A Weekend in London with a Toddler and an Infant
We’re exhausted but had a great time
After many months of refraining from travel due to pregnancy and then having a newborn at home, we decided it was time to rip off the bandaid and travel outside the country with two kids. As we started thinking about where to go, we did a quick flight search for the cheapest and easiest option which just so happened to be a direct flight to London, England. When the time came, we packed our bags for a four-night stay in the UK.
Back in 2022 my husband and I had traveled to the UK exploring mostly Scotland and a few days in London. It felt a little less daunting traveling to a city we had visited before rather than somewhere new with two children for the first time. We had a loose plan of the things we wanted to do while we were in town, but we kept the schedule flexible as well knowing we couldn’t predict how each day would go with two little ones.
Overall it was a great trip but we did make a few mistakes along the way. Nothing turned out to be a disaster, just some lessons learned. For example, our flight to London was scheduled for 5:50pm, which means boarding started just after 5:00pm leaving no time for dinner at the airport. Our flight arrived in London around 7:30pm (8:30pm Norway time) which meant we were well past the dinner hour, and we didn’t arrive at the hotel until close to 10:00pm. Needless to say we missed a meal, and our son ended up having chips, some dried mango, and various other snacks for dinner. Not my proudest parenting moment, but we learn. He does love snacks, so he wasn’t really bothered by this dinner.
On the list of things to know prior to traveling to London, many of the popular attractions require booking your tickets in advance, even the free attractions. We learned this a little late so the schedule I had originally planned, with museum visits in the morning followed by late lunches in the afternoon, had to be adjusted. Everyone likes to start their days with museums it seems, so the morning entry times were sold out and we had to settle for late afternoon entry times. This ended up being a happy accident though because it allowed us to have slower mornings which is helpful when trying to get two kids ready in the morning.
Our first day in town was mostly dinosaur themed. After a delicious breakfast at Victoria House Coffee & Food, we walked around the Bloomsbury neighborhood before heading towards the Natural History Museum. The dinosaur part of our day was kicked off at the Ampersand Hotel for their Jurassic Afternoon Tea. It was awesome. We ordered two adult teas and a kid’s tea for our 3-year-old treating it as a late birthday celebration. He loved it. The kid’s tea came with hot chocolate that the child makes and tops at the table; a stegosaurus tin box filled with cake dirt to dig through and find dino treats; and a T-rex tower of treats including a mini-hotdog, a brachiosaurus shaped jelly sandwich, a T-rex foot cheese straw, two scones with clotted cream and jam, a chocolate stegosaurus, a small cup of orange and strawberry dino jelly, a dark chocolate egg nest, and a mango and lime crémeux volcano eruption. The adult tea came with similar sweet treats but had different savory options and a choice of tea rather than hot chocolate. We had so much fun. Our tea was finished with a selection of chocolate truffles and a candle for our son’s birthday. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience and so did we.
Next stop on our dino day was the Natural History Museum. The museum is free, but does encourage a donation, and requires pre-booking an entry ticket with a reserved timeslot. We visited in the late afternoon hoping for less of a crowd, but that didn’t happen. It was very crowded and we were basically herded through the dinosaur exhibit. Although, with two small children getting through the museum was probably beneficial. There was a life-like, robotic T-rex in the dinosaur exhibit that was pretty neat; however, it did scare our 3-year-old a bit. We had to convince him it was fake.
After the museum we explored a little more on foot before heading back to our hotel. Along our route was Harrods, a department store. Well I thought it was a standard department store, but upon entry, we quickly learned it was a luxury department store. The kids were asleep, so we decided to indulge in the eye-candy. I was drawn to all things sparkly, and my husband gravitated towards the watches. Needless to say, no purchases were made.
The next morning we headed to the spot I was most excited to visit, Borough Market. In its own words, Borough Market is “a historic market in central London with an emphasis on high quality food, sustainable production, and social connection.” I think I could have spent all day there and not gotten bored. We ate and drank our way through the market. We had coffee, sweet treats, savory pastries, cheese, sampled paella, and shared a cup of chocolate covered strawberries. I also bought several seasonings and spices that I haven’t seen in Norway, got a souvenir tea towel, and grabbed a brochure of more items to buy once I got home. Food markets like Borough market are some of my favorite places. The market was also full of restaurants, florists, and other specialty shops. We decided on our next trip to London we would stay in a rental with a kitchen so we could take advantage of the ingredients at the market and cook our own meals.
Later that morning we began our hop on hop off bus tour. We had 48-hour tickets to enjoy some time sitting and learning about the streets of London. Plus it provided transportation to the tourist sites we wanted to visit. We rode around for a little while before heading to the British Museum that afternoon.
The British Museum is another free attraction that encourages donations and requires pre-booking a reserved time entry slot. This museum turned out to be very crowded as well. There were some exhibits that required an extra fee and pre-booked tickets that we didn’t get to visit, but I would recommend checking on those prior to visiting if that interests you. The highlight of the museum for us was seeing the Rosetta Stone. The inscription on the stone was instrumental to the work done for deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. We spent a couple of hours in the museum before heading back to the hop on hop off bus for more relaxing exploration.
Indian cuisine is quite popular in London, so one of our goals of the trip was to get a delicious Indian meal. Saturday night we had dinner at Colonel Saab, a beautifully decorated Indian restaurant with high reviews near our hotel. It did not disappoint. The food and drinks were delicious and hit the spot for our Indian food craving. After a long day of exploration and a belly full of delicious food, we went back to the hotel for an early bedtime.
Sunday was our final day in town. We were ready to utilize our bus tickets to the fullest. After a tasty breakfast at Drury Covent Garden, we hopped on the tour bus. Part of our bus tickets through Big Bus Tours was a river cruise on the Thames. The river cruise started at Tower Bridge Pier and finished at Westminster Pier. One of the boat’s captains provided entertaining commentary along the 25 minute cruise down the Thames. Finishing at Westminster Pier allowed us to see the House of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and Parliament Square. While we did not actually enter any of these attractions, it was fun to see the outside of the beautiful buildings and take some pictures. The area was very crowded and felt like it would be a little too much to navigate at the time with two small children. Plus we had a lunch reservation to get to.
Lunch on Sunday was something I was also very excited about. We were scheduled to eat at St. JOHN Restaurant in Smithfield. This is something I wanted to do on our first visit to London, but sadly we did not have the time. The restaurant has maintained one Michelin star since 2009 and is famous for its nose to tail cooking philosophy. The original head chef and co-owner, Fergus Henderson, was introduced to me through Anthony Bourdain, both in his books and television shows, so naturally, I had to visit the restaurant. Bourdain has been quoted saying St John restaurant was the “restaurant of my dreams,” so, how could we not go? The menu changes daily. We had beef rissoles, roast chicken, crispy pork cheek, greens, madeleines, and a ginger loaf with butterscotch sauce and ice cream. It was a delicious meal, and I was happy to finally make it to the restaurant.
To finish off our London adventure, we hopped back on the bus for a little more easy sightseeing while our meals digested. Of course we stopped in a pub for one final drink before we ended our day as well. We opted for an early night at the hotel and an easy dinner of crackers, prosciutto, and cheese we had bought at Borough Market the day before.
We experienced a few minor setbacks over the weekend, mostly due to hanger, but overall, our first trip out of Norway with two kids was a success. It definitely didn’t scare us away from future travel, and we are excited to explore more locations in the future.
