You know how you plan for a vacation to go pretty perfectly, with every necessary detail accounted for?
Or so you thought…
Yep.
That’s how ours began!
After a 9 hour flight from Vancouver B.C., we landed many hours later than expected because of a delay before takeoff, and it made for quite the challenge to our simple plans.
We had finally arrived in London!!
Our first time in England for all 6 of us.
We didn’t plan for anything spectacular considering we were only supposed to spend 23 hours there, but boy did it turn out much different than we had anticipated. We landed 4 hours later than we had originally been scheduled.
Those 4 hours were crucial to our enjoyment.. mainly because of jetlag.
Noon in London was 3am back home. We had planned to arrive before noon, see the sights, eat, and go to bed around 6pm (9am pst). We could have made it through until evening, and then gone to bed pretty early. We would have easily adjusted to the time difference before our flight the next morning.
That was our plan anyway…..😑
Luckily, our plans weren’t specific.
As parents, we know darn well that life can throw some curve balls at any moment and we were as ready as we could be.
It started out with a long cab ride from the airport to a hotel that had a misleading name and location. There were bars on the windows and the neighborhood did not feel safe.
Uh oh. A Bad booking. Just what we are always worried about. 😬
My mama bear instincts decided that we were not getting out of the cab because if the cab left… we were stuck in a place that would have made us veeerrrry uneasy. There was no train near by, and exploring would not have happened. Our excitement was nearly squashed.
We paid the driver to take us back to where we started… so £50 later.. (and a stop for dad to throw up on the side of the road…😝) we arrived at a hotel connected to the Heathrow Airport. Back where we started!
We forfeit our previous room and agreed that paying to NOT stay there, and pay more for a new room, was well worth it in the long run. (It totally was, no regrets!) We made room in our travel budget to account for these possibilities.
Before our trip, we had planned to spend just a couple of hours getting food, seeing a few famous sights like Buckingham Palace, and Big Ben, then going to sleep early.
Well, plans had definitely changed.. we were now running on fumes.
We had slept a few unsolid hours on the plane, and now we had lost our sightseeing hours.
After checking into our room, we decided that we would take an hour long nap. Our girls are stubborn, and Kylie especially, didn’t want to nap… but the second the lights dimmed, she passed out quickly.
Ayla on the other hand… she couldn’t bring herself to sleep. So she just waited for us to nap.
Our alarm went off and we changed clothes and got ready to go eat a late dinner somewhere.
Kylie then refused to wake up!
She didn’t want to go anywhere… of course, right?
The struggle was real.
We were all sleep deprived.
She eventually got up with pressure from her sisters, and we got directions to the Underground railway.
Things were going well, finally.
Then, just as we were a few minutes from arriving at Piccadilly Circus (the Times Square of London) Ayla passed out hard against dad’s arm! Her eyes would open and then roll back. She just couldn’t stay awake!
Sleeping wasn’t an option at this point, she was carried off of the train and we joined the chaos. After minutes of encouragement, Ayla found her second wind!.
Thank the Lord. We made it!
We took huge escalators out from the underground and found ourselves in the center of London nightlife. There was loud live music on the street, giant screens on buildings, big double-decker iconic red busses passing in every direction, and so many people!
Not to mention, the classic payphone booths.. (but they were locked!)
We were definitely feeling like we had finally arrived in London.
We quickly decided that the Chinatown area was a good choice for us… the little lanterns everywhere above our heads looked so pretty, and the whiffs of smells from all the different restaurants made our tummies turn.
Eating some yummy food was our mission, and no other sites would take priority… even if we were in an amazing place with tons of history to explore.
So that’s what we did.
We had a simple but extremely delicious dinner, got some macarons and hot cocoa, and took a family photo.
Just a tip for anyone ever thinking of buying hot cocoa while in London- buy one and put it in two cups, then add more water! 😄 Apparently it’s extremely normal for it to be overwhelmingly chocolate. Blah! Even my chocolate lover Kylie was done with it halfway through.
It kept their hands and bellies warm though, so it was still a good purchase!
I’m sure the chocolate helped them stay awake too. 😉
We had seen enough and hopped onto the Underground train back to our hotel.
We didn’t see Big Ben.
We didn’t see Buckingham Palace.
In fact, we went right past the stop of the palace and didn’t even care at that point…
We had experienced enough of London, and now it was time to rest. 🙌
We neeeeeded to sleep.
Sometimes plans change, and you have to make the most of it.. especially with kids. Not forcing more than you can handle, but still making the most of what you are given.
Maybe we will experience more of London one day, but until then, our simple stay provided enough memories! Ones that make us look back and laugh at the struggles.
Always look for the positive.
Perspective is everything.
Don’t be afraid to say hello to a change of plans and learn from the experience.
Everything happens for a reason, and although we may not know or understand the reasoning..
…God knows. Trust Him. 🤗
Our previous layover in Vancouver B.C. was worth more than the sights we had hoped to see. ❤
On to the next stop…
XO
❤-Mama Katie
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“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
-Proverbs 3:5-6
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