HMS Belfast and a long walk

We had a great system.  The 188 had become my favorite bus (while the 390 remained Joey's favorite due his ability to say 390 in a spot-on British accent).

Before Alisa's Mom arrived, I wanted to take the kids to the HMS Belfast.  Several times before we had spied it from the Tower Bridge, resting majestically across from the Tower of London.

So we loaded up on our 188, again it was just us and the driver.  We followed the familiar path down to Aldwych, across the Waterloo Bridge and winded our way over to the Tower Bridge.

Rather than crossing Tower Bridge this time, we walked towards their "Armadillo" which is their nickname for city hall.

We waved to our old friends across the way, The Tower of London and Tower Bridge.  They grandly stayed silent in the weak December sun.

Then we looked upon the HMS Belfast, a ship involved in World War II and reported, by some (not all), as firing the first shell in support of the D-Day invasion. It is also one of the three warships from D-Day that still exist (the other two are American vessels).

They've done a spectacular job maintaining this old ship.  It's now part of the Imperial War Museums and they had all sorts of great history and displays throughout the 9 levels of this impressive warship.

I got an audio guide which Lanna quickly appropriated while hanging in the bjorn.  It's compromises like these you need to make whenever you take a toddler to a museum or historical site.

Joey was particularly fired up to be on board.

The boys dashed around the main deck, stopping to admire the plethora of guns.  

Yes, the use of plethora was intentional as I was nostalgic for El Guapo and Three Amigos for no good reason.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mTUmczVdik
Here is El Guapo discussing a plethora.  Probably only need to go to the 1:20 mark.

Back to the HMS Belfast.

We went around the main deck and saw the impressive gun batteries and went inside briefly.

"It smells stinky in there!" Sammy exclaimed and could not be coaxed into another battery.

We took a break to go to the bow for some fresh air and rest on the enormous anchors.

From there we went up to see some other side guns and then into the Admiral's deck and personal cabin!

Joey and Sammy immediately began a one act play of "Admiral Sammy" and "Navigator Jo-jo" with Sammy sitting in the seat barking commands to Joey who would then relay them on the phone.

Lanna and I stood back and enjoyed the show for a good 10 minutes.

Eventually the War was won and Admiral Sammy retired with honor.  We then proceeded downwards to the navigator's deck.

So this is where things got a little challenging.  Taking three kids on a warship with one a fall hazard even in the best of circumstance (Sammy) and one strapped to my chest, climbing down through each deck was an exciting prospect each time.  And we went down several levels.

Fortunately Sammy did not tumble down the steep and narrow steps and Lanna's adorable face was not scraped as she and I squeezed through.

Our goal was to get to the shell room, the centralized location for all the shells fired from the ship.

After descending below the water level, we reached it.

Sammy and Joey didn't know what to do with themselves seeing all these giant bombs everywhere.

After a few more lingering touches of these shells, Sammy and Joey slowly made their way up to the main deck.

We explored a bit more but had seen the key parts of the ship we wanted to see.

My goal was to walk along the Thames and cross over the Millennium Bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral.  

This was asking a lot of Sammy since the route would be nearly a mile and a half after already walking to and all around the HMS Belfast.

Sammy did phenomenally well!  We made games during the walk and enjoyed the spectacular sites along the Thames.

And, of course, we stopped for snacks pretty frequently.

One location has got to be one of my favorite places in London.  A little gazebo jutted out from the walkway giving a gorgeous view of the HMS Belfast, Tower of London, and Tower Bridge behind it.

We enjoyed some fruit and potato chips while gazing on this scene.

Then being my father's son, I took several pictures.

A very nice woman then offered to take a group picture, so we accepted her kind offer.

Refreshed and invigorated with apples, crisps, and the beautiful view, we continued the walk.  

We passed London Bridge!

I know, it's pretty anticlimactic when you get accustomed to Tower Bridge.

We also walked past the replica of Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hind.

We saw many old buildings and beautiful churches as we continued along our way.  Sammy kept right up with us!

Finally we made it to Millennium Bridge and enjoyed walking over the Thames as the sun began to set.

Here we are looking back toward the HMS Belfast, London Bridge, The Tower of London, Tower Bridge with the Shard soaring up.

The boys stopped to pose with St. Paul's dominating the background.

By the time we alighted on the other side and were standing in the shadow of St. Paul's, we all felt we deserved a treat.

Lanna, the boys, and I took a British taxi back to the apartment!

They loved every minute in the taxi, luxuriating in the pho-leather seats, craning their necks looking out the windows at all the crazy ground floor views.

After getting home, we got a quick picture before the taxi zoomed off in the night.

We trudged back to the apartment and joyfully collapsed in the living room.

After that big adventure we all needed a good night's sleep before Grandma's arrival the next day!