That’s Tommy lolling around at a bus stop outside the Oxford train station because he’s so tired and ill-adjusted to the time change even after ten days abroad that he can barely hold his head up.

And in fact, not much later, he fails utterly to do so.

This just in case you think I’ve got everything to do with family travel figured out.

You can see the rest of my posts about England here. And be sure to come back next week – I’ll have a sweet giveaway and some new ideas to share about planning itineraries. Oh, and they’ll be some more museums to see too. So in preparation, some homework: Tips on how to visit an art museum with kids.

For Photo Friday at Delicious Baby. Have a great weekend!

The River Thames borders Windsor on the northern side and the boys loved feeding the swans that congregate near the tourist boats. The river is a five-minute walk from Windsor Castle, which dominates the town’s landscape and imagination. The streets around the castle are full of tourist shops and restaurants, so it’s pretty easy to find lunch before heading to the castle for a tour. We ate perfectly decent Italian food at Bella Italia, which has a nice kids menu and is across the street from the castle. You’ll also find a Wagamama close by.

We visited Windsor Castle on a Sunday and therefore missed the Changing of the Guard, which is reputedly much and easier to see here than at Buckingham Palace. We didn’t really feel like we missed out as we had ample opportunities to see soldiers marching about the grounds as they changed positions throughout the afternoon.

On a July weekend afternoon we had to wait close to half an hour to get our tickets for the castle, but once we had them and our audio guides were free to wander the grounds at our own pace. As with many of the other museums we visited in England, the boys had their own children’s version of the audio guide, in this instance quite different from ours so that the boys felt proud of sharing their own information about the castle at the end of the visit.

Included in the admission is a visit to Queen Mary’s famous dollhouse. This apparently always has the longest line. Since I was the only one in my family who wanted to see it (sigh – sometimes it’s hard being the only girl!) we gave it a miss and instead headed for the State Apartments, which it did not take long to get into. I was worried this might be boring, but actually we were all fascinated in particular by the tremendous display of weaponry and wealth on view in the Grand Vestibule and the ceiling of Saint George’s Hall, which was reconstructed of green oak after the fire in 1992 using medieval methods (rumor has it that it’s actually better to see now than it was before the fire). In the ceiling are the coats of arms of the Garter Knights. The boys liked looking for the white ones, which mark disgraced and treasonous knights.

We probably spent about two hours total in the castle. One thing I found amusing is that the Queen lives right on the flight path to the airport. Planes cross the sky constantly.

But I suppose the general beauty of the surroundings, including this lovely private garden make up for it.

And if you like the idea of having your own chapel, well, would this small one do?

We discovered that Saint George’s Chapel is closed to the public for tours on Sundays, but I was able to return for an Evensong service that afternoon.

And alas, we didn’t run into the Queen. We could tell from the flag that she wasn’t in residence (it was the Union Jack and not the royal standard flying from the round tower).

Windsor is a place that invites strolling, whether you head for Eton, just across the River Thames to the north or for The Long Walk leading away from the Castle to the south. Eton is home to Eton College, the most famous of the British “public” schools (contrary to what that word means with regard to schools here in the United States, British public school are private and exclusive). Nineteen prime ministers have attended Eton, and yet the town has a sleepy, nothing-to-see-here air. I did love the shops on the High Street, selling the famous uniforms, so formal to American eyes including as they do a morning coat, pinstriped trousers, white ties, and if this mannequin is to be believed, top hats and pink carnations. You can tour the school when it’s not in session, but need to make arrangements in advance.

As you head through the center of Windsor, admiring Queen Victoria’s self-assurance as she gazes benignly on the tourists who pass her, you might chance upon some horse-pulled carriages, or a bagpiper playing Amazing Grace, or a group of nuns heading to a service in the royal chapel.

We weren’t in Windsor long enough to venture past the Long Walk into the Great Park, home to one of Britain’s greatest ornamental gardens (which supplied the flowers for the recent royal wedding) and many paths for hiking, horseback riding or cycling, but I would definitely do so on a repeat visit.

If you have younger children, you aren’t going to avoid LEGOLAND on a visit to Windsor. Although we said nothing to them about it, our boys sniffed it out about ten seconds after our arrival. And yes it’s expensive. But I’ve rarely been to an amusement park that I found more charming. And it was much less crowded than I feared; in fact, something to remember is that British schools let our later than their American counterparts since they have a summer term. This means that although we were there on a weekday in July, we really didn’t have to wait in line for any but the very most popular rides. We also avoided waiting upon arrival by purchasing our admission tickets online in advance and arriving right as the park opened via taxi from downtown Windsor.

Besides, we didn’t encounter anyone like this in the ramparts at Windsor Castle.

Part of what made our stay in Windsor so relaxing was our accommodations at Frances Lodge. Owned by New Zealand rugby sensation Zinzan Brooke and his wife Alison, it’s a really lovely mix of chic comfort and kid-friendly ambience (I’m sure this is in no small part due to the fact that Zinzan and Alison have five children of their own). Our room was small, but the space was used well and the boys loved their bunk beds, which were tucked at the end of our bed.

The guest house itself is compact enough that Matt and I felt perfectly comfortable tucking the boys into bed and stepping down into the dining room to avail ourselves of the free wi-fi each evening. I was in awe of the fact that Alison always had a smile on her face and was so warm and friendly with the boys. I can’t quite imagine what it must be like to take care of guests on top of all of her children, but clearly she has a genius for hospitality. The breakfast was the best one we had during our entire stay in England and included high quality coffee, smoothies, homemade cereal, and fluffy American-style (or is it New Zealand-style? I don’t know) pancakes. Alison allowed us to leave our luggage at the guest house the day we checked out so that we could wander unencumbered, and she called us a cab for the airport when we returned.

We visited Windsor during the last few days of our two-week trip to England in the summer of 2010. If you’re flying in or out of Heathrow, it makes a perfect first or last stop; the taxi ride from the door of our guesthouse to the terminal took only 15 minutes. It’s only 20 miles from Central London and is an easy train ride from Charing Cross.

We ate at The Chandos because it was the recommended lunch stop on our Fat Tire Bike Tour. There are a couple of reasons I liked it. It is cool and clean and the upstairs lounge is charmingly furnished with comfortable chairs and a fireplace. Signed photographs from the actors who frequent the bar after their shows at the nearby Garrick and Duke of York theatres decorate the walls. The service is efficient and friendly. And the food is reasonably priced and tastes just fine.

This may not sound like a ringing endorsement, but let me just say this: Matt and I have eaten pub food that literally made us gag, so any place that can serve decent fish and chips, bangers and mash, hamburgers, or cheese sandwiches with chutney as the Chandos does are aces in our book. Unless a pub is noted for its food (part of the so-called “gastro-pub” phenomenon), eating at one is always a bit of a risk. The Chandos offers a way for families to have a typical English pub experience without fear of being served greasy mystery meat.

And of course, you can enjoy a delicious beer.

As a sign on the stairs says, the Chandos explicitly welcomes children (not all pubs do – even those that serve food) and this makes it the perfect place for families to enjoy a quick bite at lunch or dinner. You really can’t beat the location either, on the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square, right across the street from the National Portrait Gallery and Saint Martin in the Fields. It’s close to the theatre district, Covent Garden, and any number of Central London attractions. There are many, many tourist traps in this part of the city, so I’m always happy when I find a place that has some charm and where I can rely on the food to be decent and affordable.

Interested in my other central London restaurants? See what I have to say about Wagamama and Belgo Centraal. And be sure to check out Wanderfood Wednesday at Wanderlust and Lipstick for lots of other intrepid food finds.

These are all photographs from the afternoon we spent on the Bankside Walk in London. We started at London Bridge and made our way along the Thames until we got to the London Eye, stopping along the way for lunch and a tour of the Globe Theatre.

I hope you enjoy the photographs. And if you visit some of my other posts – like this one – you’ll also notice that you can now click on the smaller photos and see them all big and pretty. Nice huh?

Next week I’ll be back to my usual program of blogging about our adventures including spring break – which is finally here!

Often when we travel to a city, even if it’s just for a few days, I try to find an apartment to rent; I like living like a local and having access to a kitchen. But when we were planning to our trip to Oxford I had trouble finding anything suitable. Then it occurred to me – Oxford is full of dorm rooms; I wonder if any of them might be available? A Google search led me to the Oxford Rooms website, where I quickly discovered that not only could we actually stay at university, the costs were lower than hotels in the area.

Travel-with-kids tip: Double rooms at Oxford University average around £88 or $143 per night while a family suite for four people costs £175 or $284. This may not seem cheap, but I found that hotels in the Oxford area were pretty pricey, at least during the summer, and short-term apartments were hard to come by.

Our rooms were at Keble College, one of the newer colleges at Oxford, and quite the Victorian pile! I loved that we entered the college through an impressive gate. The boys loved running around the quad.

There are family suites and apartments available at Keble, but by the time I figured out that this was what we wanted to do they were booked and all I could get was two twin rooms, each with its own bathroom. Happily, they were right next to each other. Our dormitory was a modern one, tucked behind the more impressive building surrounding the quad. The rooms aren’t fancy but linens and towels are provided. Internet was sketchy and required an Ethernet cable, but I was ultimately able to get it to work after several calls to the porter’s lodge.

Travel-with-kids tip: When you enter your dates into the Oxford Rooms site, you get a list of different colleges with rooms available, the fees, and sometimes pictures of the rooms themselves. Be sure to look carefully if you are interested in staying in a historic building, as many of the rooms are in the more modern dormitories.

Each night of our stay Matt and I put the boys to bed and then went next door to hang out and drink wine – just like we were young and in school again! The boys could get up and use the bathroom if they needed to and frankly, the dormitory walls were thin enough that we could hear them if they made mischief or needed us. When it was time for us to go to sleep, we simply moved one child from one room to the next so that an adult could sleep in the other bed. (One thing I’ve learned as a traveling parent is that a sleeping child can readily be moved from place to place as circumstance and necessity dictate.)

Travel-with-kids tip: You can only stay in Oxford during the university vacation periods, which coincide with the holiday periods that are popular with tourists. For this reason, it’s best to book as early as possible.

Breakfast is included in the price of the room and is served in the college dining hall – a bit different than what most Americans are used to I suspect. The quality of the hot food is a little dubious, but my family of voracious eaters had no complaints. And we were able to fuel up and grab some fruit for snacks later in the day.

If I had this to do over, I’d book earlier so that we could maybe find rooms in one of the historic buildings. I’d also love to stay at Christ Church College, one of the more beautiful spots on Earth. We did tour Christ Church and I want to eat in this dining hall under the benevolent gaze of porters wearing bowler hats.

Travel-with-kids tip: I’d love to stay in one of the older and more historic colleges, but Keble College, which is big and always seems to have rooms available, does have a very convenient location. It’s directly across the street from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (a fabulous place to visit with kids) and an easy walk right up to Broad Street, the main drag full of shops and restaurants.

I loved Oxford and found it as romantic and lovely a spot as I had always dreamed it would be. Staying at university was a really fun way to experience what it would be like to study there and maybe to imagine that one day I’ll be visiting my own boys in just such a dormitory.

See all of my posts about our trip to Oxford, England with kids.

Eating out in Central London can be a challenge, especially with kids. Not that there aren’t many options. But in the more touristy areas around Covent Garden many of these choices can be pricey and of dubious quality. That’s why I like Belgo Centraal.

When I first dined at Belgo, it was the late 1990s and I was a poor graduate student trying to feel hip and cosmopolitan without spending a lot of cash. The then-new restaurant fit the bill, with its post-industrial interior (you take what feels like a cargo elevator from the main floor down into the basement to dine) and mystifying bathroom sinks. All of this atmosphere is still in place, but there is a more well-worn feel to the place and less of a hipper-than-thou vibe. Perhaps this is helped by the fact that the servers are wearing cassocks. The better to look like Belgian monks (and brewers) I suppose.

There are several reasons that Belgo Centraal is a great place to eat out with kids:

Kids eat for free. For each adult ordering an entrée off of the main menu at both lunch and dinner, you get one children’s meal for free. And yes, I like it that the kids’ menu includes mussels and rotisserie chicken instead of the standard fare of nuggets and burgers. Belgo offers other specials as well, including a weekday Beat the Clock menu from 5 to 6:30 (you choose from a limited menu and pay the time on the clock that your order is submitted) and an Express Lunch available every day from noon until 5.

They are open all afternoon. You can get something to eat at any point from 12 p.m. on. So if your kids need dinner at 4, you’re all set.

The location can’t be beat. It’s an easy walk from any number of things you’re likely to be doing in the center part of the city from Covent Garden to the British Museum (don’t let a Londoner tell you that you must take the Tube – we walked from the museum in about fifteen minutes). It’s also in a great spot for pre-theater dining if you’re going to a show. One caveat: Earlham Street where the restaurant is located is in a rabbit’s warren of small lanes and the front of the restaurant itself is plain (you don’t actually see into the dining area because it is subterranean). I’ve been there many times and still walk past it by accident sometimes. You can get directions to the restaurant on the website.

The three essentials of Belgian dining are well represented. These would be moules (mussels), frites, and of course beer. Now, these aren’t the very best mussels you’ll ever have. But for the price, they are really quite good. And they come with a variety of sauces from Green Thai (my personal favorite) to Moules Blanches – cooked with white beer, bacon, and shallots. And I love it that I can indulge in that girliest of pleasures – fruity beer. Lindemans Pecheresse, the Fuzzy Navel of beers, is my drink of choice.

The service is friendly and efficient. When I say friendly, I mean really friendly. That lovely man pictured above took a shine to Teddy. When the latter ordered his desert he wanted to know where it came from. “Why don’t you come and see?” the waiter replied. And before we knew it, Teddy had disappeared into the kitchen only to return triumphantly a few minutes later with his ice cream cone. (Which may have been his second of the day. But who’s counting?)

There are other Belgo locations around London as well, all of them offering the same menus and specials. I recommend any of them for a quick meal with kids. And while you’re there, have a beer for me, OK? And a waffle too. Thanks!

I share this as part of Wanderfood Wednesday at Wanderlust and Lipstick. If you like reading posts about food, that’s the place to be.

For Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

On our visit to London in the summer of 2010 I was especially excited to take the boys to the see the Tower of London. I had been there several times before, but not with children who were old enough to understand the history of this huge and fascinating place. The singular name Tower of London is actually a little misleading, as the complex includes a number of towers, palaces, and other buildings, to say nothing of an enormous and thick wall from which one can admire the Thames.

We arrived as the Tower was opening. I had purchased our tickets online the day before and picked them up at the Welcome Center. This proved to be the best approach – not only did I save money by booking online, I didn’t have to wait in line and the nice woman working the desk gave me some special guides (called “trails” in England) for the boys and few free pencils and stickers as well. The Tower isn’t cheap to visit, but when you consider that tickets are good for admission to all of the buildings and exhibitions in the sprawling complex as well as the tours given by the Yeoman Warders, it’s not a bad deal. We spent the better part of the day there.

Travel-with-kids tip: Beat the crowds (even on a busy summer day) in two ways: Purchase your tickets in advance online and arrive right when the Tower opens at 9 a.m. (Note: opening time is 10 a.m. on Sunday and Monday).

Immediately after we got our tickets, had snapped a few pictures in front of the Tower Bridge, and checked out Traitor’s Gate where prisoners were once brought into the Tower from the river, I hustled the boys over to see the Crown Jewels. I knew from experience that the lines to see these famous baubles can be quite long, but by scooting in there right after opening, we didn’t have to wait at all. I wasn’t sure if the boys would enjoy this – we’re not really enthused by princesses or bling at our house – but they were fascinated and we actually rode the conveyor belt that carries visitors past the scepters and crowns several times (another reason it was nice that no crowds were pressing from behind).

After a good look at the gems, we had fun watching the soldier who guards them parade up and down. He didn’t even come close to smiling although Teddy was jumping up and down and exclaiming about how fuzzy his hat looked.

I had high hopes for the famous Yeoman Warder tour, which I enjoyed on my two previous visits to the Tower. But this proved to be the one dud of the day. Tommy and Teddy really couldn’t understand the guide’s thick accent and hated trailing around in the crowd without knowing what was going on. After about ten minutes we jumped ship and spent the rest of the day exploring the Tower independently (although the boys did want to have their picture taken with one of the guards later in the day).

Our favorite part of Tower was the new Fit for a King exhibition, which is installed in the White Tower right in the center of the complex. With 500 years worth of royal armor – including suits belonging to Henry VIII – this exhibition offers a fascinating look at the history of both ceremonial and battle wear. The panels were written at a level that my kids could understand and they loved seeing things like the boy’s armor designed for the son of Charles I and a huge jousting lance.

They also loved the Line of Kings created by Charles II in the 17^th century and recently restored after a 100-year absence from the Tower. These life-sized wooden models of horses stand with attendant royal suits of armor and are meant to represent the kings of England (although Queen Elizabeth 1′s horse was damaged during The Blitz and only a head survives).

On the top floor of the White Tower at the end of the armor exhibition is an interactive display intended to show visitors what it was like to use a sword or shoot an arrow. The boys were both fierce fighters.

Travel-with-kids tip: There are a few great places for lunch with kids right next to the Tower (you can leave the complex and return as often as you want during the day). I recommend Wagamama as a place for a quick sit-down meal and Eat for affordable and high-quality take away (soups, salads, sandwiches). There are lots of nice places to picnic along the river and on the Tower Green. In warmer weather there are also a variety of food trucks; we enjoyed a delicious ice cream snack later in the afternoon.

After a break for a picnic lunch overlooking the Thames, we walked along the Tower wall and visited some of the other buildings in the complex including the Bloody Tower where we saw Sir Walter Raleigh’s rather posh accommodations and the Wakefield Tower, which houses a challenging exhibition of torture instruments that fascinated and repulsed Tommy.

We also enjoyed seeing the famous ravens,

Chatting with some of the historical re-enactors who wander the grounds,

And checking out working replicas of siege weapons used in medieval times.

Travel-with-kids tip: I wanted to make sure that we saw the entire Tower, but knew we might not be able to do so without stopping. So I packed a read-aloud book in my bag. When the boys got tired of walking around and needed a break from all that history, we sat on a bench in the sunshine and read together until our enthusiasm was revived.

Visiting the Tower was one of our favorite activities in London and was made even more fun when we took a boat to Greenwich the next day and rode past the Tower. The boys authoritatively pointed out the various buildings and told Matt excitedly about what they had seen there.

And if you’re planning to take your kids to London, don’t miss my post at A Traveler’s Library about preparing for the trip using “horrible” history books. Our visit to the Tower was successful in part because both of the boys knew in advance about famous people like Anne Boleyn and the two little princes.

I shared this post as part of the March, 9 2011 edition of the Carnival of Cities, hosted by Best Family Travel Advice. Stop over there to see some other great posts about cities around the world.

When I was planning our trip to England last year, lots of people sent tips about pubs, particularly about pubs in Oxford. It seems that many of my friends spent a semester or so there and had strong opinions about the best place to get a beer (or two) and maybe a bite to eat. Since we were staying at Keble College, we got particularly strong recommendations for the Turf Tavern, a five-minute walk from the dormitories there.

One of the charms of the Turf is that it is a little tricky to find. We actually walked past the alley that leads to its entrance from Holywell Street several times. You might guess why from this photo:

(Please note the obligatory dreaming spire in the background. Oxford does not disappoint in that department.)

Tucked into a little courtyard and surrounded by a beer garden full of verbena and geraniums, the Turf presents a cheerful face, at least on a summer afternoon. Although the inside is a satisfyingly low, dark, narrow warren that brings to mind generations of students smoking and drinking and talking politics or theology and playing darts.

Outside signs boast of the pub’s appearance in British crime dramas (the kind that get serialized on American public television) and its famous visitors, including a number of prime ministers and Chuck Berry.

Travel-with-kids tip: I’m not sure how appropriate it would be to bring kids to the Turf in the evening, but it does make a great spot for lunch. In the summer, it’s best to arrive at the Turf right when they open at 11 a.m. We were actually there a little early, and as soon as we sat down he tables around us filled up almost instantly with hungry tourists; more were waiting to sit down as we left.

The food here is solid. And when Matt made his selection off the menu, it actually sounded rather elegant: “Suffolk pork sausages served with West Country cheddar mash, petits pois and red onion gravy.” For an extra £1.50, the whole thing comes served in a “giant Yorkshire pudding” – and when you’re going for the three-sausage lunch, why would you skip that?

The answer is, of course, you wouldn’t:

I was so overcome by Matt’s entrée that I don’t even rightly remember what I had – I think it was just a cheese board with various chutneys and breads. I’m actually still a little annoyed that we ordered anything other than his fancy Toad in a Hole (what the British call sausage cooked in Yorkshire pudding), which probably would have fed all four of us. In any event, there’s plenty of great pub food on the menu, from fish and chips to beef and ale pie. All portions ample and best paired with beer.

(In case you are concerned after looking at the photos in this post, I assure you that we were quite able to walk around Oxford for the rest of the afternoon with only minimal distress.)

For Wanderfood Wednesday at Wanderlust and Lipstick. If you’re interested in food and travel, definitely check it out!

See all of my posts about our trip to Oxford, England with kids.

If you are like I was, Bristol, England may not be on your family travel list. But the largest city in southwestern England should be – not only are there loads of things to do with kids, great restaurants, and the fun vibe that comes from being a university town, Bristol is an easy and inexpensive train ride from London and makes for a great weekend trip.

We started our morning in Bristol down at the harbor in the Blue Reef Aquarium, which has a nice collection of animals and a 3-D Imax show that he boys really enjoyed.

After a tear around the nearby Millennium Square, we grabbed some lunch (there are lots of restaurants of various ethnicities, so you really have your pick). I wanted to explore the harbor more, but the boys had been up at a ridiculously early hour and were spazzy and out of control like only exhausted children can be (this happened pretty frequently on this trip and tempers were definitely fraying). So Matt took the boys and headed for home while I walked around the harbor to the SS Britain.

This is a fascinating ship, revolutionary for 1843 when it launched, with a screw propeller, an iron hull, and a huge engine that allowed it to travel much faster than previous commercial vessels. It enjoyed years of travel around the globe before being retired to the Falkland Islands in the early twentieth century.

You start your visit inside an interactive museum that walks you backward through time telling the story of the SS Britain’s amazing return across the Atlantic to Bristol in the 1970s and sharing lots of information about how the ship works and who sailed on it through the years, including this chest of drawers where visitors get to match objects with the people who carried them on board.

Then it’s onto the ship itself. The the dry dock that’s been created below the surface of the water to protect the bottom of the boat in a dry and stable temperature is amazing. You can walk right up to the enormous propeller

and look above you to see the water of the river.

The rest of the ship has been lovingly restored, and you can see everything from the staterooms, to the dining area, to the ship’s machinery. There are even recreations of the ship’s cargo.

In addition to visiting the SS Britain, I also enjoyed just strolling along the water. There are many interesting things to look at from these houses that looked like they belonged in the Mediterranean,

To murals,

to gantry cranes,

To the Bristol Cathedral, providing a nicely contradictory backdrop to the more modern buildings directly next to the river.

The day was chilly, so after my walk I was happy to warm up in the lovely coffee shop at the Arnolfini, a modern art center. They were changing exhibitions the day I was there, so I didn’t get to see the gallery space. But I enjoyed a lovely cup of tea and piece of apple cake.

While I was enjoying the SS Britain, Matt and the boys (who for some mysterious reason immediately got their second wind as soon as we parted – sigh) had a wonderful time at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery which houses a small but interesting dinosaur exhibit. This was followed up with yummy milkshakes at Rocotillos, a diner across the street.

Bristol is a great family travel destination and a place I’d like to return to. Down at the harbor I want the boys to see the SS Britain and possibly whatever is on at the Arnolfini. A new museum called the M Shed is due to open along the harbor in June, 2011 – it will tell the story of Bristol from preshistoric times through the present. We also might try a boat trip or a visit to the planetarium in Millennium Square. Then there’s the rest of Bristol, including Clifton Village with its Georgian terraces and large suspension bridge. And there are various other city parks and museums and a very nice zoo.

But the number one reason I’d like to return to Bristol is to see Heather Cowper and her lovely family again. In fact, it’s thanks to Heather that we even ended up in Bristol – when she saw we were planning a visit to southwest England last summer, she insisted we come and stay. In addition to providing us with some fantastic itineraries, she welcomed us into her home. The boys instantly bonded with her son and daughter:

It was a nice break in the middle of a two-week trip to stay in someone’s home and of course, Heather and her husband Guy were full of great suggestions and advice about what to see and do. Heather has a wonderful travel blog called Heather on Her Travels, with loads of information about Bristol and the many other places she’s visited.

So today I’m dreaming about a return to Bristol to see the rest of the city – and to visit old friends. How about you?