DAY ONE - LONDON - JULY 24

After an overnight flight from Chicago, we arrived in London at approximately 10:00 a.m. local time. We were met by a very nice man named Mike who zipped us through London traffic just quickly enough to make my eyes pop out of my head but not so recklessly that I let out a squeal.

At least I don't think I let out a squeal.

We arrived at what would be our home base throughout the trip - 52 Cadogan Square (pronounced kuh-DUH-gun).

That man in the window?

He's just some wacky, but sweet, American I picked up on the flight over.

But he was really handy to have around.

The flat has the grand distinction of being the only detached building on the block. As Mike pointed out, it is detached by approximately 2 inches.

I really felt special after hearing that.

Actually, the flat has a lot of great history. During World War II, the company moved their operations to this building because it was far enough out from the heart of London, they felt it would be safer from the bombing. The building was built by a printer who loved playing cards. He insisted his building be given the number "52" to honor his hobby. The panelling in the formal dining room has 52 large playing cards intricately carved into it, in honor of the owner's love of playing cards.

There were so many nooks and corners and little hide-aways in the building, and each area sported the ornate carvings. While Kayla and I explored the place on that first afternoon, we found this little balcony above the staircase and I insisted she go up there and perform for me.

Wonder if I'll see any hot British boys...

Alas, I cannot text whilst we are on our journey; for my mean father has forbidden me from doing so. It will be the dungeon for me should I be caught texting my dear friends...

After Kayla's little performance, I insisted Blake put on a puppet show but he did not go for that at all.


Looking out the window, I saw this little naked cherub.

Not only does the little guy need to find a toga; but a bath sure wouldn't hurt either.



This was the kids' room.

Those curtains? They were heavier than the comforter on my bed at home.




This was the sitting area of our room.

The bedroom situation was actually a mix-n-match kind of thing. The kids slept in the twin beds in the small room, while Paul and I got the master bedroom. However, the W boys used the small bedroom for their clothes and suitcases while the W girls used the master bedroom for clothes, suitcases, makeup, hair tools, shoes, jewelry and other necessities that we had to cart across the Atlantic ocean.

We had one nice sized bathroom but I didn't post a picture of it because this is a classy blog. To my knowledge, none of us used the bidet.

I think we were a little frightened of it.



This was the little nook in the living room.

I spent a lot of time looking out this window, watching the people on the busy street below and enjoying the tennis games that were going on in the park across the street.

In the living room we had the computer set up and the kids spent a little time each evening keeping in touch with their friends back home. Each morning, as we got ready to leave, we were able to watch Friends on television.

This is the lobby of the flat.

Our rooms were up those stairs.

Please excuse the illogical sequence of these photos. I have no excuse for it at all.

This is the dining room. This is the first room we entered when coming into the flat. This is where we ate if we carried food in or cooked in the kitchen. This is also where Paul settled in each evening to sort receipts, an activity he actually considers fun.

The doorway leads to the small kitchen which was just right for us to make breakfast and light lunches. Notice the sidebar stocked with drinks. Each time we left over night, the wonderful ladies would restock our drinks and ice before we returned.

Those poor women. My kids can drink lots of Coca-Cola; and I myself quite enjoyed the Schweppes Genuine Lemonade which was like Sprite only better.

As I mentioned before, I spent the first half hour upon arrival, wandering from room to room saying "Kids, aren't we the luckiest family alive?"

It is clear that Blake was thoroughly impressed with the charm and beauty of our home away from home.

Calm down, Blake!!

Kayla settled right in to a perfect reading spot.

After we had all taken showers and napped for a few hours, we set out in search of food.

The obvious place to look, of course, was Harrod's, which is actually a small city.

We settled on this cute little lunch counter in Harrod's food shop. It was right by the fresh meat counter where we could have bought some wild boar steaks or some fresh pigeon. But darn, we didn't have a grill back at the flat.

Paul and I shared a turkey sandwich with cranberry relish. Kayla had an American franfurter, and Blake had a bagel with cream cheese and lox. As we finished our meal, the very proper counter man handed us each a warm cloth that had been soaked in lemon water.

Now, because I had seen this in Ladies Home Journal I knew just what to do with my warm wash cloth. Poor, Blake simply held it out to us and pleaded with his eyes:

Um...say what...?

Just wipe your face, Son, it's refreshing.

And I decided right then and there that I'm going start having warm lemon water cloths after each meal.

No really, I am.

I'm going to clear away the pizza boxes, toss out the paper cups and pass out my fancy lemon face cloths.

After Harrod's we stopped in at a little grocery shop and bought a few supplies for our kitchenette and walked back to the flat.

After that, I have no idea what we did until we woke up the next day and headed to Buckingham Palace.