London Calling Me

John Muir said it best: "The Mountains are calling, and I must go." Well, I am no John Muir, but it is hard to explain the phenomenon when a place 'calls' you. The urge of you just have to go to a place and immerse yourself. Whether it is the mountains, the beach, or a certain part of the world, the gravitational pull of "I must go there" is mighty and unexplainable.

Recently London and Scotland were 'calling' me, tugging, pestering me! "Ok girl, hold on, I hear you!" LOL! Let me get these kiddos passports in order, figure out a schedule, and get a budget going. This calling to go to London was coming from a few directions: family history, to take my girls on their first international trip and my dear husband to visit this part of the world. So, it really was a force of: The UK will

be our next trip! We planned this trip about 8 months out from our travel dates and we picked early April, for these reasons: Easter weekend, early spring shoulder season to travel, and a Star Wars celebration in London. April rolled around, and we hopped on our overnight flight from Denver to Heathrow! We landed around noon on a Saturday. It was smooth sailing through the passport check in, we grabbed our luggage, and took the Elizabeth Line train to Paddington Station. Emerging from Paddington, we grabbed a black cab to take us to Kensington Park, which was across the street from our hotel for the night. We dropped our luggage at our hotel and we immediately wanted to explore London. Jetlag? What Jetlag? It was nowhere to be found...yet!

We started our walking tour in Kensington Park, and it's Saturday in spring and we see flower blooms, dogs walking and children everywhere. What a beautiful park and we made our way to Kensington Palace and the Princess Diana Memorial Garden. My girls gave a good few moments to dedicate to Diana's memory. I told my girls that the last time I was in this park was 1997, just months before her tragic death. How many of us loved her. We kept on walking and made our way down to Buckingham Palace and St James Park. We loved St. James Park, the beautiful swans and new spring blooms everywhere, it gives you that feeling of walking in a scene in Bridgerton or a Jane Austen novel.

Next up, we made our way past Downing Street, to Big Bend and the River Thames. soaking in the sights and sounds of London. It was so fun to walk everywhere, and we basically roamed until it was dark. We found an Italian Restaurant near our hotel across from Kensington Park and back to our hotel by 10pm. Now the first wave of jetlag was starting to set in, with over 24 hours of whirlwind traveling and site seeing.

The next morning, we had a nice breakfast at our hotel and then we were off to take in a beautiful spring day in London. Our first stop was the Churchill War Rooms Museum. But wait! There is a marathon on Sunday morning throughout London and our cabbie dropped us off right at the start line, which he didn't know was the start line Lol! I love a good race as much as anyone....too bad I didn't bring my running outfit, nor trained for this race! Maybe next time! The only problem getting dropped off at the start line is that our destination of the Churchill War Rooms was on the other side of the start line and there were barricades and thousands of racers. Oh, what do we do? We merge and join the crowd of racers, dance to the music and

make our way to the other side of the course! This made us a little late for our museum start time, but luckily the museum gives a little wiggle room of your entry give or take 30 minutes. This museum gives you a glimpse of "walking the top-secret corridors of Churchill War Rooms and what life would have been like during the tense days and nights of the Second World War." I include the link to this museum, plus our whole trip itinerary at the end of this blog for trip details and locations. This spot is a must see if you are into history and anything regarding WWII. Our family enjoyed being in the actual space of the war rooms, although it did make us all a little claustrophobic!

Next up, we walked over the River Thames, through the marathon, again and made our way through heavy crowds to the London Eye. It was something from a James Bond movie with crossing another race barrier, on the River Thames amongst thousands of people. I planned ahead and opted for a combo ticket of a London Eye River tour, plus a round on the London Eye. This London Eye combo was one of my favorite excursions we did in London throughout our whole trip. We made it just in time to board our boat tour (within 5 minutes! Whew!) This tour was excellent seeing London from the river pointing out buildings, points of interest and history! All the history! Then there was the spin slowly around the London Eye, about a 30-minute turn. I was absolutely giddy as a school girl at the county fair to get on this thing and take a spin!

Oh, the views! The views from the Eye on a sunny afternoon are remarkable and no wonder this is the #1 "thing to do" when visiting London. After the London Eye, we walked over the River Thames on the scenic Golden Jubilee Bridge for more stunning views. We made our way to Villiers Street, and we were in search of a late lunch. We stumbled upon All Bar One on Villiers Street, with a great menu. Each of us ordered our drinks: Rosé for mom, beer for dad, soda for one kid and smoothie for the other and all turn out to be pink! This is the cherry on top of our splendid day, unplanned pink drinks! After our lunch we walked around to check out more sites in London: Westminster Abbey, then made our way back to Kensington Park and then Notting Hill. On our walk to Westminster, we stumbled upon a peaceful demonstration "If you stand for Freedom, Stand for Ukraine." Marathons to fighting for Freedom, with pink drinks, this day was brilliant! We "Rick rolled' ourselves at the Rick Astley bridge in Notting Hill, grabbed our luggage stored at our hotel and headed off to the London Euston train station. Our first 34 hours in London were pretty fantastic!

Next adventure: Take the Caledonian Sleeper train from London to Edinburgh. Yes, please! This train was due to leave around 10:30pm and we could board about an hour early, to get settled and go to the dining car for a late dinner. Which had delicious options and it was nice to catch a late dinner before our overnight to Edinburgh. Our family had rooms with bunk beds next door to each other, which was a great option so we each had our own bunk and the 2 of us shared a bathroom inside our own room. This proved to be convenient for our family. Our bathroom had a shower and toilet, with the shower being more a trickle and like a sponge bath. But, it got the job done. I got about 4 hours of sleep, due to the rocking train, but I appreciated how taking a sleeper train helps maximize our time from one spot to the next, enabling us to maximize our days of cramming in all the fun. The next morning, we woke up in Edinburgh! And it was an absolutely beautiful stunning clear day!

Holy Moly, we could not have picked a better day to drop into Edinburgh. We get out of the train station and make our way to the luggage storage spot, which is great for when you are in between hotel or Air BnB spots. We grabbed some coffee to hype ourselves up on caffine to start heading towards the Royal Mile. We hear bagpipes, walk up the hill and our jaws just drop of how beautiful, historical, and how this city just oozes an ambiance like no other. We made our way up to Edinburgh Castle, luckily I booked ahead our tickets to coinicide with the 1pm cannon fire. We won the lottery with how beautiful this day was and the incredible views. We tour around the castle, take in the views, and patiently wait for the anticipated 1pm cannon. Just as the cannon was about to fire, the jetlag hit me hard. After 3 days of travel, touring around like a maniac, planes, trains and automobiles and boom! Here is the jetlag. After the cannon fires, I literally could not keep my eyes open, lol. To keep from falling asleep on a park bench and embarrassing my family, I took off to our Air Bnb flat. Luckily it was about half a mile walk from the castle. The flat was so lovely, a 2 bedroom in a lovely historic building on Niddry Street. I crawl up in a ball and take a much needed 2-hour nap!

Sometimes your body just needs to rest when you are traveling, and it is smart to take the time or be flexible with your time to take that rest. After my 2-hour nap, I felt like a new woman and it was time to meet up with my friend Brittaney, who just so happens to be in Scotland on her vacation, and we have a dinner date! We met up with my friend in a pub, I couldn't remember the name. We had some traditional Scottish cuisine and watched an exciting game of the Scottish Football League on the tele. It was great! Even with a grumpy bartender, who we purposely were overly nice to. He seemed to be having a bad day and probably didn't like Americans in his bar, LOL!

Ok, our 2nd day in Scotland was road trip day! I am going to spill my guts and totally just lay it out there, this was of one of the most humbling, embarrassing, glad I didn't get killed in the process moments of a day: picking up our rental car in downtown Edinburgh! Lord give me strength! Yes, I knew going into the UK they drive on the other side of the road. Yes, I did my research beforehand on driving tips. Yes, I know how to drive a stick shift, I learned when I was 12 years old, have owned a stick shift vehicle and have years of experience. Yes, I have driven in big cities: LA, NYC, Boston, Pittsburgh (cities I consider tough to drive in). But! I am here to tell you, none of that mattered, at least for me! When you throw it all into a mixing bowl of driving on the otherside of the road, left turns, stick shift on the other side and downtown Edinburgh and hills....Lord, GOD, HILLS, it did not freaking matter! LOL! My mind could not compute. Picture this: I go to the rental car location at the Waverly train station, go in early and I am excited to pick up our car. The sweet rental car lady was like sign here and here and threw me the keys. "Have a great day," she said. I was thinking, "That's it? No tips, no lectures?" Nope, I must figure it out. I get in the vehicle, take a few minutes, get acquainted with everything and start to slowly back out. Then I make my way through the parking garage, out to the street that I walked in from. Side Bar: our flat

was a 10-minute walk to pick up the rental car. Should take me 5 minutes to drive back and pick up my family, right? WRONG! I never made it back to the flat in that car, LOL! I pulled out on the street, I told myself "I got this." I slowly make my way down the street and pull up to a stop sign behind someone...ok, this is going ok. I followed the car in front of me and start to go up a hill and get stopped on that hill. I panic! Traffic is backed up and I have no idea where to turn on a 3-sided intersection in downtown Edinburgh and on a hill! I stall on the hill, and I have a line of cars behind me. OMG! This was about 10 minutes of nuts and me stalling the ignition and trying not to kill the clutch! I start to pray, "Dear God!" Finally, I had a chance to merge into traffic and was able to follow a car in front of me, because I surely did not know which lane to go in. It goes downhill from there, metaphorically. I follow traffic in front of me, snake my way through Edinburgh, just driving around and never figured out how to get back to our flat. I drive around the greater Edinburgh for an hour, not sure where I am going. Steadily, I make my way out of downtown, which was a little better driving. I find myself in Hillwood Park, about 6 miles from downtown.

I pullover, admit defeat and call my husband. "I give up" I said. My sweet husband said, "we are on the way". My family hopped in a taxi and 30 minutes later they found me way out of the city, parked on a residential street, a nervous wreck after the hour I just had. My husband said move over and got in the car, pulled up the map with our day trip stops for the full day. He said, "if you can navigate the directions, I will focus on the driving." Oh, ok, 'teamwork', that is the only way we could pull off this day trip! He takes off and gets us on the freeway towards Doune Castle for our first stop, then through Loch Lomond, to Glencoe, Fort William and then back to Edinburgh. We had several great stops and saw the beautiful countryside of Scotland! It was trippy to ride on the wrong side of the road, but we made it to all of our stops and back all in one piece. Reflecting on this two months later, not sure if I would have done anything differently. Like life's sense of humor, sometimes you just have to go through it, live in the moment and endure the tough situation you are in. Regardless of if you put yourself there or stumbled upon it. Sometimes the best days are the days that do not go exactly as they are planned. Our driving day turned out to be one of our most memorable days and now we are wanting to go back and do a much longer road trip throughout Scotland to see more of the stunning countryside. As you can see from a few of our pictures we had a marvelous day and I wouldn't trade a moment from that day, even my panic on the hill trying to drive in Edinburgh. The 3rd day in Scotland was a more relaxed day of

exploring some more cool spots in the city. For my family they wanted to go shopping and I wanted to hike up Arthur's Seat and take in the fantastic 360 views this hike rewards you with. It was a cloudy and cool morning, perfect to take a hike that has you going up a steep incline, and even with cool temps, I still broke a sweat. I was able to walk from my flat on Niddry Street over to Holyrood Park and easily found the trail and started up the incline. From the start of the trail in the park up to the top it took about 30-40 minutes to hike up to the top. After this wonderful hike, I make my way back to the city center and find my sweet family roaming around from shop to shop. Hey, it's lunch time! We find the cute Mary's Cafe Bistro on St. Mary's Street. They offered a great breakfast and lunch menu and the eggs benedict was pretty tasty. After lunch, we head over to the National Museum of Scotland. First off, this museum was free to visit, as well as several museums and art galleries all throughout the UK. You just have to plan ahead and reserve your tickets and pick your times. This Museum is chalked up with everything history in Scotland and galleries that guide you from pre-historic times to present day. You could spend all day in this museum and not see everything. We opted for half a day and hit the highlights. Visiting this museum is a must do in Edinburgh. That evening we met up with one of my husband's friends

from college, who so happens to also be in Edinburgh. Telling old stories over sips of whisky over a traditional Scottish meal, was a pretty great way to end our day. Our final day in Scotland was a stunning spring day,

which made for fun self walking tours all over the cities checking out the beautiful treasures of Edinburgh. While my family went to Camera Obscura, I took the afternoon and walked through Princes Street Gardens and over to Ross Fountain. This walk provided gorgeous spring blooms and amazing views of Edinburgh Castle. Next, I walked over to Dean Village from Ross Fountain area. Built in the 1880's, Dean Village is a neighborhood built as model housing for local workers, it adds to the picturesque charm of the area. I walked back in time all up and down Dean Village, immersing myself in a different time along the brick streets and Water of Leith walkway. I walked pretty much until dusk. I grabbed an early evening coffee and made my way over near the train station to meet my family. We grabbed our luggage from a luggage storage spot, down the street from Waverly station and hung out in a lounge across the street from the train station until it was time to board our sleeper train back to London. This was a good trip back to London, even with my trickle shower (must be because we were in the back of the train and no water pressure). I slept only 2 or 3 hours and we were dropped off at King's Cross.

We rolled into King's Cross station about 6am, whew that was early to be dragging your luggage, but exciting to be back in London for more adventures. First, we check out the 9&3/4 Platform, grab breakfast at coffee shop and wait for the Harry Potter store to open. It was great being here so early. Next up we leave King's Cross and head over to Trafalgar Square and The National Gallery. Visiting The National Gallery was free, as like many British Museums, you just have to plan ahead and schedule your tickets ahead of time. Ranging from Renaissance, Impressionist and Modern Art, The National Gallery is full of treasures of Van Gogh, Monet and so much more to list. After spending a few hours at The National Gallery, it was time for a late lunch. We head over to Notting Hill to check in the flat we are staying in for the remainder of our trip and we stumbled upon this fabulous restaurant, Granger and Company, an Australian Restaurant. It was so yummy and was down the street from where we were staying. After our lunch, then next visit was Natural History Museum and visited until closing time. After a long day of sightseeing, it was takeout dinner and early to bed. What a fun and exhausting day!

The next morning, we hop on The Tube and head over to St. Paul's Cathedral for a tour. This tour was not free and needed to be booked ahead of time to get in on a tour that fits our schedule. Being Easter weekend, the time slots were filling up even weeks out before our trip. The original St. Paul's burned down in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and was destroyed. The beautiful structure you see today was a rebuild from the designs of Architect Christopher Wren. The construction took 35 years to complete and was declared "done" in 1711. Walking in this massive 400-year-old Cathedral is incredible and is truly a work of art and must see while visiting London.

We were able to take a self-guided multi-media tour through the cathedral floor and crypt floor downstairs. My favorite part was touring on top of the Cathedral dome. Which had us going up many flights of stairs and you have to work hard to not get dizzy with vertigo going up in circles til the top. But once you are at the top, you are welcomed with beautiful views of London! After a couple of hours of touring the Cathedral, we find a lunch spot across the street from St. Paul's. Then make our way across the River Thames on the millennium bridge over to Borough Market. Around a 1,000-year-old market, you find all sorts of food, and drinks that taste amazing. We checked out Bridget Jone's old place and where the American Werewolf WAS shot in London. The Borough Market is alot of fun, but also very crowded, so just prepare to be close to many, many people. This Saturday, of Easter weekend turned out to be perfect spring weather and we made our way walking along the River Thames taking in more sites of beautiful London. We walked past the HMS Belfast, over the Grandioso Tower Bridge, and alongside the Tower of London. The views from each side of the river on a sunny day just gave us so many amazing pictures! We make our way

over to the Sky Garden for sunset views. Sky Garden is London's highest public garden offering 360 views of the city. Tickets to the Sky Garden are free, but they are tough to get, and you have to book weeks ahead of your designated time. At the top of Sky Garden we enjoy lush greenery, exquisitely landscaped gardens, observation decks, and an open-air terrace. There is a bar and restaurant at the top, so you can have that perfect cocktail while enjoy the views and sunset of London. I highly recommend visiting the Sky Garden while in London, it is the best "free" cool spot to pop in and take in the views of London on your next trip. After another amazing day in London, we grab takeout, head to our flat. No one has a hard time trying to go to sleep. The next morning is Easter and our family divides and conquers on our next set of adventures. Early Birthday Present to my husband, he and our girls are off to the Star Wars Celebration at EXCEL London. An expo with stars of the movies, offering different panels and programs. If you are into Star Wars, this is The place to be!

My Family gets up early to hop on The Tube and head over to The Canary Wharf part of London for the Star Wars gig. I have my own plans for the day. I met up with my friend Brittaney, who so happens to be in town. We grab breakfast and head over to Paddington Station to catch a train. We have a full day planned of meeting up with

my cousins, which is a whole other long story in itself. My friend Brittaney accompanied me to Cirencester, the town where my cousins grew up. Cirencester is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, 80 miles west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold's. It is full of history, all the way back to the 2nd century as a thriving city.

My family history is what brought me here on this Easter Sunday and it all stems from WWII. My grandfather, Ulysses "Buddy" McDonald served in the Army and was a Tank Commander and was stationed in Cirencester before and in between his movements in France and Germany. It was in Circencester where he met and fell in love with Daisy and they had a child. This story is remarkable, convoluted and a long story, with many layers. I hope to tell this full story someday and honor all members of our family and their history. Fast forward to about 4 or 5 years ago and ancestry.com, our families found each other, connecting us altogether after years of searching. I gained 4 news cousins, and I met two of my cousins last year with their visit to the U.S for a McDonald Family Reunion in Oklahoma. During this trip to the UK, I was able to meet up with all 4 of my newfound family members. We met up for a great Sunday brunch in Cirencester and then made our way through the historic streets of the town. Then we walk over to Cecily Hill Barracks, which would have been a hub for soldiers during WWII, and walked through the streets where my grandfather walked.

This town has buildings that are 400-500 years old and my cousins let me know that not much has changed in the look and architecture of the center of town in about 200 years. After a great morning visit and brunch in Cirencester, we hop in the car and head over to Bath for an afternoon stroll around town and a scheduled teatime. (Don't worry, I was not driving!) I loved having a formal tea with my cousins and just being able to spend

the day with them. Our final full day in London was a rainy day and I absolutely loved it. I was hoping to experience a rainy day in London to see what all the fuss was about and it was perfect! My younger daughter and I opted to spend this day roaming around the city aimlessly, taking us where the red double decker bus took us. My older daughter and husband had day 2 at the Star Wars Celebration to soak up more stars, panels and programs. We rode the bus all over London stopping in Chinatown, Piccadilly and Harrods. We met some great folks on the buses and would strike up some great conversations and it was fun to see the city in a laid-back fashion. After our visit to Harrods, we hop the bus and head back to Notting Hill and

pack up. I don't want our trip to end, I want to keep going and exploring and just be the forever traveler. However, life tugs us back to reality of work, school and back in our desk of daydreaming of our next adventures. Like hitting the new lower speeds coming into new city limits, this trip is ending. The next morning, we scheduled a Taxi to pick us up and take us to Heathrow for the journey back home. We boarded our 9-hour flight back home, flew over Greenland, Canada and back into the US, direct and non-stop. This was a great first international trip for our kids and great mash up of dipping ourselves in the UK for 10 days and taking in as much as our bodies and energy would allow. I was so thankful and still thankful we were able to make this trip on many levels. Being post covid, moving forward with our lives, getting back out in our travels, creating

new adventures. I live for these moments, I dream of these moments, I work for these moments. Oh, and did I say I live for these moments? To travel is to live, to experience a new adventure is the food that feeds my soul. It is an absolute joy to travel with my girls. My prayer is that our travels spark joy and community into my kids souls. That our travels ignite their paths in life and they own their sense of direction and take it and go. I am back to dreaming of our next adventures. Time is flying too fast with my girls!

P.s. I hear Taylor Swift is touring in the UK next summer, did anyone get tickets?

United Kingdom Itinerary