A Day in London

Buckingham Palace

While we were in Paris, we took a day trip to London. Although we landed in London, we did not stay there but instead took a tour up to London. London and Paris are only two hours away on the Euro rail (train). We booked the tour on Expedia.com (under Activities) prior to leaving. The tour included transportation to and from our Paris hotel, round trip train tickets, and several guided tours. On the day of our tour, the trains were running behind and our tour guide in Paris said we would probably not be able to board the train to London. We explained to him that we were returning to Arizona the next day and would not be able to go on the tour in the future. Our tour guide took us to the front of the line and the two train workers in Paris let us cut the line when they saw our baby. Thank goodness for our little guy.  

Happy baby on the Thames Cruise

When we arrived in London, our guide provided us with some maps and transported us to the bus tour routes. We got on the bus but got off on the first stop when our baby became fussy. It was so cold that we found it easier to walk around London than to wait for the tour bus (given the close proximity of the major attractions). We walked from Buckingham Palace to Parliament, Big Ben, and London Eye to the River of Thames. We got on the River of Thames cruise (also included in our tour) and saw the London Towers (among a few other attractions). Our baby was so happy on the cruise. He ran around the boat and became excited when we approached the London Towers. 

Passed out baby in Piccadilly Circus

We had some fish and chips by the London Towers. The English are very friendly to children too. The waitress at the fish and chips restaurant brought complementary cookies (biscuits as they refer to them) for him and was just tickled by him.  After eating we took the bus to Piccadilly Square. We walked around Piccadilly Square during the evening (baby passed out of course) and then headed back to the train station.

We spent a relatively short time in London but had an opportunity to sight-see and experience the English culture. I recall the English being very welcoming and friendly to us, perhaps because we brought along baby. I definitely recommend visiting London from Paris, even with a 12 month old in tow. Happy travels!