Showing posts with label scenes from daily life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scenes from daily life. Show all posts

04 August 2014

Churchill War Rooms

one of my favourite outings thus far took place on a rainy friday. john was able to join us (which helped make it such a fun day) as we traipsed across town to take in a fascinating course in world history in the form of the Churchill War Rooms. I've always been intrigued by the World War II era and wanted to learn more about Winston Churchill so this was a natural stop for us. honestly, it was amazing. so well presented and interesting. I was overwhelmed by the amount of information crammed into the exhibits. it was captivating to walk down the hallways left just as they were during the war years. the kids adored the handsets that allowed them to listen in to kid-centric information on what they were seeing. I would love to go back and poke about; there was more to see that my kids' attention spans didn't allow for...

a few snaps from the War Rooms:




the door from 10 Downing Street when Churchill was Prime Minister.

in the top left-hand corner of the picture, you can see a pencil drawing of Hitler.

map pins...

he looks real but he's not!

just outside...
after the War Rooms, we were starving so we found a pub nearby for lunch. we loved walking the streets of London, waving at the Horse Guards, counting red telephone boxes and watching for peeks of Big Ben.



gnawing on a rib bone - I have a snap of all four of my kids doing this exact thing at about the same age.


since we were so close, we wandered over to Trafalgar's Square. the kids wanted to climb on the lion statues that guard the column at the centre. the lions were swarming with tourists so we joined the throng and waited our turn.

Lucy is there on the lion's back...


climbing up...


he was LOVING being in the centre of London.


 
a phone snap of all six of us!
after Trafalgar's Square, we headed home via the Underground, our favourite form of London transport. all in all, a grand day out!




03 August 2014

painting watercolours with a camera.

poking about someone's garden, when they're not with you, is a bit like paging through their diary or peeking into their cupboards.
when we first arrived at the home we're renting and i took my first trip around their allotment, i must admit to feeling a bit awkward.
like i needed to be furtive, clandestine.
as we've lived here more than a month, that feeling has worn off, of course, and we feel quite at home.
i find myself wandering about, camera in hand, enjoying the landscape and garden beds.
it isn't a traditional english garden.
or even a very embellished one.
no frills, no fuss.
just lovely, growing things.
lots of raspberries and blackberry brambles.
an apple tree or two.
a few over-grown tomato plants.
poppies.
roses.
other varieties of flora that my american, non-gardener self doesn't recognise.
my photographic eye has always been drawn to green, growing things.
to nature and creation.
the patterns and colours and shades and shapes capture me
and i find myself pressing my camera to my face, composing image after image after image.
i don't usually post these images...or even do much with them at all really.
i feel most might find them boring.
would prefer pictures with faces, people.
but i thought i would post a few here today.
just some of the snaps my mind and eye saw on one of my walk-abouts a few weeks ago.
it was a dreamy kind of day...
the kind where the sun and clouds play chase and tag and peek-a-boo.
the air was a bit hazy.
heavy with summer.
even the bees seemed to feel it as they bumbled along, slower than their usual scramble.
my eyes painted watercolours, and my camera clicked along.




















 and because no post is complete without a few pictures of my kids:




26 July 2014

the best laid plans...

one thing about traveling, with kids or without, is the need to be flexible. we set out each day with an itinerary but most of the time, we tend to deviate from it. sometimes by choice, sometimes not.
this particular day, it wasn't by choice. we were trying desperately to make it to Buckingham Palace in time for the Changing of the Guard ceremony. but every which way we turned, time slipped away. by the time we arrived anywhere near Buckingham Palace, the ceremony was nearly over. so, we adjusted our plans and had fun anyway.

front row of the top of a double-decker: the best spot to be.

so.many.stairs.

waiting for the tube...

he LOVES riding the tube...always peppering me with questions as we ride: how long does it take to go from the first stop to the last? does the driver get bored? how many stops left? does the same driver drive the same train every day? how fast does the train go? and on and on and on and on...

always escalators...

original double-decker.

sitting in Green Park.

sibling love in Green Park.

more Green Park.

Buckingham Palace. and yes, the Queen was home!

hanging on the gates, trying to get the guards to wave at them.

not sure why it was constables this day, it was royal guards the next time we stopped by the Palace.

i wonder what it's like inside. if she likes living there. if she likes being the Queen. i wonder...

back through Green Park.

an unplanned stop. Wellington Arch. yes, that's my mom and my kids in there...

someone was tired.

another unplanned stop! HARRODS! we only browsed the toy section...oh...and the chocolates.

finally. a shot of me and the boy...