Madame Tussauds, London

For Day 1 of our London trip see here!

We all slept well in the hotel, and it was probably the first time that we all slept in the same room and we weren't woken up by a small child or two at some point! We were still up early though, and so we headed first to Madame Tussauds. We arrived a few minutes before it opened so we were at the front of the queue and among the first visitors in. This was great as I remember it being very crowded in the past, and we were able to take some photos without it being too busy.

The children were only vaguely interested in the actors and sports personalities as they didn't know who most of them are. But it's always fun to have a picture of yourself with one of your favourite celebrities, whether they are very tall ones...

or much smaller ones!

A new attraction at Madame Tussauds is the Star Wars exhibit, where you can see figures in scenes from some iconic Star Wars moments.

It wasn't too busy when we were there but I can see that when there are more people it would become a series of queues to take a photograph at each scene. Luckily we were able to take all the photos that we wanted to, and both children really loved this area. It was included in a visit with our Merlin passes but it said on a poster outside that you have to pay extra for it with some types of tickets which seems a bit cheeky.

Exit was as always through the gift shop and this one was particularly bad, the only way out was via a till. Mia fell in love with a random stuffed thing while I was in the toilet, and it took quite an effort to get her out. We aren't completely mean parents though, and our next stop was Hamleys where we steered her towards some stuffed animals which were from the same range as ones that her friends have and also in the sale, much more appreciated and much better value for money!

After a thorough look around Hamleys we had our lunch at Pizza Hut and planned the last few hours before our train left. Although the children have been to London a few times there were a few big sights that they hadn't yet seen, so we took them to see Nelson's Column and then finished with a stop at Buckingham Palace on the way back to the station.

Harry was vaguely interested but Mia was absolutely enthralled by Buckingham Palace, and she stood outside the gates for ages looking in which is most unlike her. It must go along with the typical little girl princess obsession!

And so with the Christmas holidays finished off in style, it was time to catch our train home, and return to the world of lunchboxes, book bags and school uniform.