Welcome to London, Mum and Dad!

I will take time this morning to procrastinate my paper and write a nice long blog about my parent's visit to London. Yes, this is going to be a long blog, (there were here for 10 days) so prepare yourself. For starters, it was a really great week. We had a great time, saw a lot, had new experiences, and enjoyed our time together. My mom even admitted that she never had the urge to visit London but after visiting me, she really liked the city.

Dad in front of the apartment

My parents arrived on Saturday, March 26th. There were a few complications because my dad's luggage was somehow still in Chicago and the apartment that they rented had plumbing issues. Needless to say, it was a rough start, but everything got worked out and they were able to stay in an apartment in Notting Hill, which in my opinion was better than their first option. By time I met up with my parents we settled in the apartment and I took them to my dorm to show them around. We stopped at a pub on the way back and then we had DELICIOUS spinach deep dish pizza. They were so wonderful for brining me that treat..nothing is better than deep dish pizza in London.

Tea at the Ritz

Sunday-We went on a hop-on, hop-off bus tour which was a lot of fun. We got to see all of London and learn a lot of information. Saturday there were riots because of the tax raises and job cuts. As a result of the riots, there was paint all over the city, the Ritz had at least 6 windows broken, statues had writing all over them, and so much more. It was sad to see the city this way. Sunday night we had tea at the Ritz and it was very nice. It was very fancy and the hotel is beautiful.

Monday-It was time for a haircut and of course I changed it again. I went for "fringe" bangs, aka front bangs. I guess after cutting my hair short, I like changing it up every time. We will see what happens next! =) After my hair cut we went shopping. I was exciting because I could finally get clothes here in London, since my friends have been doing so since we have been here! My mom claimed it was "Alyssa's Day" (in a bad way) however her attitude got better after we went to Harrods, which she loved. My mom left the store with a beautiful vase that you can see in our dining room, adding to other purchases from Egypt and Italy. Monday night's dinner was at a British restaurant, something very different. It was a different meal but we really enjoyed it. We tried new foods and had a good time.

Tuesday-I went to classes and my parents went to Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace. My mom couldn't see much because she was too short. After my classes I met up with my parents and we went to Chruchill's War Rooms. This was interesting to see where a good part of Churchill's legacy through the war.

Wednesday-We started off at Madame Tussuads and after we went to London Dungeons. I really enjoyed the wax museum, probably because it would be the closest I would get to meeting any of those celebrities, haha. It was a fun, touristy kind of day. We went to dinner at De Marios, right by my school. It was Princess Diana's favorite pizza place, she even made her own pizza when she went there.

Thursday-I took my parents to Old Dutch Pancake, which I have decided no one can come to London and NOT go there. After we went to Tower Hill and took a "Beefeater" tour. It was interesting and we got to see all of the crown jewels. Like I know I have said before, the life of royalty must be very nice! We went to dinner at Barbecoa, which was probably one of our favorite meals of the week. It had a great view of St. Paul's Cathedral and the food was delicious.

My Old Dutch

Barbecoa

Friday-I had to go to my Friday class, however we got lucky because that day we were going on a field trip to Kensington Palace (where Diana lived and it is Prince Harry's unofficial residence). They are doing reconstruction so now the palace is in a "fairy tale"-like setting. I wasn't a big fan of it, just because I wanted to know more about the history, not find out information through dolled-up stories. After the Palace we went back to Harrods, of course. Friday night we went to Gordon's wine bar, which was REALLY crowded on a nice spring, Friday night.After there we went and saw Children's Hour, which I explained in a previous blog. We really enjoyed this play.

In front of the Waldorf

Saturday-We left our apartment early and headed to Oxford University. Oxford is a town and the college is spread throughout it. Every major has a different residency in the town. The town was old and beautiful, different than what I had expected. I learned that the book Alice in Wonderland was written for the Dean of the college and that Harry Potter was filmed in parts of the college (unfortunately the hall that the "dining hall" in Harry Potter was filmed, was closed for the day). After Oxford we headed back to London and transferred to the Waldorf Hotel where we stayed until Monday. This hotel was very nice and had fun history to go along with it. That night we had dinner at a restaurant called Christopher's which was another meal that we loved.

Christopher's

In front of Buckingham Palace

Sunday-it was London's Mother's Day and we took it kind of easy. We did a lot during the week and we saw everything we wanted to, so Sunday we decided to relax. We had breakfast in the hotel (where they played the Michael Buble CD) and then we went to the London Eye. After the eye we walked through St. James's Park to Buckingham Palace. It was a beautiful day and we stopped and sat on a bench for a little bit to soak up the London weather. Sunday night we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant that was, well..different. I'm sure you have already heard stories or will.

Monday-my parents left and it was sad :( We had a great week and they changed my sadness of leaving London and made me excited about going home. I can't wait to be back and see everyone, once I am done with my time here! There is still a few weeks left and nothing is stopping me from enjoying every minute of it!!
I hope this blog didn't bore you too much! If you made it to the end, thanks for reading! =)

-Cheerio!