Absolute banger of a day today. Nick and I were up at 2AM last night thanks to jet lag but miraculously Millie slept through to 9:30. 14 hours of sleep. Upon waking we had breakfast and coffee with our hosts and then set out on one of the things she was most excited about: sitting on the top deck of a double decker bus. We got the prime spot and she was silent with awe and smiles all the way into Central London.

Our first stop was the Princess Diana memorial playground. There was a sign saying adults without children weren’t permitted. This felt extremely American to me (where everyone is scared of child trafficking) but it was the first time I’d ever seen it. Luckily for us we have a kid and aren’t just adult playground enthusiasts, so we were let in.

From here we walked on through Hyde Park. One of my worries on this trip was traveling without a stroller. We decided to risk it even though Millie is known to complain on the walk from the car in our driveway to the front door. She surprised and impressed me today by walking miles (albeit slowly) with minimal complaining.

She loved hearing about royalty and couldn’t believe it was “real life” after thinking it was just a movie thing, like unicorns and princesses who turn things into ice. I feel similarly about monarchy. We walked on to the museum of natural history which was free (good) and absolutely packed accordingly (less good).

By this point we were getting hungry. We took the underground over to Covent Garden and had a beer outside at a pub while people watching and deciding where to eat. Again, Millie impressed us by her ability to navigate a city. She rode escalators and got on trains as if she had been raised in NYC.

We ate at Dishoom, which was delicious, and all started to fade. After a full day of such great behavior, we promised Millie a walk around “the world’s biggest toy store” Hamley’s. She spent the whole time carefully considering which one toy she would choose. We guided her away from the makeup sets and compromised on a small plastic monstrosity.

There was just one of us left conscious on the bus ride home.