I (Jenna) got an email on July 25th from one of my good Olivet friends, Nathalie, saying that she and her husband Nick were thinking of making a trip over to visit London and see us. 15 days later, I was meeting them at the arrival gate of Gatwick airport!
On Thursday, they started their whirlwind sightseeing adventure. They bought a London Pass, which allows free entry to a ton of the major sites (Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral, Cabinet War Rooms, Windsor, and many, many others). The problem was that it was only good for 3 days, and in order to make the most of it, you of course have to see a lot of places on the list. So, for Thursday, Friday and Saturday - they were pretty much going non-stop. They were like professional tourists, and definitely got their money's worth on the pass.
Sunday and Monday they headed off on their own again, seeing some of the free sights in the City on Sunday, and then going out to Stonehenge and Bath on Monday. On Tuesday they wanted to go out to Dover, which is in the Southeast of the country, just across from France (the tunnel under the English Channel runs from here). We hadn't been out there, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to tag along with them. Sadly, Aaron was stuck at work.
They arrived early on Wednesday the 12th and they even came bearing gifts. This was a pretty uneventful day as they took a little nap to recover from the jet lag, and then spent most of the afternoon planning their one week trip. It was so good to spend the day hearing about all of their exciting plans for seeing the city. That night we went out in the rain for an Indian dinner.
On Thursday, they started their whirlwind sightseeing adventure. They bought a London Pass, which allows free entry to a ton of the major sites (Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral, Cabinet War Rooms, Windsor, and many, many others). The problem was that it was only good for 3 days, and in order to make the most of it, you of course have to see a lot of places on the list. So, for Thursday, Friday and Saturday - they were pretty much going non-stop. They were like professional tourists, and definitely got their money's worth on the pass.
On Saturday afternoon, Aaron and I went with them to visit Windsor Castle. We arrived in Windsor (the town) at about 3:45, and started making our way to the castle. About half way there, Nathalie mentioned that she thought they might close at 4:00, so we picked up the pace. We arrived just before the cutoff - our watches all said that we had a couple of minutes - but the gate was closed and the not-too-nice guard told us that we were too late. Not only was the gate locked, but we could see the ticket booths completely closed up and employees starting to leave. We knew that even if our watches were off by a bit, there is no way they waited to close until 4:00. See sad faces below:
We were really bummed that we went all the way out there for nothing, especially since we were on time, but there was nothing we could really do. As a consolation, we popped into a local tea-room and had a nice cream tea (tea, plus scones with clotted cream and jam). After taking in the nice weather (that the Ruppel's brought with them from Florida, and took home with them when they left) on a walk around Windsor, we hopped back on the train to London, where we had dinner at a nice place in Covent Garden. (My favorite thing about the following picture is Nick's little pinky!)
Sunday and Monday they headed off on their own again, seeing some of the free sights in the City on Sunday, and then going out to Stonehenge and Bath on Monday. On Tuesday they wanted to go out to Dover, which is in the Southeast of the country, just across from France (the tunnel under the English Channel runs from here). We hadn't been out there, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to tag along with them. Sadly, Aaron was stuck at work.
We had some big plans to tour the castle and go on a boat ride to see the cliffs. Unfortunately we were pressed for time and we didn't get to do all that we had planned. We did go see the White Cliffs which were amazingly beautiful and had lunch on the pier over the water. It was nice to be able to sit outside and soak up the sun! Then we hopped in a cab back up to the castle where we went on a tour of the underground tunnels of Dover Castle. Throughout the castle there were people dressed "in character" and talking about "their" everyday life. It was fun talking to them. After walking through the castle it was time to leave to catch the train back to London.
We returned in the afternoon and met Aaron in the city to see the West End musical Wicked. This is one of my favorites. This was my 3rd time to see it, and it was still amazing. Our seats were a little far back (and high), and the main stars weren't quite as good as the first cast we saw in Dallas, but it was still amazing. I decided that I want to go see that show at least once a month for the rest of our time here (although I don't think Aaron will let me)!!
Wednesday was their last full day, and they spent it going back to see a few things they missed and a few things that they wanted to see for a second time. We ended up meeting them for dinner at a pub near our flat, which was nice. On Thursday morning, they had a terribly early flight, so I got up at 5:00 to see them off, and they made it safely back to Florida a short 20 hours later.
We were really happy to have Nick and Nath over for the week, and super appreciative of the American groceries they brought with them. We were glad that they could take the opportunity to use our small living room as a free base for their sightseeing, and it was so nice to catch up with friends from home.
We were really happy to have Nick and Nath over for the week, and super appreciative of the American groceries they brought with them. We were glad that they could take the opportunity to use our small living room as a free base for their sightseeing, and it was so nice to catch up with friends from home. 
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