Good morning from Nantucket, friends!
I got my birthday hugs and kisses from my kiddos yesterday, and then Andrew and I headed back up to our favorite little island for a bit of fun. You guys, I’ve missed it! I am so happy to be waking up on Nantucket this morning.
Alrighty, it’s the fourth and final recap of our FALL BREAK TO LONDON.
(For a short trip, I sure had a lot of recaps, agh!)
Okay, if you missed the first three posts, you can check them out here:
OUR LONDON RECAP PART 1 (We arrive, see Buckingham Palace and more!)
OUR LONDON RECAP PART 2 (Westminster Abbey, a ride in the Eye, yummy food and more!),
OUR LONDON RECAP, PART 3 (We head out of town to visit the Cotswolds and Oxford!)
We finished up our trip on a Monday morning heading off to…
…the Tower of London. This is always SUCH a great stop if you’re in London, but I thought it was especially great for my kids.
We had tickets and were ready to explore!
Our first stop was to see The Crown Jewels which gets me every time. No photos can be taken inside, but we soaked it all in.
When we were finished touring the amazing jewels…
…we visited the other building here at The Tower of London.
We walked, we learned, we toured, we discussed…
…we spent about two hours here on this beautiful morning.
After our time here, we walked over for lunch…
…at The Crutched Friar. Please note that Noodles traveled to the UK with us. Mades loves this little pup.
Another FABULOUS lunch! Geez, I love British pub food.
Okay…there is a BIG GIANT HOLE in my blog post because when we left lunch, we had a meeting with our tour guide for our private Jack the Ripper tour. My kids were TOTALLY EXCITED about this tour. We have done many, many tours like this in the past and have always loved them, and when we were looking through our options of what to do in London, they all picked this one. It was a private tour about Jack the Ripper which we thought was fitting for teens/almost Halloween/London. We asked for it to be during the day and rated G for our younger girls but still interesting and fun enough for the teens.
Unfortunately, it was B-O-R-I-N-G and oh so long.
I took a million pics buuuuut in every picture you can see the guide who I would never want to post on my blog in a negative light, so I just decided to omit them. It was a walking tour and we learned A LOT, but it wasn’t in a way that was you know…interesting and non-mind-numbing, so the Shull six all agreed it wouldn’t be one we’d recommend.
This was a new to me tour, and I’m thankful only my family experienced it and not my clients (this is why we travel here at my agency, to learn!), but needless to say, we were certainly happy to move on when the tour was over and never speak of Jack the Ripper again.
After the tour, we just wanted to explore and stretch our legs…
…and we spent the BEST hour in the park. We grabbed snacks and laughed and laughed and laughed about our crazy tour.
All in all, it was a wonderful final day in London.
We wrapped up the trip with one last dinner…
…at Holborn. Andrew and I had loved this restaurant when we visited London last January and were excited to bring the kids back.
The perfect way to end our fall break 🙂 .
And that wraps up London!
I love nothing more than traveling with my family of six. The laughs, the stories, the memories we make are invaluable. I get all warm inside just thinking about this trip. My kids are getting SO BIG, and I know these times are fleeting, so I’m trying my hardest to soak it all in. Of course, I must mention that I would love to create a custom vacation for your family too! Please reach out to my agency, so we can help your family make these memories.
Until next time, London. We love you so much. xx
Sheaffer says
I’ve loved following along on y’alls trip! And now I want fish and chips for breakfast.
Erika Slaughter says
Awwww!!! The perfect last day (minus the tour 🤪🤪)! This post has me thinking how much Ashby has grown up! She’s a beauty!
Elspeth says
What a fun trip and adventure! Thanks so much for sharing!
http://www.Elspethsdaybyday.com
SS says
Shay,
Good to see Smith in the pix!!! I know it’s a phase, but so happy to see he got in there. I have never loved looking at pix more than after losing a loved one. I went to a football game for my cousin and his Gma asked you have pix for me? I said when have you seen me without my camera. I even made her get in a photo with her grandson! Lol.
You need a Google pixel you can “erase” things,.. people or whatever out of pix! I love it!!
Kristi says
I took that tour many moons ago when I studied abroad in London and it was boring then, too! Sounds like it hasn’t changed. Thank you for sharing the pics of your trip!
Kelly Anthony says
We had the best tour guide on our walking JTR tour last summer. Was it the guide or the tour that you did not enjoy? It’s pretty gruesome, so I’m guessing your littles did not enjoy.
Mix and Match Mama says
I really, really think it was the tour guide. This individual was so nice, but it was so long and wordy. We would stand in one spot for 10 minutes and hear so many details about a building that used to be there and the tenants that lived there who had nothing to do with JTR. The littles were excited (we’ve done those murder mystery walking tours before), but this was just lonnnnng and there was too much unnecessary information.
Amanda Franks says
Shay. What advent study are you doing this year? I’ve been looking and am stuck! ❤️
Mix and Match Mama says
You read my mind! I was just looking at Lifeway’s website two days ago because I always do their latest Advent study, but I don’t see a new one out yet. I’m hoping they have one this year because they’re always so good!
Ana says
This is not a study but a devotional from Revive Our Hearts, a wonderful women’s ministry. Their daily podcast is short and sweet and I have grown so much in my faith from their teaching. https://store.reviveourhearts.com/product/born-a-child-and-yet-a-king-advent-devotional/ 😊
Kristin Lyngaas says
What a great trip 🇬🇧❤️ have fun in Nantucket!!
Sarah Shaneyfelt says
Cannot wait to visit London and the UK one day!! What does Kensington eat when. y’all visit pubs? Pub food looks so good, but I wondered how accommodating they are to someone with either celiac or a gluten allergy.
Also, I was reading an earlier comment–I highly recommend the She Reads Truth advent study. You can buy the book because it’s really so beautiful, but I also recommend doing it on their app because they have a great application to each Scripture on the app and not in the book.
MeetTheShaneyfelts
Mix and Match Mama says
Thank you, thank you for the Advent study rec!! Okay, when K was there she had a variety (burgers with either no bun or a gf bun), salads with grilled chicken, she had nachos one day with chicken, steak…things like that.
Charlotte Richardson says
I got my Erin Condren planner in last night and couldn’t help but think of your busy brood as I was logging in school scheduled, birthday, etc. for 2024. What trips do you have on the books for next year? You don’t have to get too specific. Sometimes its fun to read along knowing you’ve got something big coming up!
Mix and Match Mama says
Awwwww! We have three already planned and booked. We still haven’t nailed down our summer vacation though for next year…we keep going many different directions. I’m driving my travel agent crazy 😉 .
Mary Jane McNeill says
I was in London again in August before heading to Scotland, and every time I’m there I visit the Tower. I learn something new each time. And I love seeing the life-sized horses dressed for battle in the White Tower!
I also did a JTR tour, and while there were some lame parts, our guide had a handheld projector where he cast photos onto a nearby blank wall of the victims and other scenes. So I would NOT recommend that for children, but for me as a true crime “enthusiast”, I enjoyed it. (I just went to CrimeCon in Orlando and loved every minute of it!)
Mix and Match Mama says
That was NOT the experience we had!
Shirley says
My family also experienced a tour in San Francisco that was MEH to put it nicely. Our guide was a lady named Victoria who probably told us her name about 15 times during the several hour tour. She had a European accent & would reward our correct answers to her trivia questions with “sweeties,” which by the end of the tour, made us laugh every time she said “sweeties.” The tour was in an open top bus & of course when we booked the tour, it was to be a lovely, warm day, but a cold front had moved in early & we were freezing by the end, which caused discomfort but also a few laughable moments. Our two sons, my husband, & I still talk about that crazy tour & get good laughs every time remembering specific parts of it. So I bet in the future you’ll have some funny recollections (or at least some eye-rolling!) remembering your boring Jack the Ripper tour!! Lol!
Mix and Match Mama says
you nailed it! The best stories from traveling (and the ones you recount the most!) are often the ones that, at the time, were not so grand. 😉
Marie says
Have a great birthday weekend Shay! My hubby & I plan on doing a Boston -> Nantucket trip. Do you recommend staying at a hotel/Inn or a nice Vacation Rental in Nantucket?
Mix and Match Mama says
I always recommend The Nantucket Hotel because they’re amazing. I personally love the inns and hotels right there in town.
Jaimee Shaffer says
Happy belated birthday! Got behind on your posts & you had me lol’ing this morning over the candy…and my husband thought I was crazy this past weekend when I put hard boiled eggs in a bag to walk out the door with! Obv it’s “normal”! Today I brought my dill pickle cashews from Target, too!
Lindsay says
I’m heading to London for work and have 1 1/2 extra days to fit as much in as I can (first time going) and this post has been super helpful of ideas! Does M&M travel offer single day no flight or hotel services?!? 😉
Mix and Match Mama says
Have so much fun! At this time, we do not, but I so appreciate you asking. Have a great trip!
Gina Holmes says
I love the pics where K has her hands resting on her little sisters. It looks so protective and motherly. I bet she is an amazing big sister!
Melissa says
Hah! We had a not so great but very well rated Harry Potter tour in London last summer. Disappointing but we laughed about it! Definitely recommend London Walks though. Will absolutely do another one of their tours – far and away the best and super reasonable. https://www.walks.com/
Aparna says
Hi Shay
Your family vacay to London looks awesome! It’s one of our fav cities to travel to too… and seeing the Crown Jewels affects me too but not in a good way! To think the colonial British have looted such a large part of our history! (Kohinoor) ughhh! It really does get to me every time!