And finally, London July 6-11

After one last, warm night in our Torremolinos penthouse apartment, we said goodbye to our nice landlady and hauled our 5 suitcases and 4 backpacks to the train station one last time. Our flight left for London at noon and we said goodbye to Spain for good this time (well, at least until...?). Though Amber and Todd had visited London separately years earlier, both we and the boys were looking forward to seeing the sights and staying with our Australian-American-English friends. We had a nice visit with lots of catching up after many years. Our 2 boys enjoyed playing with their 2 boys. And we trained into the city twice for sightseeing.

Flying past the island of Jersey off the coast of France on our way from Malaga to London.

Sanders' home!

Walking to the train, we had great weather.

Across from Victoria station is Borough market.

So many wonderful lunch options

The place was packed. About half these people are waiting for chocolate covered strawberries.

The Queen's walk

Home of the brash, outrageous and free

Walking Rex in a nearby massive park

Cannibals

tubin it

double decker bus tour! A first for us all.

The boys enjoyed waving to pedestrians

caught Bidens' motorcade passing by on his first day meeting with the new king

Hamley's toy store was a unique experience. Often ranked as the best toy store in the world.

got to visit with the king...

and her majesty, rest in peace.

Piccadilly was a circus. London's version of Times Square

A real live working telephone booth

Phantom found a home

The national gallery and St. Martin in the fields cathedral at Trafalgar square.

Hey look kids, Big Ben and there's Parliament!

Can't remember significance of this building but it was cool looking.

No tour is complete without a driveby of St. Paul's. Brings back nice memories, but we'll save the inside for another time.

The famed Tower of London fortress. Bottom left on the water says "Entry to the Traitor's Gate" for poor old chaps like William Wallace.

kids? Big Ben, Parliament. (Westminster on the right)

Westminster Abbey. The inside is another day in itself.

payin 'is respects

goosesteppin gaurds at Buckingham Palace.

That's a wrap!

We flew back to the states the next day after being gone 11 months. London was our final foreign adventure of the year. Perhaps our boys will return someday when they're older for a more in depth visit to the city. But as it was we had a nice time visiting friends (whom Amber and Todd had previosly stayed with in Australia Dec 2011), seeing the sights, and experiencing a bit of Enland.

We feel very blessed and thankful for the opportunity to have this experience. For more information, please check out the FAQ pages about Spain and Costa Rica, as well as our final thoughts. Peace!