Trip to London for half term

The primary school year in the UK is slightly different than in Canada. Our boys had their "half term" break recently (more than a week off from school) so we decided to take them for a vacation. Our trip began by taking the Caledonian Sleeper night train from Edinburgh to London. One of the several highlights was going to the British Museum which is a first rate collection of significant artifacts including an amazing collection from ancient Egypt. We saw the Rosetta Stone which was found in 1799 by Napoleon's troops and was integral to the eventual decipherment of hieroglyphs ... attributed most to Champollion.

We also returned to the Natural History Museum that we enjoyed last year. It is absolutely great and houses an amazing exhibit on dinosaurs including the first T-Rex fossil ever found (back in the early 1900's). One day we went to a farm and got to see some living reptiles ... we each took turns holding a live snake (even Parker!) We got to pet various farm animals including goats, cows, horses, and pigs.

We were lucky to get to stay just south of London with Uncle Peter and Auntie Naomi (Harriet's mom's sister) and enjoyed visiting with them and their hospitality. Harriet's cousin Hillary also came over for lunch one day so we had the chance to visit with her too.