Unfortunately, Emmie didn’t like the idea of sleeping well two nights in a row. On the heels of her best night of sleep so far this trip, she was up today at 4:00 a.m. After giving up hope we could coax her back to sleep, Amanda had “Emmie duty” in the lobby until 6, at which point I took over so we could each get a little extra sleep before getting ready to leave Edinburgh later in the morning.
Last night, we were optimistic Emmie would sleep well after cuddling with Mommy.
Instead of staying in the hotel lobby, I scoured Yelp for Edinburgh breakfast joints to take Emmie. Unfortunately, limiting the listings with the “open now” box and within walking distance, the amount of options displayed dwindled to one: McDonald’s. We nibbled on a Sausage Egg McMuffin, which tastes pretty much identical on both sides of the pond.
I can now cross eating at a UK McDonald’s off my bucket list.
We returned to the hotel, where Emmie took a bit of a nap and I did a bit of blogging before Grandma Mac, Emmie, and I left the hotel for our planned breakfast destination, Loudon’s Bakery and Cafe in Edinburgh. I brought home bacon and sausage rolls for Amanda and the kids to sample, while Grandma selected a croissant and we picked up a fruit scone with butter and jam for Gee Gee.
Five-sixths of our crew, ready to board the train.
After checking out from the hotel, we piled into a taxi and were off to Edinburgh’s Waverley Station, where we caught our train to London. To save money, we didn’t buy the kids separate tickets. The result was a less-than-ideal train ride, with kids strewn over our laps. However, at just over four hours in length, the trip felt short when compared to our Chicago-to-Edinburgh plane ride.
Posing on the Underground in London.
Within an hour of arriving at our London flat, Gee Gee was stepping onto a subway for the first time, as we traveled a few stops to get to Covent Garden. After exiting the subway and emerging into the streets of London, we saw a big, bustling city full of people, stores, and landmarks. After watching a unicyclist on stilts, we were off to our main attraction for the evening: Shake Shack.
Noah’s ready to eat his first Shake Shack burger.
The line at Shake Shack was refreshingly short, so ordering our hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes took only a few minutes. The burgers and shakes received universally high reviews, with only the freezer bag fries receiving mixed marks. I’m going to do my best to sneak in a return visit to the Shake Shack before our return to the states. Stay tuned.
The London Eye was next, and on the walk there, it became our mission to seek out photos from every possible angle and with every possible group of people. A few follow:
One of the best decisions we made was visiting the London Eye on a random weeknight, and pre-booking our tickets in advance. We thankfully didn’t spend more on the “fast-pass” option given the line was already short; in fact, we were boarded onto our ferris wheel glass capsule within a few minutes of arrival and more than 30 minutes before our technically scheduled time.
Emmie loved looking out the windows…
…and, later, standing on the center bench.
We really enjoyed the London Eye. Each unit was large enough to allow adequate roaming, and the slow rate of rotation almost took away the sensation of being on a giant ferris wheel. Rather, there were spectacular views from nearly every angle, allowing a great look at the city where we’ll be spending the next three days.
This photo could be in an upcoming edition of The Ottumwa Courier.
Tomorrow’s agenda includes the Tower of London, a Thames River cruise, Westminster Abbey, and Les Miserables.