We are Family...

…get up everybody and sing.  Well, my family was here this week, and I was so happy that I wanted to sing!

My parents flew into London last Saturday!  I met them at the airport a little, more like a lot, late!  I took a bus to central London from Stansted and then the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow.  It wasn’t the most time effective option, but it was the most cost effective!  When I finally saw them in the airport, I practically ran into their arms.  2.5 months apart was far too long for this girl!

We immediately headed back into London and went straight to their hotel.  Group nap time! Later that night we went to dinner at a pub called The Albany.  It was delicious!

Sunday was tourist day! My parents met me at Regent’s that morning so that they could see the school and my room.  We had breakfast and then headed out for the day!  We did another version “Courtney and Ellie’s Walking Tours.”  Followed the same route from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square past Horse Guards Parade towards Parliament and Big Ben!  We then walked back towards Horse Guards to catch a Parade!  We had the perfect spot, the band stopped and played right by us for most of the Parade.  Once we were practically frozen, we headed back towards Covent Garden to go to the London Transport Museum!  I had wanted to go since the beginning of the semester and I was waiting for my parents to get here so that my dad could go.  He likes that kind of stuff!  Afterwards we walked through Covent Garden to look at the Christmas lights J Finally, we headed to Leicester Square for dinner and to see Skyfall!  The movie was great! But I was exhausted.  That first day we walked at minimum three miles.  I googled it.  

Buckingham Palace!

a great shot!

Typical London tourists!

Big Ben :)

Our Parade!

London Transport Museum

Traveling in style!

Monday, we went ice skating at the Somerset House before Courtney and I had to go to class.  I was really excited about this, as was my dad.  Courtney and my mom, not so much.  It basically consisted of me pulling Courtney (after  A LOT of coaxing) around the ice and my dad pulling my mom.  At one point, my mom decided she had had enough of ice skating so my dad helped her off the ice.  I convinced Courtney to go back around one more time.  Mistake #1.  I was slowly pulling her across the ice when some EVIL child decided he needed to show off to his friends.  He then fell…shocker. And he slid into me.  I was wearing hockey skates, because they were my only option.  Mistake #2.  I had no toe picks.  So, I went down face forward.  Not a good moment.  I let go of Courtney and she seemed fine.  For a second.  Then, she got nervous because she had nothing to hold onto and fell down as well.  I immediately got up and assessed my injuries and tried to help Courtney up.  She wasn’t having that, so instead she felt the need to crawl to the boards.  In the process she tripped like 3 children and 1 man.  It was quite the sight.  We were both soaking wet because the ice was all melty because it was warm outside that day, so we went in to sit for a minute.  Courtney was done, and upon seeing my mom, all she said when we told her what had happened was “Where the hell was I?”  She wasn’t concerned for our well-being, she just wanted to see us fall on our asses!  Oh Jill.  I couldn’t resist going back out on the ice with my dad and we ended up having a great time despite the falls and the crazy school children!  That night, the Bob and the Jill left for Germany to go visit my uncle and his family! 

Tuesday, they were in Germany all day, so I got a little work done!

Wednesday, I took the day off of school to sightsee J  In the morning we went to Westminster Abbey!  For once I listened to the audio guide and it was very informative and a lot of fun!  Later that afternoon we went to Harrods!  We had a SUPER expensive lunch when we got there and then split up to take everything in!  My mom and I spent most of our time in the Christmas shop and the Gift Shop.  My dad went to the sports and electronic areas!  We met up with Courtney and went to Chinatown for dinner before going to see Matilda the Musical!  At Matilda, I ran into so many Regent’s kids because they were there for a class, including my roommate Shelley who had gotten an extra ticket!  My parents really liked it, but Courtney and I were less enthused.  I think we like the movie too much and it was too different from that.  But it was still fun!!

Thursday, I had class all day, so my parents went on a bus tour and we met up for “Thanksgiving” dinner at Nando’s that night!

Friday, we got up bright and early and went to Buckingham Palace again.  This time we went to the Royal Mews.  This was my and Courtney’s second time, but I wanted my parents to see it!  Then we made it outside in time to catch the Changing of the Guard.  Well kinda.  It was freezing and we couldn’t see much, besides bobbing hat foofoos!  Next we made our way to St. Paul’s!  I had been warned about the journey to the top. But it wasn’t that bad!  We started off looking around, but we wanted to get the climb over with.  We first had to climb like 200 and some-odd baby stairs to get to the whispering gallery.  Jill made it to that level.  And then she became the supervisor of the stuff!  Bob was nowhere to be found, so Courtney and I climbed to the next level in 40 step increments.  We went outside, looked around and then made our way to the top.  While it wasn’t the most pleasant experience, it was NOTHING compared to the Monument.  That was 311 steps straight!  There were so many breaks here!  The views were great, but we soon headed back down to the whispering gallery.  We found Bob and he had been up and down three times.  That man be cray.  After that, we looked around a bit more and then left and went to Oxford Circus to Hamley’s and Selfridges!

Selfies!

Changing of the Guard!

I MADE IT!

Sneaky pic of inside of St. Paul's

Hamley's, a giant toy store!

Oh hello royals :)

Saturday, we went to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.  It was a crappy day, but that did mean it was less crowded!  It was very similar to Oktoberfest, with less drinking!  My dad found some ham hock that he was obsessed with.  It tasted terrible and smelled worse.  Then we headed back to Selfridges and split up.  This time we lost Jill.  Courtney and I looked everywhere for her before meeting up with my dad and sending him to find her.  Courtney and I were exhausted, so we took a cab to get my bags that my parents were taking home and then another one to their hotel.  We then headed out again and went to the London Eye!  It was my third and final time.  It was raining, but we still took lots of pictures!  Afterwards we went to Bodean’s for our final dinner L At dinner, my parents gave me my birthday present!  A Cath Kidston purse!  They had bought it at Selfridges earlier that day and Courtney had been hiding it in her purse.  Sneaky sneaky. 

Big Ben and the rain!

Family Photo :)

Sunday, they flew home!  I miss them already, but as I’m writing this I get to see them in 18 days!!