Kevin here. As I think we've mentioned in the past, we threw dozens of ideas of things to do in London out to the kids and let them decide some of what we would go see. They each got to pick two. Their choices:
Anna: the zoo and the aquarium
Daniel: Harrod's department store and a Harry Potter-themed walk around London
Justin: afternoon tea and the Churchill Museum/Cabinet War Rooms
Interesting list, isn't it?
I was thrilled that Justin wanted to go see the Churchill War Rooms. (Of course, if he hadn't picked it, we would have gone anyway. Just sayin'.) It had already been recommended to me by a few people as a London must-see.
It's really a two-part tour: there is the Cabinet War Rooms, where Churchill and his cabinet ran the British war effort. And there is a cool, interactive museum dedicated to the life and work of Winston Churchill, warts and all.
The really cool thing about the War Rooms is that they were closed up immediately in the days following World War II and not re-opened in any meaningful way until the 70's, if you can believe it. And, once re-opened, the restoration was begun. So, essentially, they remain just as it was from the 40's. Awesome.
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| Justin with his choice of sight to see. |
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| Ok, the guy isn't real. But everything else is authentic. |
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| The kids on the tour. |
It also has some of the original posters still on the walls:
But one of the coolest parts was the Map Room. The Map Room is covered in... yep, maps. But the maps are just as they were from 1945 at the end of the war, pins in the maps, and all.
If you're in to WWII history, this has got to be one of the coolest things to see. I think the kids learned quite a bit about wartime Britain from being there. And if you are any admirer of Winston Churchill (as I am: a deeply inspiring, deeply flawed heroic leader) this is must-see
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