that first trip to london

The only really clear memory I have from my very first trip into London when I was 15 is that I borrowed my sister's black Kate Spade purse...and promptly left it on the tube. And the reason I remember that fun fact is because I'm sure my sister didn't let me forget it. I also remember that it was early days after our Big Move and I was still reeling and still sulking about leaving behind my old life. But then we went to London. And I started to feel the thrill of this new life and allow the possibility that maybe, just maybe my parents were right this big change that I'd had no say in would all work out for the best.

Over the course of the years that my family called England home, living just outside the city, trips into London were a regular occurrence. At first a bit anxious, my parents insisting on holding all the paper tickets themselves, a lot of checking the train time tables, and reaching for hands as we stepped into a crowded car before the doors closed. Then, as it became just something we did, there were excursions to the two-story TopShop on Oxford Circus with girlfriends,  popping in for dreaded orthodontist appointments, or more preferably dinner in Chinatown and a spontaneous show on the West End. I got to play both tourist and tour guide when family would visit from the states, giving recommendations on my favourite places to visit and instructions on how to use the underground. 

Somehow 20 years have gone by since that first trip to this incredible city. So it's understandable that there was a bit of that old anxiousness, and I definitely held all the tickets this time (although they were on my phone and not paper) and we double checked the timetables, and grabbed hands and stepped onto the train for my own family's first trip into London. 

T.J. found out last minute he had nothing on his schedule one day this week and so we made loose plans as we were falling asleep the night before and then roused the kids asking if they wanted to go see Big Ben that day. We bought train tickets and also pre-booked tickets to the Tower of London and then dashed out the door to catch the bus to the station. It felt familiar and yet it's all different. No conductor coming through to punch your ticket, all contact-less touch and go, QR-code convenience. But there was still the scanning of the cars as the train pulls in looking for open seats, still the same voice reminding you to mind the gap between the train and the platform. 

It's not quite an hour trip from Cambridge to Kings Cross Station and my excitement and curiosity to lay eyes on a place I loved once again, to see how it has changed but mostly longing to see how it hasn't, grew as we got closer to our destination. 

One thing that's changed and that we were shocked to see is the miles long queue of Hogwart's hopefuls waiting to take a picture with the trolley at platform 9 and 3/4. The trolley was there when I was here last but the permanent stanchions, and the official Harry Potter Platform 9 3/4 store right next to it was a new development in the past 20 years. 

We made our way past and headed to the Underground. I wonder if our kids will be bummed when we move back to South Carolina and public transportation is no longer a thing because they love riding the trains, the buses, the tube, all of it! Finding a seat, holding a handle, touching every single surface.... it's their favourite. We got off the tube at Tower Hill and were greeted with blue skies over the imposing stone fortress in front of us as we came up the escalator.  The ancient architecture, thousands of years of history smack dab in the middle of a modern city is still so cool to see. The Tower of London was always one of my favourite tourist-y things to do and it still is. The Yeoman Warders give the funnest most informative introduction and (free) tour of the grounds, although it was a little harder to follow this time having to interpret and explain some of the stories and jokes and vocabulary to the smaller members of our crew. "What's a pike? Why did they put heads on them?" We branched off on our own after a bit and wandered through the dungeons, the Bloody Tower, the White Tower, and the armoury. We skipped the crown jewels this time as the line to get in to this building was almost as long as the line to take a picture at platform 9 and 3/4. 

After exiting the Tower grounds you are greeted with the most magnificent view of Tower Bridge. We found a convenient place nearby to grab a bite for lunch before hopping back on the tube and zipping over to Westminster. Leading the way out of the station I looked back at my boys and grinning asked if they were ready? Stepping out of the station, bam! There it is! Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey. It smacks you in the face and as annoying as it may be, you can't help but stop in the middle of the path and stare. 

Our plan was just to walk around and take in the sights, lay eyes on all these iconic London features knowing we have time to come back and see more of each on a future visit (maybe when some of the summer holiday craze has cleared). Navigating the crowds and the crosswalks, we probably pushed it a bit but we walked further on to Buckingham Palace before calling it and heading back to Kings Cross. Tube, train and a bus ride later and we were back in Cambridge.

As fun as our first foray into the city was, it really made me appreciate where we are living. T.J. had looked at fellowship programs in London as well and I'm so glad we landed in Cambridge, which by comparison feels like a small town, cleaner and more intimate and knowable, almost like home. But this was a great first taste of London (second taste for me) and I can't wait to go back and play tour guide and tourist again, seeing old favourites and making new memories. Like how mommy's sense of direction- stubbornly, insistingly wrong- got daddy all flustered. Or how Daisy fell asleep on me in the carrier while we watched the guards at the palace. And maybe I'll get to come back again in another 20 years, with grown children and we'll remember the first time we came in to London together.