Every day we learn a little more.

We wanted to fill the first week or so with some of the must see touristy stuff and for the most part we accomplished that. So much so, that by Tuesday night the girls were begging to do nothing but school on Wednesday, so we decided to oblige. Yesterday, we slept late-ish and then spent several hours on school work and not leaving the flat. By mid-afternoon Will and I were a bit stir-crazy and wanted to run some errands but the girls wanted none of it, so they stayed in and we ran out.

Big lesson of the day: Always wear decent shoes to walk in. Even if you think you're running a couple of quick errands, you will end up walking much further than you anticipated. In this case, it ended up being about a 5 1/2 mile loop and all we were doing was looking for some light bulbs and a place to buy some kitchen supplies.

Monday, we went to Kensington Palace which was lovely. They had a great fashion exhibit with examples of clothes from the Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Di. The girls, and Ella especially, were in heaven. Even though it was small, they could have spent tons more time looking at each example. Will on the other hand was chatting up the 'explainers' and getting information about the Royals and lineage and protocol. The architecture might have intrigued him a little bit. It was a chilly, drizzly day, so was good to be inside, but we managed to spend a bit of time in the gardens and the fresh air was good for all of us

Big lesson of the day: The royal lineage is confusing, and just when we think we understand it, we discover we're wrong.

Tuesday we got up early so we could get to Windsor Castle early and have plenty of time to explore and enjoy. We were only about 45 minutes past our intended departure time. Regardless, we enjoyed the castle and the grounds. Because the Queen is in Scotland and therefore not in residence at all, we got to take tours of the kitchen and go to the top of the Round Tower. While taking the kitchen tour, I couldn't help but think of all my friends who love to cook and entertain, and the few who are in the midst of kitchen remodels themselves and I felt you were all there in spirit and would have been just as in awe as I was. It was pretty remarkable. Even more remarkable was that they let us open up ovens, cupboards, drawers, etc., until you realized that everything was empty. The Queen's chef Mark Flanagen brings all the necessary tools and utensils from Buckingham anytime there is a state dinner at Windsor. It was all pretty fascinating.

Unfortunately, we got hungry during our tour and stepped outside the castle walls for lunch at a nearby pub. This little detour took more time than we anticipated and we had to rush through St. Georges Chapel which was pretty disappointing--we really wanted to spend a little more time checking it out.

Big lesson of the day #1: It always takes longer to get out the door than we thought. Plan accordingly.
Big lesson of the day #2: If you're going to leave the attraction for lunch, don't settle for the first pub you happen upon. You might end up with dried out chicken and a stomach ache.

Today we eased into our day and after lunch headed to Harrods where we managed to find our way up to Shoe Heaven. It had special little salons for all of the big name aka, super expensive brands and we had fun oohing and aahing (and occasionally scratching our heads) at all the footwear. Will, strangely, seemed unaffected by heels, peep-toes, boots and loafers. After performing a thorough check, we realized we were starving so had afternoon tea. Not in the fancy, make reservations restaurant but down on the ground level where we could still do some people watching and not break the bank. Julia was totally enamored with all the exotic fruits in the food court and was begging for one of the fruit baskets. We finally settled on one piece of fruit, a custard apple, with a promise to go and try something else on another day.

Big lesson of the day: Harrods is huge and wonderful. It's also a little overwhelming and scary. Apparently, even the employees get lost in there sometimes.

Other big lessons:
--If you spill an entire glass of red wine on a white wall, it's going to stain. And if you try to scrub it, you'll just make it worse.
--Japanese curry is delicious. Even picky children like it.
--Living across from the train station is noisy. Living across from a train station under construction is even noisier, but you get used to it.
--You shouldn't do more than one load of laundry a day. There just isn't enough room on the drying rack, and air drying takes considerable more time than a dryer.
--Will might end up liking Scotch Whiskey, but don't tell his friend Jack Daniels.