Europe Day 6

 Today was a travel day for us, as we left London for Reims, France. We spent the morning packing, but the kids were being so annoying, jumping all over the beds and getting in the way, so I made them journal. 

Our last stop in London was a second trip to the Science Museum. On our first trip, they had some flight simulators the kids wanted to do, but since I get motion sickness really easily and needed to ride with an adult, they couldn’t do it. Everyone enjoyed the flight and then we walked around the museum. 

Then we headed back to the hotel to grab our bags. It was raining on the 15 minute walk back to the hotel and only Bennett had a raincoat, so the rest of us were damp  Our final London tube ride was to King’s Cross St Pancreas. The kids were able to see Platform 9 3/4 but neither wanted to wait in line for a photo. We made our way to St Pancreas International to check in for our train to Paris. We took the Chunnel so security was similar to that at an airport, and this is also where we went through the passport security. Once checked in, the terminal was packed. As soon as a train left, we were able to snatch four seats.

The train ride to Paris was about 2.5 and I slept for all of it. The kids watched the iPad. Once we got to Paris, we had a 10 minute walk to another train station to board the train to the champagne region. From there it was a 10 minute regional train to Reims. The kids did great, each pulling a suitcase and never complaining. Caroline, in particular, complains a lot, but luckily it’s rarely when we’re in a rush. 

On the ride to Reims, we learned the Queen of England passed away. It was a shock, as we had learned so much about her on our trip. We saw her coronation gown at Windsor Castle and her coronation crown at the Tower of London. I told the kids that her funeral would be at Westminster Abbey, where we had been the day before, and her body would be laid to rest in St George’s chapel, where we had visited in Windsor. I think it became a lot more real to them too, when we talked about all of those things.

France is an hour earlier than London, so hopefully the kids adjust quickly. Despite a long day of travel, wr still managed over 13k steps.