London

The Cities Cocoa and Papa Wanted to See

London and Paris entered this trip through Cocoa and Papa.

Both cities had lived on their bucket list, and traveling together gave us a chance to help them see two places they had imagined for years. The itinerary was multigenerational from the beginning: six travelers, three generations, two young boys and a desire to make the trip feel meaningful to everyone.

London became the main destination because round-trip airfare there was significantly less expensive than flying into one city and home from another. Eurostar made Paris feel close enough to add without another flight. We built the trip around London, left for Paris for two nights, returned to London for one final reset and flew home the following morning.

This was not a trip where every generation wanted the same thing from every day. Cocoa and Papa wanted London’s landmarks and the Eiffel Tower. Preston and Avery needed steering wheels, soft play, playgrounds and familiar characters. Kyle and I wanted good food, a little room to wander and at least one moment when we could experience the city as a couple. The trip worked when one experience served more than one of those needs at once.

The best multigenerational days did not ask everyone to want the same thing. They gave each person a reason to be there.

The Overnight Flight and a Gentle Arrival

We departed Columbus on March 25, connected in Atlanta and continued overnight to London on Delta. After arriving at Heathrow on March 26, we took the Piccadilly Line to Hammersmith and walked toward our Brook Green townhome. Using the train kept the arrival straightforward and removed the need to coordinate multiple cars for six people and their luggage.

The townhome was not ready when we arrived. Our host shared a nearby place where we could leave the luggage, so we stored everything, found a restaurant down the street and took the boys to the neighborhood park. It was not an ambitious first afternoon, and that was the right choice after the overnight travel.

Our Brook Green Home Base

The Airbnb was a substantial London townhome with five bedrooms, multiple bathrooms, a kitchen, two living spaces, a washer and dryer and a large outdoor area. The house extended across four or five levels, giving six people room to separate at the end of the day. For a trip with grandparents, that space mattered.

Brook Green itself was pleasant and useful. We had a park, small restaurants and a grocery store less than five minutes away. Hammersmith Station was roughly a 10- to 12-minute walk. The tradeoff appeared at the end of sightseeing days: the neighborhood sat farther from many of the places we visited, and the walk home felt longer in the cold.

We would choose another large apartment or townhome for a group like ours. We would simply look for one more centrally located, especially for a March trip when the distance between the station and the front door can feel very different with changing weather conditions.

Landmarks for the Adults, Barkingburg for Preston

We began at Greenhouse Coffee, then traveled toward Borough Market. The market gave us one of those small food memories that survives beside much larger landmarks: chocolate-covered strawberries eaten while walking through the stalls. From there, we continued along the river, taking in London Bridge, Tower Bridge and Queen’s Walk.

We later took the Tube to Westminster for Big Ben and the London Eye. A carousel on the South Bank was immediately spotted by Preston and we took a few rides. Avery napped nearby, not knowing what he was missing. We ate at Giraffe at Southbank Centre before the afternoon’s main reservation.

The PAW Patrol Afternoon Tea Bus

Brigit’s Bakery’s PAW Patrol afternoon tea bus was the day’s highlight for Preston, but it solved a larger multigenerational problem. The route passed many of London’s major sights, allowing the adults to see more of the city without another long walk in the cold. At the same time, the boys had food, music, songs and a screen-led scavenger hunt designed for them.

The spread was substantial: themed cookies, brownies, macarons, cupcakes, tarts, tea sandwiches, carrots with hummus, mini pizzas, small sandwiches and warm biscuits with jam. Tea arrived in PAW Patrol cups. Preston could follow much of the scavenger hunt when he was engaged; Avery was more interested in the music.

Our assigned table was on the upper level. Everyone needed to remain seated, and there was little room to move. London traffic extended the tour beyond the point when the boys were ready to finish, so the last stretch felt long. That is the only meaningful caution we would carry forward: the advertised duration can stretch, and a moving bus does not offer young kids an easy reset. Traffic notwithstanding, this tour was great for our PAW Patrol-loving boys.

Preston believed London’s grand buildings were Barkingburg. For him, the city had become part of a story he already loved.

Afterward, everyone was cold and tired. We returned to the townhome and ordered Wingmans. The wings were good enough that we ordered from the same place again the following night.

A London Day Built at the Boys’ Height

Breakfast at The Breakfast Club in Seven Dials was busy but good. We ordered chicken and waffles, then walked to the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. The museum gave us a couple of warm indoor hours when being outside had begun to feel like work.

Steering Wheels and a Pretend Tube

No single vehicle became the attraction. The boys wanted to touch anything with a steering wheel. Preston spent considerable time in a London-style city bus, and both boys enjoyed the upstairs kids’ area, where they could operate a pretend Tube and move through hands-on transport play.

We purchased tickets when we arrived. The museum itself was easy enough to navigate with the boys, but it was large and winding. When our group split to follow boys who wanted to move in different directions, it took longer than expected to find one another again. For a larger family group, choosing a reconnection point before separating would have helped.

Covent Garden, Seven Dials and the Cinnamon Bun

After the museum, we walked through Covent Garden and stopped at Oliphant’s for one of the best cinnamon buns we have had. It tasted closer to a doughnut than an American cinnamon roll: no heavy icing, just a warm pastry coated in cinnamon sugar.

Lunch came from Seven Dials Market, where we ordered tacos from Masa Tacos and hashbrowns from Hash Hut. The market was busy but manageable, with good music and a modern energy that made sitting and people-watching part of the meal.

We continued through Chinatown and ended at Hamleys on Regent Street. Both boys had fallen asleep on the walk, so we woke them when we arrived. Each boy chose one toy. Avery selected Ryder and his ATV from PAW Patrol that would appear in our London family photographs and continue traveling with us to Portugal, Denmark, St. Lucia and beyond.

The Unplanned Outfit and the Palace

The most memorable photograph from the day began with an ordinary parenting problem. Avery needed a complete change of clothes at the Transport Museum, and we did not have a spare outfit with us. We found a nearby The North Face store and bought a teddy-bear bunting that he wore for the rest of the London stay.

The defining frame is not one of the museum’s historic vehicles. It is Avery and Cocoa laughing together while he wears the emergency bunting. The photograph carries the real trip: cold weather, a mistake in the day bag, a quick solution and a grandparent completely delighted by the boy in front of her.

We also visited Buckingham Palace that afternoon and saw the guards. This stop mattered especially to Cocoa and Papa, giving them one of the classic London sights they had come to experience.

That evening, we ordered Wingmans for the second time. Once everyone was inside and warm, delivery was more appealing than putting six people back into coats for another meal out.

The Ryder toy became a souvenir of the trip. The teddy-bear bunting became evidence that the best photograph can arrive after you adapt.

When the Cold Decided the Pace

We started slowly and took the Tube to Notting Hill to see the colorful houses and streets. The neighborhood gave us an easy visual destination without a reservation or tightly sequenced route. From there, we continued to Holland Park.

Avery wanted the playground. Preston was having a harder day and seemed finished with the cold. Kyle stayed outside with Avery while I took Preston into the restaurant on the property for a break. Instead of asking both boys to complete the same afternoon, we split and gave each one what he needed.

We later visited Westfield London near the townhome. The shopping center was massive and gave us another warm place to move around without committing to a major attraction.

A Dinner Made Possible by Grandparents

After the boys were asleep, Cocoa and Papa stayed with them while Kyle and I went to Dishoom Battersea. We arrived late enough that there was no wait. The meal was fantastic, although somehow we took no photographs of it.

This was the first time on one of our family trips that we could leave the boys with grandparents and go to dinner alone. Their presence did more than help us move through the city. It created an experience for us as a couple that would not have existed otherwise.

The Photographs We All Came Home In

We booked a 60-minute Flytographer session for $425 with a photographer named Hector. Before meeting him, we ate a snack at the café near Storey’s Gate, where the food was better than expected.

The route was built around the London details we wanted to remember: red telephone booths, Underground signs, Westminster Station and the view back toward Big Ben and the Westminster landmarks after crossing the bridge. The cold made the final part harder for the boys, and both were ready to finish by the end, but the one-hour length remained workable.

Hector returned the photographs either the same day or the next day. That speed meant we could enjoy the pictures while the trip was still happening. Avery’s Ryder toy appeared because he was unhappy without it. We stopped trying to make the photographs look separate from toddler life and let his favorite toy become part of the record.

Battersea Power Station and Macaroni Penguin

After the session, we returned to Battersea Power Station because the area offered several indoor options. The boys spent two consecutive hour-long sessions at Macaroni Penguin, one of the cleanest and most thoughtfully arranged soft-play spaces we have visited.

The play area included a slide, ball pit, kitchen, playhouse, ride-on toys and trains. Both boys used the full two hours. Preston fell asleep almost immediately after leaving, and Avery slept in the Osprey Poco during the Tube ride home.

For kids approximately five and younger, the play space alone could justify the stop. Battersea Power Station also had restaurants, activities for older kids and an outdoor playground. It was far too cold for us to use the outdoor space, but the area felt capable of holding a complete family day.

A 36-Hour Paris Chapter

Chelsea’s Rentals collected Preston’s stroller from the townhome on the evening before we left. On March 31, a prearranged private transfer picked us up around 9:30 a.m. and took us to St Pancras International with all of our luggage.

Our Eurostar departed at 12:30 p.m. The ticket instructed us to arrive no later than 11:16, and our host warned that construction and traffic could slow the drive. Leaving early gave us time to eat breakfast at the station. Check-in, security and border control moved in clear stages and felt easier than an airport process with the boys.

The train arrived in Paris around 4:00 p.m. We joined the official taxi line outside Gare du Nord rather than accepting rides from drivers soliciting passengers inside the station.

Our Paris Apartment

We stayed in an Airbnb listed as “Luxury AC near Marais North,” in the 10th arrondissement near the 11th. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment was spacious and particularly comfortable for six people. It sat roughly a 10-minute drive from Gare du Nord.

That first evening, we walked through the immediate neighborhood and ate pizza at Café Botteli. Everyone was tired, so we did little else. Kyle and I went back out for ice cream, then we returned to the apartment and rested.

Paris from Inside the Bus

We had considered Disneyland Paris, but tickets were sold out during our dates. Our full Paris day became a classic sightseeing day instead: the Eiffel Tower from outside and the route of Big Bus Tours Paris.

The weather again controlled the experience. It was very cold and raining, so we stayed inside on the lower level of the bus for the entire route. Although the ticket allowed passengers to hop on and off, we did not leave the bus to explore the stops. We saw the city through the windows.

Preston and Avery used their iPads. The cold and rain were wearing on the adults, and the boys needed a way to sit comfortably while we saw the landmarks. It was not the most immersive way to experience Paris, but it fulfilled the reason for adding the city: we wanted to see the Eiffel Tower, and we did.

Paris checked the bucket-list box. It did not give us enough time — or enough weather — to decide how our family truly feels about the city.

The Return to London

On April 2, we collected pastries from several places near the apartment and took the 10:01 a.m. Eurostar back to London, arriving around 11:30. Our group had been seated together on the outbound journey but was separated on the return after seat assignments changed.

Because our tickets had been purchased separately, we would be more deliberate about linking the reservations or confirming seat assignments closer to travel. Selecting nearby seats during booking did not guarantee that the group would remain together after later changes.

One Final Reset Before Home

We returned to London for one night at Hilton London Metropole. Check-in became the most frustrating hotel experience of the trip. According to the hotel, the guests in our reserved family suite had not checked out on time. We waited for several hours, ate nearby and were initially placed in the wrong room before being moved into the suite late that afternoon or evening.

Once we received it, the family suite was excellent. It had two separate bedrooms, two very large bathrooms and a living room with a pullout couch. The corner-suite layout felt almost like an apartment and was exceptionally comfortable for two parents, two boys and two grandparents.

We walked around the Paddington area, followed the nearby waterway and found a playground where the boys could move after the train. We ate at a very good Mediterranean or Greek-style restaurant near the hotel, although we did not record its name. The evening was a reset, not another sightseeing push.

On April 3, we took the train from the station near the hotel directly to Heathrow. Our flight departed at 9:40 a.m. Both boys slept during the transatlantic flight. We landed in Boston around 2:00 p.m.; the layover was the hardest part because the boys woke with plenty of energy and ran through the airport. We reached Columbus around 4:45 and were home by approximately 5:45, while it was still light outside.

What We Ate and What We Remember

This trip did not produce one continuous food itinerary. Some meals were planned destinations; others were chosen because six cold, tired travelers needed something simple. Both kinds belong in the guide.

Meals and Food Stops We Would Remember

• Greenhouse CoffeeBreakfast before Borough Market and the river walk.
• Borough MarketChocolate-covered strawberries eaten while exploring the stalls.
• Giraffe at Southbank CentreAn easy meal before the PAW Patrol bus.
• The Breakfast Club, Seven DialsBusy but good chicken and waffles.
• Oliphant's, Covent GardenAn exceptional cinnamon-sugar bun with a doughnut-like texture.
• Seven Dials MarketMasa Tacos, Hash Hut, good music and an atmosphere that made people-watching part of lunch.
• WingmansDinner delivered twice because the wings were excellent and going back outside was not appealing.
• Dishoom BatterseaA fantastic, late, kid-free dinner made possible by Cocoa and Papa.
• Café Botteli, ParisPizza near the apartment on the tired first evening.
• Paris pastriesSeveral neighborhood stops on the morning of April 2 rather than one specific bakery.

The Role Food Played

The most successful food decisions matched the day. Seven Dials Market let a group of six choose from several vendors. The bus combined a meal with sightseeing and kids’ entertainment. Delivery protected the end of two cold days. Dishoom gave Kyle and me one experience that belonged to the two of us.

Moving Through Two Cities with a Four-Year-Old and Two-Year-Old

For Preston

Preston’s London was built from recognizable stories and things he could operate. The PAW Patrol bus turned the city into Barkingburg. The Transport Museum gave him steering wheels and a pretend Tube. Hamleys let him choose a toy. The carousel and playgrounds gave movement back to days filled with walking.

For Avery

Avery was happiest when he could move: Holland Park, Macaroni Penguin and the hands-on museum exhibits. His Ryder ATV figure became the object that helped him manage the photography session and then traveled beyond London. The emergency bunting and the photograph with Cocoa preserve another side of traveling at two.

For Cocoa and Papa

The trip gave Cocoa and Papa the landmarks they had hoped to see: Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the London streets and the Eiffel Tower. The bus experiences reduced the amount of walking required while still showing them the cities. Their willingness to join kid-centered days also kept the trip from dividing into adult plans and kid plans.

The Gear That Worked

• A stroller from Chelsea's Rentals for Preston, delivered to and collected from the Brook Green townhome.
• The Osprey Poco for Avery, carried by Kyle.
• One stroller rather than a double, allowing the family to keep a narrower London footprint.
• True cold-weather layers purchased or improvised after the forecast felt milder than the wind and street-level reality.
• iPads on the rainy Paris bus, used as a practical tool rather than treated as a failure of the sightseeing day.

Two Big Cities in Weather We Had Not Packed For

The forecast did not prepare us for how cold London and Paris would feel. Wind made the temperatures more difficult, and rain narrowed the Paris day further. We had packed pants and long sleeves, but not enough true outerwear, hats and gloves for extended city sightseeing.

By March 29, the weather was affecting Preston’s mood and our willingness to remain outside. It changed Holland Park from a shared family outing into a split afternoon. It pushed us toward Westfield London, made delivery preferable to dinner out and kept us on the lower level of the Paris bus for the entire route.

Cold weather did not make the trip unsuccessful. It changed the energy required to experience it. Pairing two major cities meant we were already walking, transferring and navigating crowds. Doing both in cold rain gave every transition more weight.

The Home-Base Tradeoff

The Brook Green townhome fit the group beautifully, but its distance from central London mattered more because of the weather. A large home farther out may still be the right choice in June. In March, we would trade some space for a shorter final walk.

The Paris Tradeoff

Eurostar makes London and Paris unusually easy to combine, which is exactly why the addition was hard to resist. Still, two nights produced only one full sightseeing day. We are glad Cocoa and Papa saw the Eiffel Tower, but the stay was too short to give our family a meaningful sense of Paris.

The trip did what we asked of it. It gave Cocoa and Papa two bucket-list cities. It also taught us that ease of connection is not the same as abundance of time.

What We Would Repeat and Change

What We Would Do Again

• Bring Cocoa and Papa and allow the trip to serve three generations.
• Use Eurostar rather than flying between London and Paris.
• Prearrange the six-person transfers when a fixed train time makes certainty valuable.
• Book the PAW Patrol afternoon tea bus as both a kids' experience and a sightseeing solution.
• Give the London Transport Museum several unhurried hours.
• Use a delivered stroller rental instead of carrying all the gear through the airport.
• Hire a family photographer so everyone, including the grandparents, appears in the trip record.
• Build in Battersea Power Station and a true soft-play session.
• Accept split parenting when one boy needs the playground and the other needs warmth.
• Use grandparents' presence for one dinner as a couple.

What We Would Change

• Pack real winter outerwear, hats and gloves for a late-March forecast that looks merely cool.
• Stay more centrally in London, especially during cold weather.
• Carry a spare outfit for both boys every day, even when the diaper-bag stage feels nearly over.
• Choose a reconnection point before splitting inside the London Transport Museum.
• Expect traffic to extend the PAW Patrol bus beyond the advertised time.
• Give Paris more time — or accept in advance that the stop is only a landmark introduction.
• Confirm Eurostar seat assignments again after booking, particularly when reservations were purchased separately.

Would We Return?

Absolutely — to London. The city offered enough for adults and young kids that kid-centered activities did not feel separate from experiencing the destination. We could eat well, move through recognizable neighborhoods and landmarks, and still give the boys multiple places to play.

We would like to return in warmer weather, possibly June. Paris remains unfinished. We are glad we went, but we would need a longer and less weather-limited visit before deciding what place it holds for our family.

What Three Generations Gave the Trip

For Cocoa and Papa, London and Paris were two places they had wanted to see. The trip gave them those landmarks and something larger: the feeling of continuing to see more of the world.

For the boys, the cities became personal through different details. Preston found Barkingburg in London’s buildings. Avery found Ryder at Hamleys and refused to leave him outside the family photographs. Neither boy needed to understand the historical significance of every place for the trip to matter.

For Kyle and me, traveling with grandparents changed both the practical work and the emotional record. Cocoa and Papa helped on kid-centered days without treating those days as lesser. They gave us one uninterrupted dinner. Most importantly, they are present in photographs and memories with the boys at four and two.

The image that best explains the trip may not be the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben. It may be Cocoa laughing with Avery in a bunting purchased after we forgot extra clothes. That frame contains what multigenerational travel actually gave us: not only shared destinations, but more chances for the boys to be known and delighted in by the people who love them.

We went so Cocoa and Papa could see two cities they had dreamed about. We came home with a record of the boys seeing those cities beside them.