Thursday, October 23, 2008

First Visitor

So my Mom (Janet) was our first visitor (and as we haven't had anyone else make any reservations, she may be the last). She got into town on Friday and flew out on Wednesday morning. We had a really good time, and had the opportunity for a couple of "firsts".

We picked her up from the airport on Saturday morning (she brought us a suitcase of necessities from home, so we felt obligated). We spent the majority of Saturday at some outdoor markets. We got some food at Borough Market, which has been in the same place since before the US declared its independence. We also went to a place that one of her friends had suggested - Camden Lock Market. Not saying that I wouldn't go back, I'll just have to make sure I get the grunge box from the attic (lots of Dr. Martens and mohawks - not exactly what we expected). Also, I tried ginger beer, which a colleague had told me was comparable to ginger ale in the states. NOT the case.


Sunday we did a bus tour of the city and chose to sit in the open-air top section. I was fine, but...

And we wondered why the top was so empty???

We were able to see a majority of the major sites - Westminster, Parliament, Tower of London, St Paul's, Hyde Park, etc. That also brought us to another first, when on our walk to Leicester Square we came upon our first ever Indian Festival of Lights celebration - Diwali. Jenna dared to go in for a few photos, but I don't think they appreciated that too much, so we just have this one:








Monday I had to work, so Mom and Jenna went to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham, then went on to do some shopping on Oxford Street and at Harrod's (where they bought some ornaments from the Christmas Shop but avoided the £15 small pizza from the "food court").





Tuesday I was able to get off early, so we took a quick River tour (free with our bus tour ticket) which took us up the river from Westminster/Parliament to the Tower of London. We then hopped off and did a full tour of the Tower of London, which was very cool. The first fortification built in the area, and parts of it date back almost 1000 years, so that was cool to see. And, since Jenna and I have been watching The Tudors, there were a lot of things that were familiar (having to do mainly with axes).











 Anyway, we had a wonderful time and we are so glad that Mom was able to come stay with us for a few days and that she had the opportunity to experience London with us!

2 comments:

jls0712 said...

I did have lovely time in London and my tour guides were of the BEST caliper!! Sightseeing, shopping and hugging on 2 of my favorite people...what more can a Mom ask for?!!?! I guess (for Jenna) I could have asked for more sunny days but inspite of the overcast skies, we had only one evening where it rained.

They have a lovely flat and have made themselves quite at home there. I also had the pleasure of dining on some delicious meals, prepared by my hosts, as well as some treats purchased from the market on Saturday. Although we chose not to indulge in a Harrods pizza, we did enjoy some local fare of fish and chips and went to a burger joint that tasted almost like home.

I was particularly impressed by how quickly they have mastered the train and tube system...I didn't even have to think about where to go - all I had to do was follow them which was very nice for me.

Aaron took some great photos of London. He has quite an eye for photography and I'm looking forward to creating the photo album of this trip. So sorry for all of you that he chose to post one of the silly ones - I cannot begin to tell you how cold we were that day!

It was a great trip! Thank you Aaron and Jenna for all the fun and for letting me take over the living room for a few days.

Love,
Mom

p.s. I never used the word atrocious. I simply mentioned that he might want to run a spell ck since there have been some typos. :o)

SMU is my new favorite school said...

Aaron, I think your spelling is of the highest caliper.