The Fun Fair and Candy Floss
The Hampstead Heath is known for its popular Fun Fair held during Easter break and on two other weekends in the year. Of course we had to attend and see what all the fuss is about...
The Fun Fair is very similar to a carnival in the US. It has rides for children and adults, games in which to win prizes, and fair food. The main difference with this fair is that you pay as you go, instead of having to buy dozens of tickets, which we liked. We visited the Fair twice, once with daddy and once with Sophie's friend Eva and her parents.
On our first visit we walked around the fair and checked it all out. Sophie went on a little carousel just her size, which she seemed to enjoy, but as soon as she got off she asked to go on the "big one". It seems that the little one was not enough fun for her! We passed on buying any food, although I really wanted to get some Candy Floss (aka Cotton Candy).
When we attended the fair with Sophie's friend Eva on Easter Monday, the girls and mums went on a little carousel and jumped around in a big blow-up jumping tent. Next the girls rode on a train with Eva's mommy RoiAnn--Sophie loved this! Lastly, Sophie, Eva and RoiAnn rode on one last kiddie ride and apparently Sophie had had enough and started to melt-down. Thankfully RoiAnn sat with her and consoled her through the ride without Eva melting down without her mum! It was time to go home...an interesting experience that hopefully has not traumatized my child! Thanks again RoiAnn and Kelly for a quick, but fun fair visit with the girls!
Kensington Palace
Saturday seemed like a great day to stay in the city and visit the Kensington Palace and Gardens. Kensington Palace was once a favored home of some of Britain`s most famous kings and queens and the setting for many great events and dramas in royal history. William III and Mary II originally purchased the Nottingham house in Kensington and commissioned Christopher Wren to turn it into a royal palace. Queen Anne, George I, and George II, and Queen Victoria (who was born there) all resided at the palace during their lives and all but Victoria, during their reigns. The building itself, like Buckingham Palace, is quite plain and without the extravagance one would expect of a royal palace. The gardens outside make up for the plain building, they were just starting to bloom.
The tour starts showing court life in the 17th and 18th century for the men and women. There is a permanent display of dresses worn by Princess Diana and a new temporary exhibition of her by Mario Testino in which she was wearing dresses that she auctioned off for charity. The photographs are priceless and really capture an informal and casual side of the Diana. If you love the Princess this is worth seeing. Another highlight is the dress worn by Queen Elizabeth II during a State Visit to Paris in 1957. The gown is exquisite! It is unbelievable what goes into a piece like this! She did wear the dress again to the Royal Opera House in London (Jeremy and I hope to catch the ballet there in May).
Next, the tour routes you through some rooms that are very uneventful with simply some information in lighted boxes, very anti-climatic. But, then you reach the King's Grand Staircase--and it is grand! It has gorgeous paintings on all the walls and ceilings and is really something to see (wish we could have taken photos, but they were not allowed!). The other rooms available to view were fantastic as well--the tour definitely got better! The Palace definitely meets the standards of a real royal palace. We enjoyed the visit, but would recommend other sites to visitors when in London.
Visiting the Museum of London
Good Friday is a bank holiday in England so Jeremy had the day off from work. We decided to spend the day visiting the Museum of London. It was the most child friendly museum we have ever been too, that was not specifically for children! It was absolutely fantastic for Sophie and for us! The London Museum was originally housed in Kensington Palace (which we found out the next day while at the Palace) but in 1976 was opened on the edge of the Barbican (a large residential, commercial and arts complex in the Smithfield/Spitalfields area of London). It provides an account of London life from prehistoric times to the outbreak of World War I. It was really interesting.
We spent all morning at the Museum, had a nice lunch at the Pizza Express, a local pizza chain, and then spent another hour or so finishing our visit. The highlights of the Museum were the Lord Mayor's Coach, absolutely gorgeous, which is still paraded once a year during the Lord Mayor's Show held in the fall. There was also a Victorian Walk which recreates the atmosphere of 19th century London. I always love to see the clothing worn in earlier times--they have 18th century dresses on display. Of course, there is always information on the royalty of Britain, which we love learning about. I am currently reading a book on the overview of all the kings and queens, very intriguing...Finally, outside the Museum is a great example of Roman London--a section of Roman wall from the 3rd century, put up to defend the city. It is amazing that it is still standing, you can just feel the history when looking at it! This is a fantastic museum and great for kids! It is listed as one of the star sights in our London travel guide--it is for us! 
More Term Break Activities
It is term break again in London. The kids here get nice school breaks but then have a shorter break in summer from early-mid July through August. During term break most regular activities for kids take a break also, but new activities are available at various locations throughout the city. It is a great time for Sophie and I to venture into the city and try something new.
During the Easter term break we attended the mini musicals workshop at the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden again. This time we invited some friends with, which made it fun for Sophie to have her buddy Justin with us. Kids are so cute with their friends! They were holding hands for an activity and just continued on...adorable! This was a fun workshop with lots of make believe and group activities, lasting only 45 minutes, the perfect amount of time for toddlers. After a slightly hectic lunch, while trekking through the rain to the tube station, but kids feel asleep and allowed the mums some coffee time at our local Starbuck's--can't beat that!
The next day we ventured to the Hammersmith area and went to a show specifically for under 3's titled Egg and Spoon. It was a bit of a tube ride, but Sophie decided to take a little cat nap on the way which helps. The Lyric Hammersmith Theatre had good space and shows going on in several studios. Sophie loved the show--so much that she cried when we had to leave! It was very interactive for the children and perfect for little ones. The only disappointment was that it was only 30 minutes, a bit short for such a long tube ride.
Later that afternoon we did some shopping on the high street in Hampstead and ventured over to the Burgh House. The Burgh House was built in 1704 during Queen Anne's reign. It has a somewhat interesting history and also houses the Hampstead Museum, which specializes in the local history of the area. It was an interesting but quick visit (thankfully it is free) Sophie was quite sad to have to leave her buggy in the reception room. The gardens at the house are small but nice, and the neighborhood is very quaint. Another draw to the House was an exhibition of original lithographs by Henri Matisse that were for sale. This was worth the visit by itself. There were only 20 pieces or so, but I loved seeing original pieces and what they cost, amazingly the prices ranged from 450 GBP to 1,250 GBP, double this for USD and they were around $900 to $2,500, a bit pricy, but if one loved Matisse and wanted an original piece of his work, not unreasonable (in my opinion).
Story Time at the National Portrait Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery has a monthly story telling event for children. We thought it was a great idea to view the gallery in the morning, have a little lunch at the cafe, and let Sophie enjoy the story.
The National Portrait Gallery is often overlooked since it is next door to the National Gallery which is enormous! The Portrait Gallery has fantastic portraits of Britain's kings, queens, poets, musicians, artists, thinkers, heroes, villains from all periods since the late 14th century. Our favorite gallery was the Tudor Gallery, which included an important portrait of Queen Elizabeth I (we just watched the film on her last weekend). It is a beautiful portrait of her.
After a quick lunch in the Gallery cafe, we attended the story time session. Sophie was completely mesmerized by the storyteller. She sat on her little cushion in the gallery and did not even look behind to see if mum and dad were there (this is a big thing for us, Sophie can be quite shy and tied to our hips). The story was about a metal worker, which tied into using the escalator to get up into the gallery. She also got to bang some silver egg cups together, and search out the sculpture in the gallery. It was fantastic and very well done. We hope to make it to future sessions.
Next, we walked through all of London it seemed...well maybe just Leicester Square to Picadilly Circus, to Regent's Street, to Oxford Street and finally home on the tube. In between we did quite a bit of window shopping, purchased a few gifts, got great ideas of the shops that were in the area, took a bit of time to enjoy the green space in the Soho Square, and enjoyed a nice spring day while Sophie slept peacefully...Ahhh!
Portobello Road Market
Portobello Road Market is one of the most famous markets in the world and is internationally recognized for its second-hand and antique sections. Statistically it features in the top ten rankings as the most visited tourist site in London. It is regularly the focus of press and media attention and mostly remembered from the Disney film "Bed knobs and Broomsticks" and more recently the film "Notting Hill". Its history and culture span approximately 300 years of existence.
This market is one of our favorites. It is actually three or four markets rolled into one. At the Notting Hill end there are over 200 stalls and lots of shops along the way selling antiques, art, jewelry, silver, etc. As you make your way down the hill you find fresh fruits and vegetable stands. Moving down further the crowd gets younger and the stalls include clothes, bric-a-brac, tourist items, and music. In some areas, the sellers don't appear to be part of the "organized" group. There were also a small French market when we this time also. I got a yummy "pancake" or crepe with Nutella on it and Jeremy was thrilled with his pork, applesauce and stuffing all on a bun.
The most exciting part of this day for us was the purchase of two pieces of art by current English artists as gifts to ourselves for our 35th birthdays recently. Jeremy and I found several pieces in one shop that we really liked. Eventually we realized that we loved two pieces in particular and when we couldn't decide which to get, we purchased both. We are anxiously awaiting their delivery to our flat. The shop owner was going to have them signed by the artist's and get additional information about the artists for our records. We can't wait! We have now purchased four pieces since we have been in London and love each of them. Our interests in art continues to increase and our tastes widen as we learn more.
The Hampstead Heath is known for its popular Fun Fair held during Easter break and on two other weekends in the year. Of course we had to attend and see what all the fuss is about... 
