The Skinner Family Adventures

Our bags are packed, we're ready to go...

Our adventure began aboard a 742 headed for London.

Jesse surprised me by upgrading our tickets to business class and off we went, wine in hand and personal DVD players at the ready, for the first leg of what we thought would be a month long adventure.
We arrived in London and hit the ground running.
First stop, Big Ben and the London "Eyeball"



Lots and lots of walking means taking breaks in the park is a must. St. James park provided great people-watching...
and bird-watching...And there were lots of really pretty trees!
Lots of sight seeing our first day!
Then out to Picadilly Circus for a tasty steak dinner at Gaucho. Sad I didn't get a pic of the inside of the restaurant...there was cow hide all over the walls! Mooo.
Day 2 - We took a day trip to Oxford
Lots of beautiful buildings...
and a bus incident (that other side of the road thing can be tricky).
Watch below.

(Christ Church)
...and statues

Arrived back at the hotel after a long day
and went out to dinner with the folk and other family friends.
(They were traveling to Israel together and stopped in London for a few days...good timing!)
We spent at total of 4 days in London and learned a number of things including
how to "mind the gap"
how to find obscure markets and act accordingly,
(Spittlefield Market)


(Portabello Road)
how to drink a "proper ale"
(Our friend Jonathan showed us the ropes)
how to eat fish and chips,

(with plenty of vinegar!)how to find the best cafes (just ask the locals),
how to make wandering through museums fun
(by acting like kids and finding the humor hiding around every corner),
take, for instance, this ancient breast pump (ouch!),
or these ancient wine jugs used to serve children wine at annual festivals,
Yes there are gems hidden around every corner when traveling new countries. We found just relaxing and enjoying the weather is always more enjoyable in a new environment


and our feet were more grateful than ever
to sit under a tree or at a cafe by a beautiful landmark.


So long London!
Next stop, Portugal!

(To continue on this journey, see Part 2)