After struggling with trying to upload pictures to this blog, I believe I've succeeded.  Therefore, this tome of Grandma and Grandpa's trip to London may be somewhat short on words but long on pictures. 

So, our mission was to spend Christmas with the London Millers, and celebrate Mark's birthday, as well as Grandpa's.  We were also tasked to deliver Donut Palace long johns in return for scones from Fortnum and Mason. 

Grandma was enjoying her first few minutes on the airplane, before she found out how hard it was to operate the personal entertainment system, but at least ours worked, unlike many others on the plane.  Grandpa, not being so adventurous, just watches the little plane on the screen on its way across the ocean.

We thought we were almost to Heathrow, then we got to fly around southwest London for a while.  No, I don't think the pilot was inebriated, as the screen may indicate.

 Mark was kind enough to meet us at Heathrow and take the Heathrow Express back to Paddington (below) with us.  Since we arrived on his 42nd birthday, we were especially pleased.  We welcomed him into our world then; it was very special that he welcomed us into his.   It really helped, as we did have a bit of luggage.  It's good to see a friendly face after that long of a trip.

So, the trade was executed.  Both Maddie and Henry, and Grandma and Grandpa, were pleased.  I think we won, because London has many donut places (not, however, THE Donut Palace), but Chesterfield has no scone places that I'm aware of.

So, one often hears that it is better to keep moving after an overnight flight.  This, ostensibly, is to promote faster jet lag adjustment.  So, off we went to the shopping district, to see the infamous John Lewis store, as well as Selfridge's and others.

 The stores decorate their windows for Christmas, much like the stores used to do here.  Shown above are a couple of the Selfridge's windows, which appear to have an adult Santa theme.

John Lewis, on the other hand, capitalized on its Christmas advert theme of Buster (if you want to see Christmas adverts, just google them.  Many of them are very good and worth watching (I like the Heathrow advert this year, as it reminded me of Grandma and me).  Pictures don't really do these justice.  And yes, they are animated.

Mark standing next to his "father" made out of Legos, at John Lewis.

 We next needed lunch, and Mark took us to Gunmaker's Pub, not far from his flat.  It apparently was frequented by none other than Winston Churchill, and the cat is often there.  A neat old pub, and the seats were quite comfortable, and well-used.  A great way to start off the visit and part of Mark's birthday celebration.

After a short nap, the kids came home from school (Grandma slept through going to get them), but they still were happy to see their Grandma Miller.   

Henry was kind enough to let us use his bed during our stay.  Yes, he has a London Underground map comforter, and the pillowcases are Tube Rondels.  If you're not aware, Henry is an expert on the London Tube....no kidding.  More on that later.  We finished off Mark's birthday with dinner at a Turkish restaurant, Ishtar.  It was very good, but a little different for our digestive systems.

The next day we toured the Beefeater Gin Distillery in southeast London, I think.  It's where all Beefeater Gin is distilled.  Shown above is one of the stills.  They make several types, but it all tastes the same to me.

At the end of the tour, everyone gets a "free" gin and tonic.  Unfortunately, the tonic seemed stronger than the gin; however, we have been there, and, as the picture below attests, we also visited the gift shop.

Shown above is Maddie with her favorite hot chocolate.  There is a little pitcher of chocolate syrup, so it's made the way you want it.  Apparently this is one of their favorite places for breakfast, near the John Lewis store I think....

While Maddie arduously worked on her hot chocolate, Henry was diagraming out our tube ride that we would take in a few days.  The goal was to ride on as many different tube lines as we could.  More on that later.

This is the main entrance to Winter Wonderland, in Hyde Park.  Basically, it's London's version of a Christkindlmarkt.  In fact, many of the rides and attractions were German, so we felt right at home.  As you can see, security was very tight, and it was very foggy.

Mark, Sarah, and the kids participated in many of the funhouses.  Henry knows his way around the Tube, but he couldn't find his way out of the mirrors in the one funhouse.  Very enjoyable to watch.  There was also a pirate funhouse, as pictured below.

After an exhausting time of funhousing, we visited the beer tent, of course.  Hot chocolate, and glühwein as well.  Ate a pretty good bratwurst, but TripAdvisor will hear about how they were out of mustard.  It still was a great time at the old Winter Wonderland.  Later that night we had a wonderful Chinese dinner at the Phoenix Palace.  Other than us, notable diners include Tony Blair and other celebs.  This place was so Chinese that I was convinced that the notable Seinfeld episode was filmed here.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures from here.

Mark and I went to Greenwich to run a 10km in the park.  We had to go through Canary Wharf tube stop to get to Greenwich.  If you look at his blog, he shows how this tube stop looked in the new Star Wars movie.  Very modern and new. 

Shown here is the Greenwich Observatory, and just beyond the fence, the Greenwich Meridian.  So, when you hear "Greenwich Mean Time', it is the time here.  To get your picture straddling the line, you have to pay.  We did not pay...as you can see.

Looking back down the hill from the observatory, to the Maritime Museum.  Today, it looks at fog, but on a clear day one can see the Thames, and many other things, Mark tells me.

After the race, while walking back to the Tube, we visited the Cutty Sark, a tea clipper from the past. 

We also looked around Greenwich.  Pictured below is the finisher's medal form the race.

Shown here is the Harry Potter closet at the Millers.  No one currently resides in there, but there is a Hoover in there that Henry gets to use occasionally.  He really enjoys Hoovering the three stairwells in their flat.

We took a walk in the shopping area (Oxford, Regent streets, etc.) to see the lights.  As I mentioned earlier, pictures don't do them justice. 

Selfridge's

Couldn't resist this picture.  I'm sure they did have apple juice there too, Joe.

On the way home, we passed an embassy that is a couple blocks from the Miler flat.  I couldn't really pronounce the name of the country, but it was one of the ....stans.  Wow.

We started off my birthday by ice skating on a rink set up by the Natural History Museum (in background, looking like a cathedral).  The ice was pretty rough, but it was still fun.  I don't think many other people brought their skates, like Henry and me.  I'm pretty sure that no one brought their skates from the US, like I did.  Maddie skates well, and Henry was clearly the best skater on the ice.   The rink guards asked him where he learned to skate.  Grandpa, well, he skated, and survived....a success.

After skating, we paid homage to Charles Darwin.  This statue of him overlooks the grand hall at the Natural History Museum.  It's very inspiring.  We also visited a temporary exhibit of wildlife photography.  This museum is one of the "must-see" places in London.  And one of the restaurants serves pizza and beer.

On the way home we stopped by Buckingham Palace to visit the Queen.  Unfortunately, she was under the weather, and assured us that we could see her next visit.  So, we opted for a picture out front.  "That's nice...."

That evening we were treated to a nice German dinner at Fischer's Conditorei, which is actually Austrian, but I didn't notice.  The bier und schnitzel waren köstlich!  Maddie and Henry also enjoyed the Sacher Torte.  I had a very nice Topfstrudel for dessert.

The next morning, we walked up Primrose Hill, which on a clear day provides a wonderful view of most of London along the Thames.  It was bit hazy that day, but still a great view.  On way up there, we walked by some of my bird friends, and along the edge of the London Zoo.

On the way back to the flat, we passed the Beatles Store (Abbey Road is nearby), and 221B Baker Street, home of Sherlock Holmes, sorta....  Also pictured is the Allsop Arms, a favorite hangout of the Millers, and it was good.

After cleaning up a bit, we headed to the Tube to go to Trafalgar Square, and the National Gallery. 

Grandma got to explain some of the Impressionist paintings to the kids, and we were all in awe at the multitude of unbelievable masters' works.

After lunch, we visited the British Library.  The statue outside is of Isaac Newton.  What's inside left me speechless.  There is a "Treasures Room" in which pictures are forbidden.  These are true treasures, and they are mind-boggling.  I downloaded a picture of the Magna Carta, which is there.  The variety is endless:  Gutenberg Bible, Beatles music, manuscripts galore of famous writers, scraps of a THIRD Century copy of the gospel of St. John, Sir Alexander Fleming's lab notebook. it goes on seemingly forever.  One of the highlights of my trip.

I have never seen a chewing gum recycling receptacle.  It says that the receptacle is made out of recycled gum.  I'll just take their word for it.  Or, do they think one will just reach in there and recycle the gum by chewing it?  I'm not sure.

Next stop was the Grant's Museum of Zoology.  This was absolutely the highlight of my trip.  Picture here is a jar of about 30 moles.  No one seems to know much about how they got here, but it rivals the Magna Carta in my book.  This obscure museum has a lot of interesting items, to include full skeletons from several extinct animals, to include the Tasmanian Tiger.

This cubicle is filled with microscope slides of all kinds of stuff. 

No trip to London is complete without a trip to the Allsop Arms.  Truly a keeper, and about two blocks from the Miller flat.

Sticky toffee pudding for dessert.  Maddie's favorite and now we know why.

A new Lego store opened up recently in Leicester Square.  The crowds have been so bad that we finally went relatively early in the day and got in.  Yes, that is Maddie and Henry sitting in a full size Tube train, sitting next to Shakespeare, and a soldier.  Only Maddie and Henry are not made of Legos.

Lego tube map

Even a lego phone booth.

While the ladies shopped, Mark, Henry, and I went through the London Transport Museum.  This is obviously a fav of Henry's. 

Henry really enjoys the Tube driving simulator.  About this time we were told it was time for lunch at Joe's....so we ate at Joe's.

I had the Joe's Prison Platter.  It was pretty good.

After lunch I noticed that I could have had a "German Hot Dog"  Not sure what that is, but it must be good, because the queue was long.

The next morning, Henry took his Dad and us on his tube tour.  We started at Baker Street, his home station.  Lots of stops, and 8 changes.  He designed it well, as it only took about two hours.

Truly the end of the line....

Mark trying not to notice the Star Wars sign...

During one of our walks, Maddie showed us her school.  She currently is in a classroom right behind her, in the basement. 

Before the theater, we dined at the Lowlander.  It has good stuff to eat, and lots and lots of beers, specializing in Belgian beers, but has many others.

The look on Maddie's face says it all.  She really enjoyed Matilda at the theater.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is sold out for the next year and a half.  It is a two part play. 

The next day, we went to High Tea at the Ritz Hotel (we means Sarah, Maddie, Grandma, and Grandpa).  Mark and Henry stayed at the flat, and Henry contemplated which set of knickers to wear next week.

This was a wonderful experience, in a beautiful setting, especially with all the Christmas decorations.  The pictures say it all...

I really don't understand this.  This is in the men's toilet.  They always talk about sitting on the throne, but really....  PS:  There is no hole in the seat, so I have not idea here...maybe someone can help me out.

On the way home, we stopped to shop a bit at Fortnum and Mason. Just a few other shoppers with us (on the 23rd of December). 

Had to have a bottle a Christmas Ale.  The bottle said it was for wassailers (sp?).  It didn't taste very good, and I'm being nice here....

The next morning, Mark and I walked/jogged around Hyde Park.  This is a statue of Peter Pan.  We took his picture here 39 years ago, so a redo was in order. 

Difficult to see, but there are parrots in the tree.  Apparently, parrots have been introduced (inadvertently) into Hyde Park. 

In a pub named for Sir Alexander Fleming, there can't be any bacteria.  However, on the opposite corners, I'm not so sure, as shown below.

A Christmas Eve burger and beer place.

...and finishing up Christmas Eve with a bottle of Darwin's Origin beer...

Christmas morning finally arrived.  Above you can sense the anticipation in everyone's faces.

Henry's nerf gun.  This item quickly became annoying, said like a true grandfather.

An addition to the Miller tacky plate collection.  And it's a winner....

After a great brunch, we did another walk.  This is the Langham Hotel, right near the BBC.  Apparently room 333 is haunted...google it if you don't believe me...

The Queen delivered a great Christmas message at 3:00.  Yes, she said Christmas, and she meant it.  Very well delivered, and a great message.  PS:  She's 90!

We finally convinced Mark that we had to see his rooftop patio.  Getting up there isn't easy, as you can tell.  And, oh, by the way, you can look down through the skylight to watch any business going on on the toilet. (not shown)

Henry got a tube train from Santa.  It is on its maiden trek around the tree.  The fox is a character from the John Lewis Christmas advert.

Sarah prepared a wonderful and traditionally British roast beef dinner for us, and we had some neat Christmas crackers.

We had a few drinks before watching Mrs. Brown's Boys Christmas show, which needs to be late, due to the adult nature of the content.....

Unfortunately, we had to fly back home the next day, Boxing Day.  The picture above is of my shepherd's pie, which they served us.  They also had a vegetarian meal which they really couldn't give away.  This actually wasn't bad.

So, what a great trip.  Exhausting for us, but great.  Grandpa spent his time on the flight back looking at the little airplane on the screen...