London with Nana--Take 2

Henry, Derek, and I took Mom in to London again yesterday. This time, we visited a few museums and then did some shopping. :) Fewer pictures this time, but that's ok. 

Our first stop was the Natural History Museum on Exhibition Road. The place was absolutely packed with school groups and families. June at the most visited museum in London, and a Friday nonetheless, isn't the best idea. We made it through the dinosaur exhibit and then the Mammals before deciding it was too crowded to have fun. We stopped at the gift shop, which was much more manageable crowd wise, and picked out a few fun things--including 2 dinosaurs for Henry! His first dinosaur toys. One from Nana (Brachiosaurus) and one from Daddy (Parasaurolphus). Poor Henry fell asleep in the shop and slept all the way to McDonalds. 

They have a life size animatronic T-Rex that was pretty cool, but difficult to get a good photo (top picture)

I know this is blurry, but i just love it. Henry has had a blast with Nana!

Yes--we considered letting Henry "pet' the T-Rex. 

We grabbed food at Mickey D's before walking over to Hyde Park to eat it. Henry sure enjoys his Happy Meals! He's pretty keen on the toys, too even though all they had were Hello Kitty ditties that I thought were super lame. Oh well--he loves them!

After eating, we went back to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain for some splashing about. We were wise this time, and brought a swim diaper, but the water was considerably cooler this time around. Henry wasn't quite as obsessed with staying in the water, but really wanted a friend to play with. Just when he started to warm up to a couple of kids, it was time to go. That fountain really is a wonderful place to play, though. I know that I would have loved it as a kid--heck, I love it now!

Anyway, we decided to go visit the V&A Museum of Childhood out at Bethnal Green. Poor Derek was still fighting off an infection, and decided London may have been a bit much for the day. So, he took the tube to Liverpool Street and headed back home to Cambridge. While we missed him, I did feel better knowing that he was going to have some quiet time to rest at home. 

The Museum of Childhood was pretty cool--but not one I would go out of my way to visit again. Henry, on the other hand, felt that he had died and gone to heaven. Oh, he could have cared less about the toys behind glass, but they had a few little stations with toys and a pretty incredible sensory display for kids. Lights, music, textures--he was running back and forth between things like a crazy man. Giggling and laughing the whole time. I think he could have stayed and run around for a few hours if we had let him!

A really cool train that Henry enjoyed watching go around the track

The toys and Sensory display

After the Museum of Childhood, we stopped at St. Paul's Tube Station and headed to the Museum of London. By far one of the hidden jewels of London, this museum has recently been updated and is A-MAZE-ING. Seriously. Interactive, beautiful displays, the use of all types of media is wonderful--it is a great overview of the city that I love. I was really pleased that we stopped there. Why I didn't take more pictures, I do not know. Oh wait--because I was chasing Henry up and down the exhibits. Seriously--in one section, he ran back and forth from one edge of the room to the other. It was quite insane. 

But really--you MUST visit the Museum of London next time you're near St. Paul's--definitely worth a visit. 

Our one photo from the Museum. Why didn't I take more photos?!

After the Museum of London, we walked along the Victoria Embankment to Trafalgar Square where we got some pizza at Pizza Express. Henry was a much happier camper after eating about half the pizza (serious--Mom and I each had 2 pieces, and he had 3). We talked to Papa on Skype in Trafalgar Square before heading in to Piccadilly to do some shopping!! 

Our shopping was the conclusion of the trip--we hopped on the Piccadilly Line back to Kings' Cross, then home to Cambridge. Overall, a really fun day in the city. 

P.S. Part of the reason I didn't take more video was because the lighting was really weird in the museums. I'm still figuring out my camera in that area, so sorry if these are a bit dark. I did adjust the ISO, for those of you who know about these things, any more tips would be greatly appreciated. :) So---I didn't put the video up on here. If you really want to see it, even if i don't like it, perhaps I could be persuaded.