Category Archives: London

Christmas Shopping Date in London

Kua ‘Aina Grill in London

I used to work on Tuesdays but things got a little too hectic at home and so I took to not taking those extra hours in the salon.  Ryan does not have class or work this semester on Tuesday so we found ourselves finally in years with one day to spend with just ourselves.  Well at least while the boys are in school.  With Christmas fast approaching, we decided to take to London for a little Christmas shopping.  As we got off the train we headed through the park where I really enjoyed watching the ducks.  I really enjoy all the parks in England. They are usually quite beautiful and quaint. After a yummy breakfast of warm food we headed to the toy store again for christmas shopping.  It was a really fun outing and makes me really look forward to more Tuesdays like this.  We even found a restaurant chain that we had in Hawaii!  Nothing like a bit of Aloha to make you feel warmer in the cold English weather.  Alas all the fun to be had today was finalized with a little bit of drama trying to get back home.  Unfortunately in the winter months it seems a lot of people decide to take their lives and jump in front of trains.  This happened and it delayed us getting back to the boys by a few hours. With not having any contacts we can rely on in situations like this it made it quite stressful.  My thoughts do go out to the family of the individual who ended their life.  Quite sad.

Ryan in Hyde Park 

Me bundled up in London 
Watching the Ducks 

Brunch of hot soup, warm bread, and a cup of hot chocolate.  

Leaves in London

All week we have been talking about taking the boys to London.  Originally I was going to take them in the morning and go to the National History Museum to see the dinosaurs. Unfortunately I lost my debit card the night before and was not able to leave for London until my partner returned from work on Sunday.  Despite our late start, the four of us headed on the train into London ready for an adventure.  We started the day with some warm pastys, pizza, and sausage rolls and then headed over to the Buckingham Palace.  Last time we came here they had scaffolding all over the place, so it was really nice to be able to take photographs today.  It was quite cold out and so we were all bundled up in our coats, hats, and gloves. Our next stop was Hyde park where I had wanted to recreate a photograph from my childhood.  Though making plans are fun, today was definitely the day to learn flexibility and to be spontaneous instead.  Upon arriving into Hyde park we noticed a mass amount of fallen leaves and so I will be blogging out Autumn leaves again.  What can I say?  I am still quite excited about experiencing different seasons after so many years of just ‘Summer’.  The four of us made huge piles of leaves and Maddox was first to tunnel inside and be covered up.  Ronan joined in the fun and we started getting a lot of really cute photographs.  I think they had the most fun running and diving into the piles of leaves.  Then again any chance for a spontaneous leaf fight will bring smiles and giggles to young and old.  Afterwards we went to the German Christmas market and Hamley’s Toy Store.  I will blog about these tomorrow and leave you with some of the best photographs from the first part of our trip to London. 
Ronan & Maddox playing in the London leaves. 
Ronan having a meltdown moment in front of Buckingham Palace, because his dad took his pizza out of his hand to hide it from the camera.

Ronan and Maddox diving into the leaves!

Playing in the leaves with my two boys!

Ronan getting ready to aim and fire leaves at his dad while Maddox gets an armful. 

Ronan takes fire from leaves that were thrown by his dad.

Not even the photographer (myself) is free from the leaves. Maddox is ready to throw leaves at me as I point my camera at him.