Maggie was dreaming of see her Musically crush…Jacob Sartorius. He was performing in London and she convinced my mom to go with her to the concert. Pippa and I tagged along, just for kicks.
We had four days to enjoy the sites of London. Maggie and my mom spent an entire day getting to the concert and going to the concert. I went to the tube station closest to our hotel to inquire about how they would get to the show. The underground staff was so nice I felt like I should have tipped them. They gave me a map and labeled everything. I felt confident that they were going to at least arrive at the O2…if they could get home, that was a different story.
My mom had paid extra to allow Maggie to meet Jacob…all the traveling was worth it!
This was pure joy. She said he was sweet and lovely. She spent hours after meeting him standing around waiting for the concert to begin. No big deal apparently when you just met your true love.
Meanwhile, Pippa and I partied it up. We hit the Natural History Museum which was so crowded it was insane. We pushed through the hoards of people and enjoyed the dinosaurs and the bug cocoon. It was not the cleanest or most modern museum, but Pippa didn’t seem to notice and it was free. Most museums are free in London…score! Then we hit the Victoria and Albert museum. This was awesome. They had interactive things for kids and this completely amazing historical clothing section. Pippa liked the high fashion.
The highlight for Pippa had to be the Princess Diana Memorial Playground. It is a truly inventive place for kids to play. There is a gigantic pirate ship play structure. Pippa climbed to the top and then decided she would assist the smaller kids who were scared to go so high. She could grab their hands and encouraged them, all while speaking in a British accent. Pure comedy. The park is free but it only allows a limited number of kids in at a time. We got there early enough to avoid having to wait in line, but I understand in the summer you might not be so lucky. The park is very whimsical and totally not American or Canadian playground safe. I suspect they have had complaints because they have signs warning people that kids need to take risks in order to develop and the park is designed to challenge children. There are boulders and rocks to climb on and lots of balance beams and climbing structures. Pippa was in heaven and she made us return two times. Truly a playground fit for the memory of such a lovely Princess.
The kids never wanted to leave London. I must say there is a real spirit about the city that I never noticed before I had kids. I lived in London for a few months after college. It was a fun time, but I always found the city a bit depressing. The grey skies really got to me, but they didn’t phase the kids at all. The kids saw the bright red double decker buses, the cool phone booths, the shops…they loved it all. I think they may have liked seeing things in English after 6 months with only seeing Portuguese. Whatever the reason, it was wonderful to experience pure happiness and to see a city through the eyes of my delighted children.
