Ten Days with the Boys

I am not that great with updating, I know. I'm sorry. I want to write, but then when it comes to me sitting down and actually doing it, I forget or can't get the words in my head onto the computer for all of you to read. I was never good at writing a diary. I think my diary goes from '96 and then the next entry is '98 and so on. But I think when I do write, they are pretty good entries. Correct me if I am wrong. :) Anyways, I am back in London after two weeks at home. The day after I landed back here, the boys, meaning Dan and my friend Rob came to spend ten days here with me. They landed around 8PM. I wasn't going to meet them at the airport since I had just made the commute the day before, but I got bored by myself and ended up surprising them at the airport. Neither of them had very much sleep the night before so we just stayed in the apartment the first night once we got back. We had to go a different way to my apartment then I would normally take because of course, one of the tube lines was down so they could work on it (This happens EVERY weekend). There might not be ten days worth of talking about, some days we didn't really do anything worth mentioning or remembering. Just hung out and took it easy.

The next day we tried to go to the British Museum. By tried I mean we made it there, but because people were still on their vacations it was so crowded. We tried to see the Rosetta Stone and the mummies, but it was 4-5 people deep and wasn't worth it. We ended up going across the street to a pub for dinner and a drink then headed back to the apartment. We didn't stay out too long because we woke up late as it was.

Rob looking over the edge of the British Museum. Dan watching.

The next day we just walked around for a bit and took it easy, I think it was raining, that's why. We ended up going back to the Ice Bar since Rob wasn't here when Dan and I went last time.

Rob with his drink while we were waiting to go in the Ice Bar.

Us inside the Ice Bar. It was cold!

The next day we woke up early and went to the Tower of London. I had been there tons of times already but it was fun going with friends instead of work. The boys enjoyed it a lot. We didn't get to see the Crown Jewels because the line wrapped around some of the buildings. I told them that they were nice to see, but you see them better in a book. The only difference is you don't get to see them sparkle. We saw Henry VIII's armor, the torture chamber and the chapel. The torture chamber I hadn't been in since '92 when I was here with my family. They had it set up differently this time. No mannequins in the torture devices to scare me. I remembered being scared then, but I was also 6, so I am not sure if that counts.

The boys standing outside. Dan cheesing.

Catapult with the ice skating rink in the background (They open rinks around London outside during the winter).

So excited for Tower Bridge!

Being Goofy.

Rob picking the statue's nose.

Tower Bridge at night.

The next day was New Years Eve. We took it easy for most of the day. I made dinner which consisted of rice, broccoli, and chicken. The chicken I baked but I pushed fresh garlic into the chicken, then poured a tomato with mushroom sauce on top of it, then on top of that I put cheese to hold the sauce on the chicken. It was yummy (I made the same dish again later in the week, but this time with a tomato/salsa sauce, totally changed the taste of the dish. YUM!). Afterwards we went across the street to get a drink, then walked up the street to watch the fireworks by the London Eye. It was crowded but a lot of fun. There was a group of drunk people and one of the guys was trying to convince Dan that Rob was Dan's younger brother. Rob it two years older then Dan. They were singing and having lots of fun. There was a DJ playing music before the fireworks went off, so people were dancing and singing. After we just headed back to the apartment and played Monopoly and just took it easy. It wasn't too bad walking back since I live so close. It even started snowing while we were walking back. Not a slow snow either, just all of a sudden it started pouring snow! People started cheering in the streets.

It's not an extra large beer (just a pint) I just have a small face.

Drunk British Guy wanted to be in the picture.

Waiting for the fireworks.

Happy New Year!!

Awesome fireworks!

Rob and I.

Watching a movie on my computer since even if we got a DVD player, our movies wouldn't work on it.

New Years Day we went to Greenwich and walked around there. We tried to go up to the Prime Meridian line but people were still off work so there was such a crowd to see it.

Greenwich Chapel.

Rob and Dan outside the Chapel.

View from the top of the hill. The Docklands in the far back and the Queen's House in the foreground. (No queen has ever lived here, it's a museum).

Us at the top of the hill. It's cold.

The Docklands lit up at night.

We woke up early the next day and headed out to Windsor. It takes an hour via train to get there. I didn't check to see if the Queen was there that day. All of the pictures are from outside. We couldn't take any inside sadly. I love it there. It's my favorite place I think. My favorite rooms are the ones overlooking the back gardens and there are tons of sofas and chairs. I'd love to sit there and read. Sounds like a good day to me.

Dan and I out front.

Dan and Rob so excited!

Dan excited to be sitting in the space where they used to shoot people out the windows (A guard box for lack of better terms).

Me waiting in line to go into the Castle.

Dan goofing around.

Chapel. Henry VIII is buried here. So it the Queen Mother.

We went out later that night to get ice cream. Leicester Square had a Winter Carnival set up with rides and games.

I honestly can't remember what we did the day after. I think we just took it easy. We did go out to dinner though at Planet Hollywood.

The boys at dinner.

Happy Birthday to me! For my birthday we dressed up and went to see Peter Pan. It was in a round theater. And at the top of the tent there was a white screen going around the whole theater so that is where they did the different backgrounds so they didn't have to have it on the stage. The characters would come out from under the stage or there was one side of the circle where the could come out like a regular stage. I enjoyed the play a lot. The characters were really well played and funny. The crocodile was made out of clothes hangers and clothes pins, ties and men's shirts. There were two people who controlled it by riding it around the stage. Rob and I decided we wanted one.

Dan and I in the lobby of Peter Pan by the Christmas tree.

The lobby of Peter Pan. It was in a tent outside the O2 arena.

The weather has been so cold here that the fountains in Trafalgar Square froze over.

The last day the boys were here we went back to the British Museum to look around. It was a lot less crowded so we actually got to see some things. They enjoyed it a lot I think. I walked the guys to the tube station at 4:30 and they ended up not getting to the airport until 6:30. It should only take an hour to get there, but because of the little snow that happened here, it messed everything up. Their flight ended up being delayed, they got patted down right before they got on the plane. They almost didn't let Rob take a coffee mug he bought his dad on the plane. Then they had to wait on the plane while it was delayed and then a security breech, (don't know what happened with that). And then eventually got to take off. Their flight ended up leaving almost 3.5 hours later then it was supposed to. They ended up getting back to their houses at 6:30am. They flew out of New Jersey and had to get the car and everything. I felt so bad. They had a fun time while they were here. I had fun having them here. It's too quiet without them.

Jessie gets back to the apartment with her brother on Monday and until then I have to work and essays they are due Monday and next Thursday. Classes start up this coming Monday, but my first class isn't until Thursday. I only have Thursday and Friday classes this term. I will be back in Maryland on April 14th and then again in July and for good either at the end of August or the middle of September. My friend Alex from elementary school is starting grad school out here soon so she arrives in two weeks. So that should be fun. So I promise to update as best as I can for the rest of the time I am here. If I am not updating, it's because honestly, nothing is happening.

Miss you all.

xoxo