After a restful night of sleep my dad was feeling much better. I knocked on his door on our way down to breakfast in the concierge lounge and he met us down there. The breakfast spread was excellent. We all found a lot to fill us up and it was nice that this breakfast was complementary. Things almost always taste better when they are free!

British Museum (of Conquest)

After breakfast we gathered together to head to the British Museum of Conquest. Okay, it’s just called the British Museum, but I find it ironic how some of the best artifacts from former British colonies somehow ended up in London.

We decide to take a bus to the museum and our hotel was in an excellent location to get the bus we needed. We hopped on to a mostly empty bus and quickly went upstairs to get seats up front for the best view. My dad was impressed at how the the driver could squeeze through the narrow streets and traffic and we had a perfect birds-eye view.

We got to the museum right as it opened and split up. Our youngest went with my wife to explore the Egyptian artifacts while the rest of us wandered around some of the other sections. We ended up finding the Rosetta Stone and some Greek and Roman sculptures before meeting up with the rest. While the artifacts were unique, we didn’t find them all that interesting.

Kensington Palace

We decided to leave the museum after just over an hour and split up again. The kids wanted to go try out the hotel pool and my dad wanted to check out Kensington Palace. We took the tube while they took a bus back to the hotel.

The tube stop was Lancaster Gate where we had met the kids on our first full day in London. From there it was a short walk to Kensington Gardens where the palace is. The public is able to tour several parts of the palace, though not the private areas where the royals actually live, so we didn’t see anyone famous.

There were serval rooms on display with descriptions of their historical importance and details about the people that lived there. There were also areas with multimedia display and still others with staff that could answer questions and give a historical perspective on things. It was educational, though not overly memorable.

Walking through Hyde Park

The weather was sunny and warm. It was a beautiful spring day and my dad decided he wanted to walk back to the hotel since it was “just” on the other side of Hyde Park. The park has several paths and maps so it’s easy to find your way around and difficult to get lost. We didn’t get lost, but we did underestimate how far of a walk it would be. At one point I texted my wife that we had 10 more minutes of walking. 15 minutes later I texted her that again… oops.

The walk was easy and pleasant, just long. I didn’t use google maps to estimate the walking time because I though I knew better. Oh well. We made it to the hotel in time to get the kids and take them to lunch at a nearby Italian place while my wife had a phone interview. They had spent most of the morning enjoying the hotel pool so they were very hungry.

London Transport Museum

My dad was mostly recovered but decided to take it easy for the afternoon and retired to his room to relax and watch some TV. The kids were not tired so I took them to the London Transport Museum in Covent Gardens. We took the tube as it was the most direct route. They wanted to take a bus, but that would have taken much longer according to Google Maps. My wife stayed behind and did some window shopping around the hotel.

The museum is very interactive and allows you to step inside and climb on dozens of old trains, busses and other modes of transportation. The boys really enjoyed it. Admission was rather expensive so it was better that it was just the three of us. The ticket allowed you a free return (with photo ID), though we ended up seeing all we wanted to see while we were there. It was a worthwhile visit.

Dinner

Back at the hotel we met up with my wife who was done with her shopping. Our youngest really wanted to return to the restaurant called Dirty Bones he and my wife had gone to a couple days earlier in the Carnaby Street area. It was a BBQ/Comfort Food type of restaurant and sounded good to all of us. I got my dad out of his room and we were off.

We hopped on the tube since it was rush hour and the bus would have taken forever due to traffic. While the roads were crowded it was still a bit early for dinner so we had no problems getting a table. The food was excellent. The kids both made huge burgers disappear into their stomach. My dad and I both had the fried chicken which was excellent. We all really enjoyed the meal.

Afterwards, we headed back too the hotel and decided to get dessert at the gelato place near our hotel that we had visited (without my dad) the previous night. My dad really enjoyed the flavor he got which was a sort of french vanilla with chunks of chocolate on top. It hit the spot for him.

We retired back to the hotel for the night to prepare for another busy day.