Did you know that peacocks like to eat peanuts?

We had driven past Kew gardens previously on our way to Hampton Court Palace, but not yet been in. So we decided to visit during the time that my mom was in London, since she loves Gardens! We had an amazingly easy time getting there on a Saturday morning AND finding free parking right outside the gate. Unfortunately this was not close enough for Sammy, who was already tired of walking by the time we got out of the car. Nevertheless, we made it into the garden, past the wedding which was about to start in one of the houses, and on to the play area!

We first enjoyed the outdoor play structures and managed to convince the kids that the Christmas carnival (with the big slide on the outside of the brown tower in the building) was not quite open yet.

Then, since it was not the warmest of days, we explored the indoor play area. This was an awesome exploration zone with areas appropriate for all the kids. They each found their own way to enjoy the space.

No, I am not sleeping in this picture.

We then walked over to the water lily house, which was warm and lovely. It was nice to see water lilies in the winter!



And then we walked to the nearby greenhouse, which was full of all sorts of tropical plants.





The two coolest parts of this greenhouse were the aquariums on the bottom floor (everyone loves the fish!) and being able to climb up these crazy windy steps to the upper level and look down on the plants from above. 

At this point, we were near the cafe and it was lunchtime - great planning! We ate our lunch in the cafeteria and then signed up for the Santa ride, which was in place instead of the usual garden train ride. We enjoyed hearing about the 500 different kinds of holly in Kew Gardens, as well as many other plant-based facts that I cannot remember. However, the most memorable part of the trip around the garden was seeing Santa feed the peacocks peanuts. Did you know that peacocks like peanuts? Seems too strange to be true, but I swear that we saw it firsthand!





Our final stop for the day was the Princess of Wales Conservatory, named after Princess Augusta but opened by Princess Diana in 1987. 

We enjoyed the arid zones (and managed to keep Lanna from toddling into a prickly cactus), admired the fish in the ponds, and especially loved the orchids.

Lastly, Jay enjoyed this woodworking piece. A storm had knocked over many trees in the gardens, and a creative woodworker made this piece of art from the different downed trees. Jay has vowed to somehow replicate this technique, at some point in his life.

And that was our day at Kew Gardens!