Delius Diaries

Parent/teacher conferences were Thursday last week. The conferences are different at Connor’s school, maybe this is what they do in Europe, not sure. Instead of teachers meeting with parents to give an update, the teacher meets with the student via zoom with parents attending but clearly not the main player. It was an interesting dynamic, we really liked the approach. Each teacher was ready for a thoughtful conversation with Connor, and in return, Connor was also prepped with questions and commentary. I was impressed with both players, especially Connor.

I have been worried about how he was acclimating at school and in the classroom. The delicate parental balance of trying not to helicopter while attempting to “stay in the know” on how he is doing emotionally and academically is not easy. I want to give him the opportunity to handle his new surroundings, but am I leaving him alone to work through it all too much? When I become overwhelmed with these thoughts (and many others) I pray and take deep breaths. The conferences allayed my fears. Our boy has skills, traits and talents that he is using. Executive function skills are shining, interaction with teachers and students is strong and content learning in the midst of this big life change is going well. Thank you, Lord!

So with the conferences finished by Thursday afternoon, our plan was to take the “Chunnel” to London. Train transportation, as everyone always talks about, is so easy in Europe. It is an elegant means of transport compared to flying. We have enjoyed it. However, it does come with its own complexities. With other train travel this summer (I still need to write a post about that), we arrived at the station with too much time. So for the London trip we thought, haha, let’s arrive a few min prior so we aren’t waiting in the station (there is no Delta lounge experience). Learning for the day…..travel to and from The United Kingdom has rigamarole. Since the UK is not in the EU, it means clearing customs and a version of TSA security. All this to say, we missed our train. The agent took pity on us and we were rebooked on the next train, so no real damage done.

The high speed train was fast! Connor clocked us going 200mph, I haven’t fact checked this stat. The French countryside was lovely. In two hours we arrived. Cattle car through the train station with a short walk inside to the “Tube” (the subway) and we were at our hotel in 20 minutes. All that public transportation we took in Brussels this summer before we had the car has paid off. Connor is a pro and told us exactly what to do. Oh, and it helps that this European city is in ENGLISH!!!!! When we were family planning what to do for the long weekend, Connor (with Scott and I agreeing) said he wanted to go to London because it would be a nice break to be in an English speaking country for a few days. He is right. Living in a Dutch and French speaking country is a mental workout every waking minute, even in our home which is Dutch or French everything. The appliances, heating, alarm system, etc. More on this later, for now let’s just say we have made some errors! But this post is about our London adventure.

In 2023 we spent the Thanksgiving break in Europe and visited London for 4 days, so we have already hit the major attractions. This trip we focused on new experiences – neighborhood walking and shopping, afternoon tea, F1 racing, trip to Greenwich, walking tour of the City of Westminster and eating at local pubs (no chain pubs). We were mostly successful in all these endeavors.

Upon exiting the tube Thursday evening we walked a few blocks to our hotel in Green Park, near Kensington Palace and Hyde Park. It was a good location central to the main activities our travel agent (moi) had selected for this visit. We were tired from the day so chose to hangout at the hotel for dinner – missed the local pub option, but had fun relaxing and talking in British accents. Connor is very good at mimicking accents. I think it’s because of his linguistic skills. He is bi-lingual working now on French to become tri-lingual.

As the UK is an hour ahead of Belgium, I was up extra early Friday morning with coffee in the lounge letting my men sleep a bit. Once up we ate and began the day with a walk about through Notting Hill and Portobello Road Market where you never know what you will see or find. Shopping was fun with street vendors, vintage shops and “cool” stores as dictated by our teen boy. A smart friend told me before we left for Brussels to wait to buy clothes as Connor would see new teen fashion styles in Europe. She was right, he has a new interest in clothes driven by what he sees with his school friends. He bought a sweatshirt at a Japanese casual clothing store. We then walked into the heart of Portobello Road Market which must be the world capital of vintage clothing stores. A few days prior, Connor said he wanted to get a Navy Pea Coat like the one Scott has. In our 4th vintage store we found one, he loves it, see picture.

Next up was a bus ride to Kensington Palace. We rode on the 2nd floor for an up close look at the buildings, streets and Londoners walking. Our destination was The Orangery at Kensington Palace. A wrong turn as we walked led us to an interesting diversion. Without knowing we entered the Kensington Palace Gardens with beautiful ornate homes that serve as residences to Ambassadors of foreign countries. While the road is public, it is heavily guarded and no photos are allowed. Understandable of course, but too bad not to share the interesting architecture. Once we figured out our direction error, we made it to The Orangery for traditional afternoon tea. I have been to London three times. My first visit was for 10 days with my Aunt Mary Kay. It was the trip of a lifetime. We had so much fun. One of my favorite memories was Afternoon Tea at the Orangery. So I had to take Connor! I prepped him to be adventurous with the tea sandwiches. He tried everything including the tea. Although he preferred the hot chocolate.

We then walked through the park stopping at the Princess Diana memorial, which is lovely and serene. The Kensington excursion ended with touring the palace, both the king’s and queen’s rooms. The most unique art was the wind dial which is over 300 years old and still in working condition today. Chains and pulleys are attached to a beautiful gilt wind vane on the roof. The dial has four paintings depicting various scenes from the late 1600s. The technology was very modern at the time. I like that it is still functional.

While I wanted to see the final exhibit, the Queen’s clothing, that was less appealing to Connor. He suggested we reorder our Sunday morning plans and head to the F1 arcade for Friday evening fun. They were able to move our reservation so we jumped on the Tube to St Paul’s station. Connor and Scott enjoyed the F1 simulators for an hour, while I walked around St Paul’s Cathedral. So magical at dusk and interestingly relevant in this modern world. The 2nd largest freestanding dome cathedral in Europe towers at 365 feet, purposefully designed as one foot per day of the year. We previously walked to the top, but didn’t have time for that this visit.

Friday night after work makes for a lively London. We headed to the non-chain pub I had found near the hotel only to find that it was packed. We tried a few others, but all were busy and we were exhausted so we went to the hotel. Pub dinner strike out #2!

Our final day was packed with a walking tour of the City of Westminster which included Westminster Abbey and the grounds with houses from the 1400s, a school, park and lots of memorials. We walked around Parliament and Big Ben (named for the bell not the tower) learning lots of British political history. We walked along the River Thames noting other locations to visit on trip #4 such as the Archbishop of Canterbury Palace, Florence Nightingale Museum and Oxford. The tour ended at Whitehall and viewing the mounted cavalry trooper of the King’s Life Guard. We got to see the changing of the cavalry procession, which has been in existence since the 1600s.

After walking for 2-3 hours it was a nice break to cruise the River Thames to Greenwich. Upon arrival we had a quick ham and cheese croissant before we saw the Cutty Sark, a tea clipper from the 1860s. Big, strong and fast, it circled the globe the equivalent of 2.5 times from the earth to the moon and back. Lots of tea as well as other goods were hauled in this clipper by 23 men. Sounds terrifying to me. Part of the exhibit included over 30 figureheads from various clippers and ships (sorry I didn’t take a photo). Many restored from the 1800s. Underneath the hull is a nice cafe where you can eat and have afternoon tea while reliving what it must have been like to sail the seas.

Next was a fast paced walk up the hill to the Royal Observatory. As the day was ending and we were running out of steam, we walked through the museum that boasts royal technology from the 1600s. Beautifully and meticulously maintained, many still in working order. The most interesting was the versions of clocks that were created with the goal of keeping accurate time while on a ship. Pendulum clocks did not work on a rocking ship. Considering the century, the technology was quite interesting. We walked the grounds and we each stood on the Prime Meridian, straddling the line to both east and west hemispheres. Another quick walk back to the pier and we cruised the River Thames back to Westminster seeing major sites such as the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Palace. As we neared the Tower of London, we were held up a few minutes by the Tower Bridge opening to a taller ship, which we learned only happens a few times a week these days. While a bit brisk, we enjoyed talking and sightseeing as we cruised the river.

As we had a late lunch, we weren’t hungry for dinner yet and we chose to push ourselves for one last shopping excursion which ended up being a 2-hour odyssey. Scout found a few early birthday gifts but our goal of hitting a unique vintage store did not pan out. However, our goal of a non-chain, non-tourist pub for dinner was finally achieved! Dinner was a big hit for all three of us. Fish and chips for the men while I enjoyed scallops. We had a few local beers. A note about breweries in Europe, all breweries offer to the bar logo glasses. So you always drink your beer in a glass with the brewery logo. As with other trips, we asked to buy the glasses, which they kindly gave us. A fun memento we took home.

The trip ended with the high speed train back to Brussels and our home away from home. More travels to come as we push ourselves to enjoy what we have in our temporary backyard, when sometimes we would just like to chill on the couch.