.

Even on a dreary day, London is a gorgeous city!

It was my boys’ first trip to London so they loved spotting all the familiar London buildings from years of watching movies set in London and Doctor Who.

They took about 1000 photos of The Shard.

And of course, everyone was excited to see the London Eye!

And Big Ben of course!

Our boat turned around at the Parliament buildings, and on the way back down the river, our boat driver told us a bit of history. He was super knowledgeable and made us all laugh.

We enjoyed our time on the Thames so much! All the kids listed it as one of their favorite things we did during our three days in London!

I also took a little video of our cruise! My brother and his wife, Peter and Whitney, along with their two boys, accompanied my boys and me around Europe in July. They were such great sports and we had a fabulous time! I have lots more posts coming up about this great adventure. We called it #CousinsTakeEurope.

I received our circular cruise complementary from City Cruises, but you can book a family ticket (2 adults, 3 children) on the same Circular Cruise for under 25 GBP. That’s a great deal in any weather!

Also, while we were in London in July, we were hosted by YHA in one of their centrally located hostels. More to come from our fun family visit to London!

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She stood at the end of a row of empty seats, searching the arriving crowd with anticipation. She would wave when she saw them, familiar faces in the crowd of mostly tourists come to hear the Eucharist sung in one of the most glorious, most celebrated cathedrals in the world. But the splendor of the church was beyond this woman as she ushered her friends and families into the seats she had saved for them. She greeted each one with a kiss and gratitude for their coming.

As I watched the choir boys file in, I wondered which one was hers, this proud mama who had gathered a crowd to witness a confirmation.

Her last guests arrived holding a baby just as the music began. She made room for them and then took her seat at the end of the row. Head held high, she was all excitement and smiles.

Mary Polly and I had arrived early enough to be seated towards the front of the visiting section and enjoyed watching the seats fill as people wandered in. As the scene in front of me unfolded, I wondered at what it would be like to be a regular Sunday morning attendee at Westminster Abbey. To attend church in a place that held coronations and royal weddings.

I was caught off guard by how moved I was by the service. Traditions different from my childhood but similar to our Aberdeen church life, the songs and words were sweet to the ears of this traveler. I miss the word of God read aloud for corporate worship when I’m on the road.

My attention never left the woman in front of me and she participated in the liturgy with an enthusiasm I could appreciate.

The homily preceded the confirmation and I listened with awe to the man in black speak not in pompous tones as I had expected but with grace and gratitude about Jesus.

My Jesus, the same in a hot Arkansas YMCA gymnasium as He is in the hallowed halls of Westminster. All grace and good will toward men (and women).

‘If we follow him closely,’ the man preached on, ‘Jesus will always lead us to unexpected places.’

Don’t I know this to be true? My life this last year has been a series of unexpected journeys, all of them part of one great adventure, a story with no clear ending. Only mystery.

I scribbled notes into my program as the sermon drew to an end and the confirmation began. We sang together words that remind me of the great truths of the gospel, the incredible freedom we have in Jesus.

And then the people came forward who were to be confirmed. Mostly choir boys in long white robes, but also a few adults. She stood up, this woman I’d been watching. I thought that she must be helping in some capacity, that perhaps there were certificates to be handed out.

Not until the minister began to speak to the row of them did I realize that it is her and not her child being confirmed. Her face holds all the joy of one who has found faith in Christ.

When the Liturgy of Initiation began, she spoke the corporate words with confidence. She had clearly memorized the affirmations that I was reading from the pages of a program.

The minister finished the corporate questions, and then he addressed each candidate by name. Tears were rolling down my cheeks by now. How precious to be able to point back to this moment in your life that a man of God spoke simple and true words to you and you alone.

Then he called her by name, this woman I have been watching all morning. Her heart is so full as he says the words to her,

Morgan, God has called you by name and made you his own.

Then he anointed her head with oil, placed his hands on her head and said,

Confirm, O Lord, your servant with your Holy Spirit.

And we all answered, Amen.

After all the candidates had been anointed, the minister stepped back and said to them all,

Shine as a light in the world, as one of God’s chosen ones, beloved and accepted in Jesus Christ our Lord.

And again we answered Amen, mine a bit louder than those around me. Unfamiliar with corporate reading of liturgy, I find my cadence is always a bit off. But I could have stood on my chair and shouted Amen in solidarity with Morgan, a woman I had never met.

To watch a child affirm faith in Jesus is beautiful. I have had the great honor of seeing it in my own children and it makes my heart swell.

But it is a special kind of wonderful to see an adult come to Jesus. I love to see a grown man or woman stand alongside children in a baptism or confirmation, whether they are returning to the faith of their childhood or coming to God for the first time. Either way they understand Jesus’ command to become like a little child.

Humbled by life that brings me again and again to my knees, I cried tears of joy with Morgan. We both hold our hands up to Jesus in our different ways.

When the service was over, I wanted to tell her that it was a special privilege to watch her confirmation of faith. But she was surrounded by the happy friends and family who had come to watch. So I just gathered it into my heart. I turned to Mary Polly, who had found the entire service intolerably long and somewhat boring, and she was only a little surprised to find me in tears.

She rolled her eyes at my whispering, That was just so beautiful.

As we exited the Abbey in the same uniform manner in which we’d been escorted inside, someone tapped my shoulder and asked if I would take their family photo.

Of course I would. It would be my privilege.

And as I snapped the picture of Morgan with her family gathered around her in front of Westminster Abbey, I thanked The Lord for these small priceless gifts. That I was the one asked. That I caught one more glimpse of this daughter of God, beaming with joy.

We are partnering as a family with GowithOh this year as we travel around Europe, and our visit to Westminster was part of our June stay in London in a GowithOh apartment. Stay tuned for more glimpses of our life on the road.

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I am back in London this week so I thought it would be fun to share just a few of my favorite photos from my last trip to London with Mary Polly.

Our big splurge was riding The London Eye (super pricey at 20 pounds per person), but we got some very fun shots from so high above the city!

We had the most unbelievably gorgeous weather while we were there in June and we stayed in a gorgeous apartment in East London with GowithOh.

From there, we explored the city mostly by bicycle, stopping whenever we found a fun building or park. LOVED this yellow building near the Tate Modern.

Since we were in London on a Sunday, I went to the Columbia Road Flower Market that happens on Sunday mornings. It was only about a five minute bike ride from our flat, so Mary Polly had a bit of a lie-in while I took about 1000 photos of flowers.

The peonies were my favorites! But also the hydrangeas and roses were out of this world. It was just fun to watch the markets being set up for the day and people coming to buy piles and piles of flowers.

I was guessing what kinds of events folks were preparing for as they chose armfuls of bouquets.

After the flower market, we went to attend a morning service at Westminster Abbey, which was a treasure of an experience for sure. I highly recommend seeing the abbey this way!

Of course, no trip to London is complete without a walk across the Tower Bridge. Mary Polly and I actually tried to see all the bridges in London and we got pretty close. I took a quick vine of all the ones we hit. Now I can’t wait to see London through Simon and Ben’s eyes. It’s their turn this week!

We are partnering as a family with GowithOh this year as we travel around Europe, so we received our apartment in London gratis. We thought the apartment was precious (Mary Polly is standing in front of it in the above photo) and we loved staying in East London and eating, walking, biking like locals in the neighborhood! Stay tuned for more about Paris, London and all our summer adventures!

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A few weeks ago I arrived in rainy London on a rainy Friday in order to attend a dinner for a blogging project I am very excited about. (More to come on this.)

After a cup of tea with Tina at a darling farm store near the airport, I took the train to Victoria and walked straight to Buckingham Palace, because I missed seeing it on my last visit.

I mentioned the last time I went to London that I just chose a few places to wander over my short time there, and I did that again on this visit. I was there for less than 36 hours, but I chose a couple of places I wanted to see before I left home and decided to just keep my eyes open as I walked where I could in that amount of time.

On Saturday the sun came out and I think I might have skipped + danced around the city rather than walk.

Here’s just a little bit of what I saw.

A sweet family on Barclays Bicycles.

The British Museum. (Bonus: Free admission)

Hello blue sky that you can still see from inside the museum!

The British Museum is a wonderful spot to take in the sun from indoors.

Had my mother been with me, we would have stopped here for tea.

But instead I went to see the mummies, the Rosetta stone and even a bog man.

So. Much. Amazingness.

Next I took the underground to Camden Town. I have Paul and Karen to thank for teaching me the ropes on the Tube and I’m proud to say that I even helped someone else find their way. Tube Skills, yo!

Camden Market is so much eye candy I cannot even take it.

I cannot wait to go back with the kids. Um, and Whitney, because hello, the amazing photos she will take.

Hello crazy storefronts.

After walking for a long time, I bought a curry.

Then I sat right here and ate it. Pretty much perfect.

Late in the afternoon, I hopped back on the Tube and rode all the way to the airport to board my plane for Aberdeen, and I was home in time for dinner.

And that is amazing, because from Arkansas, London has always seemed like one gajillion miles away. A place I might go if I ever have the time. But only after I’ve been to all the little hill towns in Italy. I have to say that I have been positively swept away by this city, and I know that about ten gajillion people have said that before me, but I am not really a city girl. Usually I prefer a country walk.

But I will walk around London again any time I get the opportunity.

I’m sharing these photos today as part of Instagram Travel Thursday! Do you Instagram + Travel? Join in the link up or even just tag your photos on Instagram with #IGTravelThursday to show where in the world you are today!

The post Snapshots of London appeared first on Alison Chino.

Going to London for just a few days is like choosing to have only a piece of pie at Thanksgiving Dinner.

On one hand, it feels ridiculous to have such a small sampling of a massive table of culinary delights.

But on the other hand, if you can only have a taste, you might as well go for dessert.

So you could say that these images represent my “dessert only” version of London.

I loved seeing buildings and sights that are so familiar from pictures and movies and finding that they are just as wonderful as I had imagined them to be.

It is hard to choose, but I think my favorite day in the city might have been my last day when I went on a food tour in East London.

The tour was amazing, not just because of the food (Hello perfect Stilton cheese and salted caramel from heaven), but because our host (Nicole) also gave us a history of this crazy wonderful part of town.

The buildings in East London are covered with marks of the different immigrant populations who have lived in them over hundreds of years. For example, this soup kitchen is no longer in service, and there is little evidence that this neighborhood used to be primarily Jewish, but for the details that Nicole pointed out to us and the two bagel shops that are left, one of which is a stop on the tour. (Yum!)

I would love to spend a little more time in East London now that I have a little background knowledge. Plus now I know of some seriously delicious places to eat.

Also, I could walk around looking at the buildings and street art in this part of town forever. So fun!

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I also spent an afternoon on a bike, because you know how I love a bike ride.

Since I live in the UK, my cell phone works in London! That means that I could get Siri to talk to me! Yay for technology!

I punched in an address and on Google Maps, you can choose to travel by bike, so I popped in my headphones and followed the instructions. Then Siri took me to places I would not have found on my own. I love her for that.

As soon as I hopped on the bike, she told me to ride over the Tower Bridge, which strangely, I would never have tackled without her voice in my ear, telling me to go that way. And though Siri has led me astray more than once, this time she took me to a bike path that ran off the main thoroughfares and even through this lovely park.

I did have a weensie bit of trouble finding a station to return my bike to, which is ridiculous considering that there are over 700 Barclays Bike Docking Stations in London , but I was riding well outside the city center to an exhibition center for World Travel Market.

So I rode all the way to the exhibition (ExCel London), then had to backtrack a mile or so to drop my bike. Then I walked back out to my destination. I was really stubborn about getting there without getting on the tube because I wanted to understand where it was and every time I went on the underground, I sort of lost my bearings. Of course, the rest of the week, I took the tube. (Maybe by next year, there will be a Barclays Bike Station at ExCel.)

Getting just a little taste of London definitely has me wanting to go back for more. I am already plotting how to take the kids, and hopefully next time we will have enough time for more than “just dessert.”

What would your “just dessert” version of London include?? Do share!

I was invited as a guest of Eating London to join their food tour but all opinions are my own. Also, I am super grateful to Paul & Karen of Global Help Swap for hosting me in London, as well as Tina of Girl Meets Globe! It was my first time to meet Tina and her family (IRL) and I relished the opportunity, even though our time was VERY short! Longer trip next time for sures!

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The post Snapshots of London appeared first on Alison Chino.