Family Time!!

This weekend, my Mom and Nana came to visit! They took a transatlantic cruise and it ended up dropping them off in London, so I was able to spend a few days with them before taking my last final and shipping off to Holland. =)

I met up with them at their hotel near Victoria station on Saturday morning. It was absolutely wonderful to see them again... skype has been great but it definitely can't compare to a real hug. We caught up a bit then headed off to the tube to begin our day. The tube itself was a bit of an adventure, I don't think either my Mom or my Nana were happy that it was my main form of transportation. It was too dirty and crowded for them. Not that I disagree -- but hey, it's the cheapest thing going (and it's not even that cheap!). Anyway, one ride on the tube was enough, we spent the rest of the time in taxis. ;)

Our first stop was my favorite walk in London. We got off at London Bridge station and had a quick lunch at a nice cafe in Hay's Galleria (a cute little shopping center that used to be a port on the Thames). After lunch we strolled by the Thames past City Hall and up toward Tower Bridge.


The weather was absolutely beautiful. I mean, just look at the clouds! I think this is the best picture I've taken of Tower Bridge by far. We walked across the bridge and spent the afternoon at the Tower of London.


This is the White Tower, one of the central towers at the Tower of London. Yes, there are many towers at the Tower of London. Misleading, I know.


We got a tour from a friendly "beefeater" (I still have no idea why they're called that and I'm really hoping that one of them is a vegetarian). The Tower of London itself was really interesting. It was interesting learning about all the history and mystery that took place there. We waited in line to see the Crown Jewels!!! They were impressive (as expected), but I think my favorite thing in that room was a huge punch bowl for a formal coronation dinner that we originally thought was a bath. A bath! It was able to hold over 200 bottles of wine -- now that's a party. My mom and I also looked around a room with armory from King Henry VIII's time. The best part of that was the enormous codpiece they put on his armor, haha. Intimidation tactic, perhaps?


It's kind of hard to see them in the picture, but the crows (in the center of the grass near the shadow) were absolutely HUGE. No wonder they stay there, I bet it would be pretty difficult for them to fly even if their wings weren't clipped.

That evening we saw The Mousetrap on West End. It's been running for 57 years and we saw the 23,508th show! It was a fun "whodunnit" kind of play, so I won't ruin the ending. We ate dinner at a cute little place by theatre called The Ivy right before the play. The food was delicious... it was nice being treated to a nice meal because my friends and I pretty much always eat at cheap places. ;)

I met my Mom and Nana at their hotel again the next morning and had breakfast with them. We took a train to Windsor to see Windsor Castle, the oldest royal castle in which the monarch still resides. Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family still goe there on holiday (in fact, the Queen was there the day we went!).

The Royal Band came to perform in a small parade for the Queen! I was so excited to see them... I seriously made Mom and Nana wait around an extra half hour so I could see the end of their performance. Their sound was so amazing!


It was a gorgeous day and walking around the castle grounds was wonderful. It had such lovely gardens! We were able to go into a bunch of the rooms within the castle, but there were no pictures allowed. Awww.

This is seriously one of my favorite pictures of them! So great!


This one makes me smile, too. =) It really was terrific to see them again.

We had dinner in Windsor at a nice little restaurant. I convinced Mom to try the Sunday roast -- what a good decision, it was absolutely delicious.

The next day I met them at the hotel again, but breakfast wasn't being served so we ate at a little divey place. Mom and Nana didn't like it, but I've gotten used to little hole in the wall places so I didn't really mind, haha. It was the first day that it rained while they were in town, which isn't all that bad. We had a cab pick us up and drive past Buckingham Palace on our way to Westminster Abbey.


Mom and Nana in front of Westminster Abbey -- another one of my favorites from the trip!

It was really interesting looking at all the famous tombs, but this one was my favorite. It was of a man trying to protect his sickly wife from death. It was pretty creepy, but very interesting and well done in my opinion. I had saved my visit to Westminster Abbey until Mom and Nana came so that we could see things together and not repeat them.

We even found David Livingstone's tomb! I'm distantly related to him through my Nana, so it was fun seeing that in person. We weren't supposed to take pictures, but I ignored the rules. Shhh. ;)

After Westminster Abbey we went to Harrod's to shop a bit and have tea. The store itself was absolutely huge! I really liked the children's clothing section (awww!) and found it hard to believe how many clothes and accessories they sold for dogs. But the best part was definitely the tea. We were served unlimited tea, finger sandwiches, scones, and little desserts. It was absolutely delicious... I've never had such good finger sandwiches or scones in my life! Plus there was a live pianist performing for us! It was a ton of fun being girly with my Mom and Nana, so I'm really glad I got to go to tea with them but I'm definitely convincing someone else to join me so I can go again.

I returned to the hotel with them after tea and talked for a little while before I had to go back to my flat and study for a final (and pack for Holland! oops!). I would have loved to have spent more time with them, but the few days we had together in London were wonderful!