Dinosaur Train (and visitors!)

Uncle Andy and Aunt Erica came to visit us in London! Hooray!

Noelle had found a book here in the house about the Crystal Palace dinosaurs that a man had made for the Crystal Palace exhibition in the 1850s....and they're still around (refurbished)! Early in our stay, this became her number one desired sight-seeing destination. I was all for it...but it looked like a long way for a momma and three littles.

Enter my brother and his lovely wife, being willing to spend the day on this excursion! With our trusty Aunt and Uncle as backup, we ventured out--down the Underground, then onto the Overground train down to Crystal Palace station on the south side of the city.

All I can say is, I'm a big fan of this Richard Scarry book, The Best Storybook Ever.

I don't think A and E are used to the jubilant exclamations of small children conspicuously jutting through the relative silence of train cars. I have mostly given up shooshing the kids by now, but A and E were good sports. 

Once we arrived, this is what we found:

When you come around the corner of the train station into the park, this delightful mural greets you.

Plaster/wood creatures appearing in the distance.

The story related in the book is that this man (Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins) took a few skeletal fragments that had recently been discovered and...extrapolated artistically what these dinosaurs might have looked like. The Victorians (including the Queen) were apparantly completely astounded and astonished by the project, and by the creatures presented. I think it's amazing that they're still around!

Naturally, Flat Sammy came too. He enjoyed himself. I think this is supposed to be a giant sloth here behind Noelle.

 After our dino-tour, we found a little cafe in the same park and had lunch. The kids meal was chicken nuggets, French fries, and beans. Naturally.

 A little more exploring revealed this phone booth.

And a bit more exploring revealed this dinosaur egg and excavation site/playground sandbox!

The kids are still on their feet in this picture, but Andy was invaluable as kid-carrier later on this day. Really, we wouldn't have gotten home without him. Or at least, Joel wouldn't have.