Modern Momma Moving: International Edition: London

Last weekend Jesse, my mom & I took the kids to London. Cities in the winter with small children, not exactly recommended, but we thought we'd try anyway. It had its moments of why in the world did we attempt to do this, but fortunately, it also its moments of beautiful, fun awesomeness.
Friday after we checked in to our lovely hotel - St. Ermin's Autograph on Caxton Street in Westminster - we walked through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace and over to Hyde Park. It got a little cold and windy so we gave up on visiting Diana's Playground, but it's on the list for a warmer weather trip. That evening we attended Evensong at Westminster Abbey for a few minutes at least until Caroline couldn't take sitting any longer. I just kept thinking a very pregnant Victoria Beckham sat in the same seats to watch Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding.
Saturday morning we rode the Underground to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. It was a beautiful, crisp, clear day and quite an impressive stop. Then we headed to do our tour of the London Eye - so worth it! Lunch on the South Bank and back to the hotel over Westminster Bridge. So many people! London at Christmastime is crowded! I know its a huge city and all, but for some reason I expected all of these people to be dispersed. They may well have been, but then after sunset, they all converged on Oxford/Regent Street to see the lights, shops and general sardine walking ambiance. We visited Hamleys, an amazing toy store with toys we never knew existed (pictures were taken for future reference), we saw the 12 Days of Christmas light displays spanning the wide avenues, and after we rode a double decker bus back to the hotel through the theater district, we had room service so we could not see other people for a few minutes.
By the grace of my mother watching all the kids for the evening, Jesse & I headed out for drinks at the cozy Blue Boar, walking in the rain along the Thames and up through Trafalgar Square to Burberry on Regent Street. Quite a flagship store. We ended up grabbing more drinks at a small pub off Regent and then back to the hotel on the top of another double decker bus, nearly alone in the rain.
Sunday we tried to push it and walked all the way through Kensington to the National Science Museum. It wasn't that great for toddlers, the kids were over it and except for Starbucks and the lovely homes and gardens we passed, probably not worth our trip. So we called it a weekend, got the car and headed back home to Brussels.