Family A Journey to Forever!: Kayden's trip to London

Kayden had the opportunity to go on a Study trip with the Kaiserslautern High School's International Thespian Society to LONDON! How amazing is that? Brooklyn is also a member of the International Thespian Society and helped with fundraising for this event. She too was suppose to go on this study trip, However, we didn't know the dates and she has already been cast in and working on the play. She was a little bummed the study trip was over two performances of the play Alice and Wonderland.

I assured her that we are going to be living 6 hours from New York City the mother ship of all things Broadway. So she will get to see a broadway show.

London Trip March 21-24.

Wednesday March 21st The kids met at the High School to board the shuttle bus at 6:45am. They then drove a couple hours to the Luxembourg Airport. Kayden told us how the plane was so small it almost felt like a private plane just for them. They arrived in London at 11:05am. They dropped their luggage off at the Dolphin Hotel and went to see some sights. Some of the highlights the first day were Westminster Abbey. Kayden was so excited to tell us he ate Fish and Chips and they were AMAZING! Ummm yuck, and for Dinner he had Jelly EEL. Gross. I'm glad he is able to eat all this yucky fishy stuff away from home. Ha! One of the highlights for Kayden's was seeing Les Miserable at the Queen's Theatre. Very Cool. Kayden said it was hard NOT to sing along. A couple words slipped out but Aiden his friend kindly reminded Kayden he was NOT suppose to sing. Ha! Kayden and his two buddies Aiden and Ben stayed up until 4am playing cards. Poker to be exact. Thursday: March 22 the boys slept in until 9:00am. Had a quick breakfast at the hotel and they were off on a tour of the National Theatre followed by lunch at a cafe and then to explore the British Museum. That night Kayden ate a Burger for dinner. They had a little bit of time before going to Aladdin at Prince Edward Theatre so the boys went to a tea shop. They were there for 1 1/2 hours. Aiden was sipping on a cappuccino and Kayden was drinking a Ginger Beer. Kayden and Aiden went across the street back to the theater to get a picture. They were taking a picture when four people who were sitting down enjoying a drink at a table nearby invited Kayden and Aiden to join them. They asked the boys how old they were and Kayden told him he was 18. They didn't believe him and asked to see his ID. So Kayden took out his Military ID to show them. They thought the ID was fake. But looked really good. Ha, Little did they know. He is indeed 18 and it was NOT a fake ID. They offered to buy Kayden an Alcoholic drink. NICE. EEEKKK Kayden told them he was Mormon and he didn't drink alcohol. Well that started a whole conversation all about Mormons. Kayden went into Mission mode and was able to answer all their questions and bear his Testimony. He said it was really awesome and he loved sharing the Gospel. Kayden thought Aladdin was funny but he loved Les Miserable better. The boys stayed up again playing poker. Friday March 23 they had a workshop and tour of the Globe Theater, got to visit the Tower Bridge, and Tate museum.

Kayden's all time favorite part of the trip was his Friday night dinner. He and Aiden splurged a little and went to Garfunkels for dinner. They ordered appetizers, entrees, and dessert. They spent several hours at this restaurant enjoying the food and conversation. Again the boys played poker until the wee hours. Saturday, March 24, they all got to sleep in because they didn't have to be to the Airport until 11ish to catch their 12:10 flight back to Luxembourg and drive the couple hours home. We picked Kayden up at the High School at 5:30pm. Kayden wanted to go to the Youth Dance that night so we dropped him off at the Dance While Jeremy and I headed to watch Brooklyn and Chandler in their play. What an amazing experience for Kayden. I'm going to let him describe his pictures and maybe share a couple more stories.

I had to go to the bank to get Kayden some pounds.
The exchange rate is terrible. $220 gave me 150 British Pounds. OUCH!
The bills were so cool. They have a strip that is see through.

This was the only picture I took.
Kayden waiting to board the shuttle.

Kayden, thought this was so cool. It's knife money. In Ancient China
people fought for money. The government came up with a great idea to make
their money into knives.

Copper Cow Hide used to count money.

I didn't think the stones were that big in the story of David and Goliath

The original size of the famous statue "The Thinker"

The Rosetta Stone.
That helped ancient scientist decipher hieroglyphics. The top 1/3 is Hieroglyphics the middle is Latin, and the last 1/3 is Greek. It told the same story in each section/language.

Egyptian statue, maybe King Tut?
Kayden thought it was big.

Front of the British Museum

The famous RED Telephone Box.

The horse is the Mother of War Horse.

Cool Dragon, Kayden loves Dragons.

Cool Skate Park

Queen's Theater presenting Les Miserables.

Kayden in London's Chinese Town.

London's Chinese Town.

Kayden and his Buddy Aiden ready for Les Miserable.

Had to make sure my MOM had plenty of pictures....
Just for you MOM, Love you!

The Famous Red Double Decker Bus.

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Lunch, or snacks throughout the trip.

Paddington Station was the Train Station closest to our hotel It's also one of the largest in London.
Kayden said, We used this station all the time during our stay in London.

Entrance to our Hotel.

Westminster Abby- Church GraveYard.

The prime minister house.

Kayden in front of the big Lion.

Kayden wanted to get a pictue of him sitting on the lion
and as he was having his picture taken the Police were blowing a whistle at him to get off.
Ha! I'm sure he was not the first person to sit on said lion. Look how huge it is.