technology crisis.

I posted this on my instagram account yesterday:

so. there's a reason i haven't posted in a while.

my phone has completely crapped out.

ugh.

i can't use the whole right side of the touch screen.

which isn't a problem if i can reorient the screen horizontally.

but...for those apps that don't reorient (ahem instagram), i literally can't post anything.

because i'm in another country, i can't get a new phone until i get back.

therefore:

for now, if you want to see our adventures, please visit my blog.

i will do my best to get it caught up this week.

thanks for the love!

what does that mean for this space?

hopefully, that i will be posting much, much more!

it also means there will be more phone snaps on here as well (though those will decrease in number as i get caught up on my pile of editing because i actually can't use the camera on my phone anymore either).

i'm bummed that my phone is being lame but i'm also a bit excited about this forced sabbatical from handheld technology. 

i'm hoping to write more. 

edit more.

post more.

we shall see.

some sneak peeks of posts coming, all taken with an iphone:

a walk-about with my old friend, Ben...

an afternoon in Parliament Square...

a supremely hot walk across Green Park...

a lovely knit shop find...

Paddington Bear in Paddington Station...

a lovely day in Greenwich...

Tower Bridge!

me! in a picture! with all my kids!

tube travels...

a tour of Buckingham Palace!

and much, much more. the amount of photos I have to got through and edit is truly overwhelming.

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!

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...