London!!!! 3 Day Weekend (March 14-17, 2014)

So the Dillougherys take their first Eurotrip! We arrived in Switzerland with Lauren 32 weeks pregnant. I started teaching right away, then out came a baby Chloe, and here we are almost six months later ready for our first trip in Europe!!

We're heading to London for the three day weekend to visit our Canadian friends that we met in Ecuador, Michael and Alana. They had Maelle while working in Ecuador and she is just three months older than Lily ... so here it goes ...

Parking lot selfie at the Milan airport. We're on our way!

... and then we're in the Gatwick airport, on the Gatwick Express heading straight to the center of London!

 Lily is loving her only train ride in memory (the last time was when she was 6 months old in Amsterdam ... where she got bronchulitis!)

 Awwwww

 Loving it!

 Our first view of the London suburbs. So cute! Which one is privet drive?!

... so tired ...

... yet so happy!

 ... and the arrival selfie! Here we are about seven or eight hours after leaving our TASIS apartment and we are standing out front of our friends' flat in London. Yes, all of us (four adults, three babies under two, and a dog) will be staying in their flat for the three day weekend! Woohoo!

Friends! Here are the girls having a blast. As soon as we arrived in London, it was off to the park!

Lily and Maëlle were on the swings together, having a blast. Lauren and Alana took off to walk home and left the fathers with the older girls.

... and finally, the sun began to set and so we decided to head home. 

It was a little bit of a conversation and struggle to get the girls to leave the park, but finally they decided to run off into the sunset together hand in hand.

... and Maëlle sure knows how to pose for the camera. Say, "cheese!"

 oOo mama, my girls are looking great

 ... and then it was bath time. Maëlle had some really cool toys. One thing she had was a set of water crayons. They are pretty cool, and the girls loved 'em

 ... and then it was bedtime even for little sister. Adult time.

 ... and now it's morning. Big sister was wearing the same set of PJs. Lily got to ride her first horse. It may not have been a real horse, but she loved it!

... and then it was off to the natural history museum! A big day in the big city. Lily got to ride more trains! "choo choo"

Who needs to go inside when we can play on the lawn?

... with sticks!

oOo exhibits

Awww, Michael, Alana and Maëlle looking good

 ... and we saw funhouse mirrors! Lily had a blast running around in circles looking at all of the stretched out Lilies on the wall

 ... whew, time for a break ...

... more exhibits!

 hmmmm, that one really makes you think ...

 What a cute family!

 Another super cute family! (and with an elephant photobomb to boot!)

 Lily really wanted to hear the audio tour

then no photos until the next day, where we spent the whole afternoon in the park ...

 ... Lily made a new friend with all of her lion roars

 hugs!

 ... and selfies!

 ... we met the girls who were picking up picnic goods from the grocery store ... and we had a nice leisurely walk back to the house together ...

 ... but there is always time to stop and smell the roses ...

 ... and say "HI!" excitedly to our shadows!

 ... and then we had a nice picnic lunch in the backyard ...

 ... and Lily put on her 80s workout clothes

 ... and then we were off for a nice Sunday evening roast at the local pub. Don't worry, Lily had time to stop and smell the roses ...

... as well as taking a few super cute selfies with dad

 ... Lauren hanging out at the playground behind the pub while Lily and her dad climb all over the playground.

... and after Sunday roast at the pub, it was a nice walk home full of hugs ... and ...

... uh oh, too big of a hug, lol ...

... woohoo all is forgiven. Bath time!

... and after Maëlle got out, Lily had awhile to play with the toys by herself ...

... and brush her teeth for one last bedtime with her friend ...

... and one last story time with Maëlle and Alana ...

 ... and then sadly we had to head home to Switzerland. Good bye to great friends and a wonderful city.

 ... Lily wanted to be read to, and the paper  was the only option ... haha