The Schmits Visit!

We arrived home from our cruise on Friday, August 14. I unpacked and started laundry that afternoon. I finally finished the laundry on Monday, August 17...just in time because on Tuesday, August 18 we welcomed the Schmit Family to the Lodge!

We were SO happy to have the Schmits in London with us and planned a very busy week for them. Believe it or not, I did not factor in any time for shopping with Kelly! There was just too much to see and do and shopping would just have to wait for the next visit.

On Tuesday when they arrived my only goal was to keep them up and moving. Taking an overnight flight is not easy on anyone, especially little people. I wanted Kara and Liv to adjust as quickly as possible so walking was my only objective. We walked from our house to St. John's Wood High Street via the Abbey Road crossing for some lunch at the local favorite - Richoux. Then it was a nice long walk to the zoo.



The London Zoo is a small manageable zoo, a lot like Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago - but not free. We wandered around and saw the giraffes, the gorillas, the bearded pigs and "Raja" the Komodo Dragon. But the highlight was seeing the new lion cubs. The kids spent some time in the playground and on the inflatables too and then of course all had to be face painted!


After spending a couple hours in the zoo, I walked them over to Primrose Hill - up and over Primrose Hill. When we got to the top of the hill Kelly turned to me, out of breath and said, "don't you know me? When have you ever known me to walk...ANY WHERE?!" We laughed a lot and then took a good look around...it was well worth the walk up the hill. We had an absolutely beautiful day and the kids had a ball running back down the hill!

Then it was time for the "long" walk home for some dinner before taking Kel and Larry over to the Clifton and the Salt House for some local pub flavor.

On Wednesday, after everyone slept reasonably well, I had them up and going early! At 9:15 a.m. the Schmits left the Lodge and went to Buckingham Palace to visit the state rooms, then watched the Changing of the Guard, then had a quick bite before boarding the Big Bus Tour to see the highlights of London. They hopped off at the Cabinet War Rooms and the Tower of London. They also took a boat cruise and then tried to make it to the Princess Diana Playground, only to be locked out...it was 7:30 p.m. after all. They arrived back here for some dinner, another BBQ that we had ready to roll as they walked in. But no pub this evening - they had to be up early to catch their train to Paris!

On Thursday and Friday morning the Schmits took in the sights and sounds of Paris. They arrived back to the Lodge around 4:00 p.m. in time to relax for a bit before the grown-ups had to shower and get ready for another night out. We met John at Brown's Bar and Restaurant in Covent Garden before walking to the Wyndham's Theatre for "Hamlet" starring Jude Law.


I promised Kel a celebrity sighting so this was it! Kelly, however, noticed that Chris Martin (from Coldplay) was seated a few rows ahead of us in the audience...well done Kel! After standing at the stage door for a few minutes we successfully saw Jude, got his autograph on a program and a picture! Then it was off to The Ivy for dinner...a fabulous and very London-esque night on the town!

On Saturday we had the Schmits up and out again - this time to the London Eye. After their "flight" they hopped a taxi to bring the girls to the Princess Diana Playground - which is like Neverland! The girls loved it. They had a nice morning just playing and enjoying the beautiful London weather - sunny and 75! When they returned to the Lodge we were off and running...the boys to an Arsenal Match and the girls to Hamleys for a tour and tea! We had such fun with the girls at Hamleys. Exploring all seven floors of toys before heading to Tantrum salon for hair and nails. Then up to the Hamleys cafe for tea! It was a very special afternoon and I loved spending so much time with Kara and Liv.





The boys had a great time too at the Arsenal match. Now that we are season ticket holders, Jack and Owen have become "super-fans" and wear their Arsenal sportswear nearly every day! They saw a winning match too - Arsenal 4 and Portsmouth 1





We returned home and joined the boys for our last BBQ in the yard. Then Nilda set up another "jolly night" complete with movies and popcorn while we spent our last evening together at The Warrington Pub.




Sadly, on Sunday, August 23 the Schmits had to leave us and return to Chicago. It was a tearful goodbye after a wonderful visit...and now that they know how easy it is to get here, we hope they will come back again very soon!

CHEERS!