England and Ireland

We're back from our longest and busiest trip to date! We had a great time, and it was one of our favorite trips in terms of what we were able to see and do ... but our hardest in terms of travelling with a toddler. Normally Elliott is too easy, but this trip started off on the wrong foot with him being car sick on the way to the airport, and then it took a turn for the worse from there.

We caught our flight out of Memmingin - which is about an hour outside of Munich. The drive isn't bad, but we got stuck in a terrible stau (traffic jam) about 45 minutes into the trip. Thank goodness we decided to leave early - as we made it with about 30 minutes to spare. E seemed to be on the mend - until he puked on the plane ... luckily right at the very end, and only in an empty seat.

Following the plane ride we had an hour long train ride into the city of London followed by a ride on the tube to get to our hotel. E slept the entire bus ride, and seemed on the mend again. We checked into our hotel and then decided to head out and grab some dinner.

Our hotel was .................. interesting, and that's the nicest word I can think of. It was in a great location, but it needs to be bulldozed to the ground and rebuilt. I am not even sure the beds were actual beds ... I think they might have been stacks of cushions on cinder blacks. The ceiling leaked ... the shower had zero pressure ... and it smelled like a diaper full of Indian food. Not to mention there were zero frills ... not an iron, not a phone, no fridge, and one plug in the entire room ... which was the size of a large walk-in closet. My favorite part was that online they stated that they had a laundry 'facility' and when we inquired about said facility ... the guy pointed down the street to the laundromat. Vic and I laughed for awhile about that one. We also stayed in a Muslim neighborhood, so throughout the night they would do these extremely loud prayers that would echo through our walls ... I think it might have been due to the holiday of Ramadan(?), but either way ...  it was not something you could sleep though. All in all ... we got what we paid for, and we can't afford these trips unless we cut the corners somewhere. It certainly added some character and stories to the week!

By the time we got to dinner on the first night E was in bad shape ... he couldn't even sit up at the table, but instead decided to sprawl himself out on the floor of the restaurant. Vic and I inhaled our food, and got him back to the hotel to rest.

The next morning was our trip to Stonehenge. Elliott wasn't 100 percent, but he looked much better than the evening before, and he had actually slept fairly well - even through the hourly prayers. We had to catch the bus early, so we headed out and navigated our way thorough the city.

Stonehenge was amazing ... it was really such a cool thing to see in person. The rocks are just massive. Interestingly though, it's just a bunch of rocks in the middle of a field. There is a small visitors center, but that's it. It's really something that can be visited in an hour or so.

On the bus ride back to London, E started to get sick again - luckily we made it into town and off the bus before he barfed right in front of Harrods - a fancy department store. Again, he seemed to bounce back and we headed off to Hyde Park where he slept for quite awhile. We walked around the park and then found a great restaurant right on the lake.

Prince Albert Hall.

Feeding the ducks ...

Peter Pan statue.

Gardens.

The next morning we woke up early to meet John and Tracey. John is Vic's friend from college who is from England. Vic was super excited to meet up with them as they hadn't seen each other in over five years. E was, again, in bad shape, but now we had moved on to more puking and a fever. I felt horrible for the kid, but there was no way we could stay in the hotel all day ... I think we all would have gone insane. We tried really hard to push fluids and just kept his as comfortable as possible. He really slept most of the day ... probably a total of 12+ hours. He would wake up every now and then and take a look around, get a drink, throw up and pass back out. I started to get pretty worried by the end of the day, and even started researching what we would do in the event of needing medical attention. Luckily, it didn't get to that point, and we could tell he was feeling better by the end of the day.

John and Tracey were amazing tour guides and it was so nice to have normal conversation with adults and see John and Vic catch up. The first thing we did was visit the Tower Bridge. We actually were able to walk across the top walkways - which was pretty neat. After that we just walked through the city seeing Big Ben, the Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and the London Eye. We stopped at an awesome little summer festival tent and had a pitcher of Pimms - a fruity little liquor.

This was his last attempt at getting out of his stroller ... he spent the rest of the day laid-out ...

Walking up to Tower Bridge ...

We actually were able to walk across the top walkways of the bridge and go inside the towers. So awesome.

Big Ben and the Parliament ... with the London Eye in the background.

Westminster Abbey ... very beautiful. This was the first time we have ever seen lines to get into a church ...

Big Ben.

London Eye ...

Inside our pod on the London Eye ... very cool.

On the London Eye ... the poor kid was not happy.

Westminster Abbey again ...

Buckingham Palace ... we had perfect timing and walked up right when the changing of the guard began ...

We were able to see the beginning of the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, and the London Eye gave us great views of the city. Elliott would have loved everything if he would have been feeling better ... we felt so bad for him.

The next morning E woke up and was back to his old self. I think he had to get us back for sleeping for a full day, and he talked, non-stop, for about two hours. We headed out early that morning so we could make a stop by Kings Cross Station and see Platform 9 3/4 ... a fantastic Harry Potter reference. Vic and E didn't understand, but it was a highlight for my nerdy side!

We met up with John and Tracey and started another great day of sightseeing. We were able to visit the Natural History Museum - which E loved. After that we headed to Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street. Elliott even got to go into the world-famous Hamley's toy store and John and Tracey bought him some great souvenirs.

E loves his 'uncle' John ... he keeps asking to go back to London!

It was great to see him back in action ... he was running around, and so excited about everything ..

The museum itself was beautiful ...

Trafalgar Square ... awesome fountain ... E could have stayed here and played all day.

Cooling him down ...

Piccadilly Circus ...

Regent Street ... very fancy shopping ...

Another shot for the museum ... E loved the bug exhibit.

They also had an awesome dinosaur exhibit with this huge t-rex at the end. Elliott was in heaven.

My favorite part of the trip was our afternoon tea. John set up a great tea, and the hotel was amazing. The theme was Alice and Wonderland, and the details were so cool. The sandwiches and cakes were so good, and you could order all kinds of different tea. I chose mint chocolate chip, and I think I could have drank another entire pot. It was a really neat experience.

The little brown cups on the middle tray were made out of chocolate and filled with the most amazing mousse ...

The menu ...

A little passion fruit drink ... very good, but so sweet!

Tea time prince ...

Amazing details ... sugar cubes ...

Vic's first cup of tea ... he picked strawberry and cream ...

The hotel was very art-deco-ish ... Elliott loved running around to all of the different chairs.

It was so awesome to be able to be shown around a city by John and Tracey - we aren't able to travel with friends often, so it was such a treat. Hopefully we'll catch them again soon in Germany or Florida!

We headed home fairly early that night because we had to get up early in order to catch our flight to Dublin the next day. We were a little sad to leave London, but had no qualms with saying goodbye to our stinky hotel. Before we caught our flight we had to try a traditional English breakfast. It was pretty good, but I could have done without the beans!!

On the tube ...

Our flight to Dublin was too easy - quick and no puking. We grabbed a taxi and checked into our hotel ... which was much, much, much better than the place in London. Our beds were the best part ... so comfortable.

We headed right out to the city center to do a little bit of sightseeing and to grab some dinner. We settled on a spot in the Temple Bar area because it looked empty and E was still looking to run off some energy that he had been saving up for the past few days. The place was great and we had a little corner area where he was able to run around. A few minutes after we ordered beers and food - a band showed up. These guys were so great and the LOVED Elliott. They played a mix of traditional Irish music, but mixed in some American classic rock as well. E started by just dancing along at the stage, and eventually ended up sitting with them for an entire set. It was hilarious ... Vic and I were laughing so hard our faces hurt.

Then, a professional Irish dance and model happened to be in the bar celebrating her sister's birthday, and she knew the band ... the convinced her to come on stage and dance with Elliott. The whole bar was clapping, cheering and taking pictures. So funny.

By the time he was done putting on a show in the bar - it was almost 10:00. We headed back to the hotel, and slept like babies in our fluffy beds and quiet room.

The next day we got up early and grabbed a hop-on-hop-off tour bus. We have never done one of these, but we were just exhausted and couldn't fathom walking all of the sights on foot. It was a great deal, and an even better way to see the city. We got off at St. Patrick's Cathedral and walked around for a bit. We ended up just staying on the bus for the rest of the tour, and listened to the guided audio.

After the tour we headed to O'Neill's for a bite to eat - which came highly recommended by our taxi driver from the airport. Elliott was in desperate need of a nap so we opted for some quick sandwiches and a beer. O'Neill's was a great little spot - it was exactly what you picture when you think of an Irish pub. We probably could have hung out there all day, but we needed to walk so E would fall asleep.

They had Guinness taps in the middle of the pub tables ...

We headed out onto Grafton Street which is their big shopping district - very touristy and busy. We popped into a couple of shops and bought some souvenirs. Once E was asleep we found another pub - The Hairy Lemon and sat down for some beers and chicken wings. This place had so much character to it ... again, we probably could have sat there all day.

After our afternoon snack we walked around a bit more and then headed out to Trinity College - which was beautiful.

Following Trinity College we headed to the Temple Bar area and started our search for the perfect spot for dinner. Vic was dying to try a traditional Irish meal, so we had our eyes open for that. The Temple Bar area is very cool ... very rich in culture with awesome cobblestone streets and bars everywhere. Live music in a staple in each place and the people are so friendly.

I found this little candy shop ... so cute ... reminded me of Willy Wonka.

We settled for a place on the edge of Temple Bar with a view of the river. They had plenty of seating and a great looking menu. Vic decided to try the Dublin Coddle - kind of a stew with sausage, potatoes, and bacon. He thought it was pretty good!

After dinner we walked around a bit more and then headed back to the hotel to pack our bags and get some sleep - we had an early flight to get home!

A bit of a rocky start, but such a great trip! I wish we would have had more time to see some other cities in Ireland.

Next weekend we're headed to Budapest! I just looked at the currency conversion and it is definitely in  our favor for this trip - which is great news after spending days in England! Some times I get so caught up in feeling like we have to be traveling all the time, and I forget how blessed we are for these opportunities. Army life sucks sometimes, but we don't take any of of these trips for granted!

On Sunday Vic and I are heading out to watch Germany play in the World Cup final! We are so excited to be able to experience such a huge sporting event among some of the biggest soccer fans in the world. Elliott will be staying with a babysitter - I think it might be too rowdy of a scene for him! I'll definitely update this with our adventure!