Busy Busy Busy :)

As you can see by all of the pictures below it has been a busy couple of weeks. It all began a couple weeks ago when my family came to visit. Mom, Teresa, Emily and Amanda flew the 9 hours across the "pond" just to see me -who can blame them ;). I arrived at the airport a cool 50 minutes early just so I'd be read for their arrival. However, after one cup of coffee, a sandwich and diet coke, about 120 pages in my book, a nice conversation with a Scottish man resulting in a 3 hour wait they were finally out of customs! We took the tube with all of their luggage and got to the hotel. Minor scrapes and bumps along the way but everyone was here and ready to have a great time.

We began their whirlwind London tour the next day by hitting up the famous Portabella road. I'm not sure if Portabella road is still selling scarves though because Mom and Teresa just about bought them out... :) We spend most of the morning and afternoon here stopping for a snack and the famous Hummingbird cupcake bakery. Nothing like a red velvet cupcake in the middle of your day. After this we headed back to the hotel and grabbed some excellent dinner at a pizza place where Princess Diana used to bring the boys for Pizza.

On Saturday we took an all day bus tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. Having already been to Windsor it was great fun for me to get to see how amazing everyone else thought it was. We were even lucky enough this time to have the Queen be in residence while we were there! We didn't get to see her, although we were within about half a football field to where she was. Stonehenge was impressive. It was odd to see the rocks piled the way they were and it really made you think about what it was used for. It was also really hilarious to see all of the sightseers (us included) taking pictures of all the sheep surrounding it. Bath left a little something to be desired even thought it was interesting. It is the site of old Roman Baths. We got to go on a small tour and then see the actual Baths that are now preserved and not in use. The tour was fun but incredibly exhausting. I also learned something new about myself... motion sickness can strike in hilly English countryside.

The next day we went to my favorite market, Camden. Here there were more scarves to be purchased. After another long day of shopping with heavy bags full we made our way to the food side of Camden Market. They have the best Chinese food I have found yet! We made a ton of purchases including art, jewelry and even a couple surprises for loved ones back home :)

The next big tour day was Tuesday where I have to say I had my guests running (and making good time too) all over London. We first went to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels. Then continued to the London Eye. This was one of the cooler things I've done since I've been in London. The London Eye is the largest observation Ferris Wheel in the world. It takes about a half an our to make the full trip around. From here we could look down on the Thames, Parliament, Big Ben and countless other landmarks. When we were finished here we made our way to Westminster Abbey and finally ending the tour at Buckingham Palace. Interestingly enough this time the Queen was in residence here! If you ask me she was following us. I don't know why she just doesn't request a meeting with me when I know she really wants too... ;)

From this point in the trip we had to say some more goodbyes just in time for Vince and I to "chunnel" off to Paris. This is the underwater tunnel from London to Paris. It only takes about 2 and a half hours and if you don't focus on the fact you are underwater its actually kind of nice. Here we spent 3 days living the Parisian life. I will say both of us were incredibly intimidated of the French language but got along just fine. We saw a lot in those three days!

Overall having visitors was amazing. It made me miss home a bit more but I know that I'll be home again soon with even more stories and pictures to share. Because folks, we've still got Barcelona to look forward to! I'll keep you posted

Love