Everything the fam and I did ...

Here is everything that the family and I did while they were here. There may be some slight repeats from the last post, but hopefully you will find this post full of more information. I don't feel like being formal, so yay to lists!!

THURS

-Met family at about 12:30pm. Got London Passes, which allows us to get into certain attractions for free (not really free, we paid for the passes... but it's a good deal)

-Went to their hotel, a bed and breakfast by King's Cross. It was really small, but good enough.

-We ate a pub called The Rocket.

-We went to see Nido.

-Saw Platform 9 3/4. Did not get into Hogwarts.

-Went to Lillywhites and bought a lot of cheap clothing.

-Walked around Piccadilly, China Town, Leicester Square, and Covent Garden (night)

-Our dinner was just a McDonald's McFlurry, but they were Cadbury cream egg!!

-sleepy time

FRI

-drizzly and cold weather, the fam decided to bring the crappy Wisconsin weather with them.

-Tried to go to St.Paul's, but it was Good Friday, so we couldn't go in unless we wanted to pray.

-walked across Millenium Bridge to Tate Modern, saw some Picasso, Matisse, Jackson Pollack, Monet, etc.

-Shakespeare's Globe, took a tour

-ate at Pizza Express for a late lunch

-walked along the South Bank, saw the Golden Hinde (http://www.goldenhinde.org/)

-Went to the Britain at War Museum. It was interesting, we're glad we got in with our passes, because it was not worth the 9 pounds they were charging. (http://www.britainatwar.co.uk/page1.html)

-HMS Belfast. It was really sweet, we got to climb all through the ship, even into the engine rooms and such. It hailed while we were below deck .... (http://hmsbelfast.iwm.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.3188)

-Went to Tottenham Court Road to look for somewhere to eat (like Harry Potter!), but ended up going down a different road and finding Ed's Diner, where we had burgers, and Kirsten had a shake.

-We picked up some free stuffed animal bears (free with our pass) at a gift shop in Piccadilly.

-walked around a mall thing in Piccadilly

-went back to hotel, bought some candy bars.

SAT

-Banqueting House. Charles I was executed here.

-were walking around Scotland Yard (I think) and these horses popped out of nowhere and scared us, Dad was the only one who saw them coming.

-took the train to Hampton Court, where Henry VIII lived. We ate lunch at a little cafe near there. There was a freak blizzard while we were there, and we also saw Henry VIII himself as well as Anne Boleyn (aka actors, but don't tell that to Kirsten)

-Ate at Nando's, a chicken restaurant for dinner. I thought it was delicious.

-We went to Leicester Square, we were maybe going to see a cheap comedy show but decided not to. Then we walked to Piccadilly because Dad wanted a cheap hat (b/c it had been so cold) from Lillywhites, but it wasn't open, so we just went back and bought more Cadbury candy bars.

SUN

-It snowed all morning. EW.

-Cabinet War Rooms and Winston Churchill Museum, very interesting, lots of information. (http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/)

-ate lunch at a place called Dino's, got average pizzas, and apparently the last two pizzas, because the kid at the table next to us wanted pizza, but the waitress told him they were out. So basically, we made little Jack cry.

-Took a tour of Royal Albert Hall. An Islamic festival was taking place there that evening, so they were practicing and it was sweet. (http://www.royalalberthall.com/) They have had many famous performances here, and the Queen even had her own box and secret staircase.

-With our London Pass we got into four different movie theaters for free, so we saw 'Garage', an independent Irish film about a simple man who works at a garage.

-We ate dinner at McDonalds, it was close and cheap.

-We went to Canary Wharf (http://www.canarywharf.com/mainfrm1.asp), which doesn't feel like London at all because it is all newer buildings and stuff. Nothing was open, we just walked around.

-We then walked around the Angel area (area just north of where I live, there's lots of shopping and stuff there) and then walked back the the King's Cross area)

MON

-Victoria and Albert Museum, there is so much stuff here, it's overwhelming, we only covered one floor. (http://www.vam.ac.uk/)

-Ate lunch at a decent pizza place, but the service was realllllly slow. Afterwards we got Ben's Cookies, the best cookies in the universe.

-British Museum. Always interesting.

-dinner at Eddie's, a little place near King's Cross, Mom and Dad finally had the type of fish and chips they wanted.

-Les Miserables. Amazing, amazing, AMAZING!! I loved it, can you tell? Mom and I both cried. It was so good. Have been listening to the soundtrack ever since.

TUES

-St.Paul's Cathedral, we climbed all 530 steps to the top to see spectacular views (http://www.stpauls.co.uk/page.aspx?theLang=001lngdef&pointerID=26860QFKSv07X4ap3dTTDoGLBaIYdHaE)

-Tower of London, ate lunch at a crappy place with spongy chicken nearby.

-Camden Market

-Lillywhites, Dad finally got his hat!! for only 99 pence!

-dinner, we split up, Kirsten and I had paninis (she had a croissant sandwich) at a place called Ciao, Mom and Dad had some Chinese buffet.

-movie called 'The Edge of Heaven', about .... the plot is pretty complicated, it involves Germany and Turkey, if you want to know more about it, look it up. lol.

WED

-breakfast = muffins from Costa. Walked to Euston Station. Kirsten got a liter of chocolate milk at Marks and Spencers ... it was the only size they had and she really wanted chocolate milk ... she drank the whole thing before lunch...

-Kensington Palace, it was cool, but mostly focused on Princess Diana, Queen Victoria also grew up there.

-walked through Kensington Gardens, saw lots of swans. Saw Peter Pan statue.

-lunch = pasties in Covent Garden, they were yummy, Kirsten liked to feed the pigeons. We saw some performers.

-National Portrait Gallery, we also saw the special exhibition of Vanity Fair Portraits. (http://www.npg.org.uk/vanityfair/index.htm)

-National Gallery, we saw works by Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Da Vinci, Seurat, Cezanne, Rubens, etc.

-dinner once again at Pizza Express.

-movie, Kirsten and I saw 'The Orphanage', a spanish horror-type movie by Guillermo del Toro, the same guy who made 'Pan's Labyrinth', it was scary, but had a plot and I really liked it. Mom and Dad saw 'Love in the Time if Cholera', a movie with Javier Bardem in it (he was just in 'No Country for Old Men'), I like to describe it as a sprawling love epic.

-sleep

THURS

-Abbey Road, we took pictures in the crosswalk, added graffiti to the graffiti wall

-Went to Baker Street, popped in the Sherlock Holmes Museum Store, went to the London Beatles Store.

-Apsley House, the house of the first Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.12679)

-lunch at a place called Katie's, had paninis.

-Watched Covent Garden performers

-went to Leicester Square and bought theater tickets, we wanted to see Mama Mia, but it was all sold out, so we got tickets for Phantom of the Opera (Mom's favorite!)

-walked to Temple Church, wanted to go inside, but it was closed.

-walked down Fleet Street

-St. Bride's church, quite interesting, this church's steeple is used as a model for most wedding cakes. They also have original Roman Roads in their basement. (http://www.stbrides.com/)

-for dinner, we got cheap pizza slices from a Leicester Square pizza stand, sat on the ground to eat it.

-Phantom of the Opera. It was good. The Chandelier fall was awesome, and the scenes where they went to the phantom's lair were sweet, lots of fog and candles appearing out of nowhere! Out of the two shows, I still like Les Mis better. :)

FRI

-breakfast at McDonald's

-went to hotel room and watched the fam pack

-went to the tube station, said our goodbyes.

-everything went well with their flights.

For more information on Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court, or the Banqueting House, click here: http://www.hrp.org.uk/

Whew. That wore me out. You better enjoy it. Here's a few more pics:

Family is here!

Hiya!
Soooooooo it's been a long time since I've posted something ... sorry.
New news: I'm going to Ireland and Milan in April!!

Family arrived here safe and sound on Thursday. I've just spent a long time putting pictures on my computer and whatnot and now it's 11:30 and I really need to go to bed so that I'll actually be able to wake up tomorrow! We've done a lot already, and we're not slowing down!

I promise, there will be a more detailed post to follow. In the meantime I offer some highlights and photos!
Highlights: Tate Modern, Globe Theatre, South Bank, HMS Belfast, Hampton Court (Henry VIII's palace), Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, Royal Albert Hall tour, independent Irish film 'Garage' .... tomorrow: Les Miserables!!!!

Click on Pictures to see them larger.

sudden blizzard at Hampton Court

Mom bought us little sheep...

London Eye and Big Ben in the evening

the actual map they used in the secret, underground Cabinet War Rooms

Royal Albert Hall, I will be seeing Josh Groban, Idina Menzel, and Adam Pascal here in May!!

'Britain at War' Museum...

HMS Belfast ... don't be fooled by that blue sky, while we were on the ship it hailed.

Mom by the dental surgery room on the HMS Belfast

I am a prisoner

Kirsten and I looking at the ceiling painted by Rubens in the Banqueting Hall

Mom and Dad outside St.Pauls ... Mom is cold!

Kirsten falling into the crack, a temporary exhibition at Tate Modern

being 'groundlings' at the Globe!

My weekend with Ruth!!

THURSDAY
Amy, Louise, Daniel, Tianda, Brit and I went to get wings at a place called the Sports Cafe for dinner. We got 60 wings for 9 pounds, and a different flavor every 10 wings. They were really good. Afterwards, Louise and Daniel came with me to go get Ruth at Victoria Station. She had estimated she would be arriving there (from the Gatwick Express, a train from the airport to Victoria) at about 8:30. Her flight had been delayed so she didn't arrive until 9:30ish. We journeyed back to Nido, and then a bunch of us went to a pub right next door called 'The Long Hope'. It was karaoke night, but there were only like two other people in there. That made it easier to sing karaoke, there was no one to judge... Us girls sang 'Stop' by the Spice Girls, as well as 'A Whole New World'. My favorites of the night was Leon's version of 'Everybody Hurts' and Daniel's version of 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'. It was all highly entertaining, and to top it all off I was with Ruth!!!

FRIDAY
Ruth and I woke up early and went to Covent Garden. It's a market of sorts, and usually it has lots of street performers. There were none when we went, though. Maybe because it was a Friday or it was too early or something... We walked from there to Leicester Square, then to Piccadilly Circus (where we stopped at Lillywhites and bought some stuff), and then to Trafalgar Square. Ruth climbed up and got a picture with a lion. Then we walked down the Mall to Buckingham Palace and caught the changing of the guard. We didn't stay for the whole thing because it Square and ate at Pizza Hut. We chose Pizza Hut because they don't have any in Spain, and Ruth saw it and then craved it, as did I. We got the buffet, and stuffed ourselves. Then we walked back to Trafalgar Square and went to The National Gallery. We had to really limit ourselves in there, because we still had a lot we needed to accomplish. We looked at all the impressionists (Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Seurat, Cezanne, etc), because they are Ruth's favorites, and then swung by the DaVinci and Michelangelo. After that we walked to Westminster Abbey. There were a lot of things we wanted to do that would've cost money, so we decided to pick only one thing out for each day, so today was Westminster. I had never been in there, so I was excited, as was Ruth, of course. It was so beautiful inside. We were in the presence of many famous people's remains, including Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Chaucer, Darwin, Charles Dickens, Isaac Newton, etc (full list here: http://www.westminster-abbey.org/history-research/monuments-gravestones/people/ and of royalty here: http://www.westminster-abbey.org/history-research/monuments-gravestones/royalty/).

Then we went by Big Ben/ Houses of Parliament/ London Eye area and got pictures, then hopped back on the tube to Leicester Square. We went to the theater to pick up our tickets for Avenue Q (we were going to an earlier show of 5:30). Then we had half an hour or so to kill, so we just walked down the street and found an H&M (clothing store) to look in. Our seats for Avenue Q were really good (I got a deal with my Oyster Card - 2 of the best available seats for the price of one). The musical itself was amazing. All the actors sang really well and sounded amazingly like the original broadway cast. It was sooooooooo good!! (http://www.avenueqthemusical.co.uk). After that, Ruth and I met up with Louise, Daniel, Brit, and Tianda, and went looking for a pub/club to go to in Leicester Square. Since it was later and a Friday night, every place had a cover charge, usually of 6 pounds or more, which we didn't want to pay. Finally we found this one place called 'Fudge' and Louise had argued with the guy until she got us in for 2 pounds each. It was kind of lame.

SATURDAY
We went to St.Paul's in the morning, we went inside (but didn't pay, so only saw the entrance). Outside some people were putting on a performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Then we walked across the Millenium Bridge and popped into Tate Modern, but only for 10 minutes. We saw the Globe, and then walked over to the Tower of London. Tower of London was really cool. We waited for our guided tour, and our Beefeater guide was very funny. When we were done at the Tower, we went back to King's Cross area, ate lunch, and went to the British Library. We had to be very limited on our time there, as we also wanted time at the British Museum before it closed. Ruth had enough time to see all the cool stuff, though, like the first copy of Beowulf, the Magna Carta, original Beatles lyrics, DaVinci notebooks, etc. We had less than an hour in the British Museum, so we decided to look at all the Greek and Roman stuff (Parthenon, Greek vases, etc.), and of course, the Rosetta Stone.
After that we met up with Leon, Tianda, and Brit, and went to Abbey Road. It was cool. I'll have to go back there during the day. People write all sorts of grafitti on the wall outside of the studio, they have to paint over it every year. We found a place to eat dinner on Oxford Street, called the Spaghetti House, it was good. We went back to King's Cross, and got McFlurry's at McDonalds, and sat around and talked there until about 11. Then we went back to Nido and went to sleep, Ruth and I had to wake up early so she could catch her flight.

SUNDAY
We woke up at 3:15 AM so we could be at the bus stop by 4:25 so Ruth could catch the Gatwick Express at 5:00 to catch her flight at 8:00. It was early, but on the way to Victoria, we rode on top of the double decker bus, which was cool. I was sad to see her go, I wish she could've stayed longer, but I'm so glad she came and we had an amazing time!!