Family Reunion

My two and a half months of blending in and becoming a London local came to an abrupt halt this past week. In other words.. the family & Megan had arrived. If it wasn't for getting stuck in the ticket gates, missing the seat and riding on the floor of the tube, crashing into poles, or singing and dancing at every possible moment, no one would have ever guessed they weren't locals! Megan arrived first and then Mom, Kathy, and Lauren finally arrived after being delayed three hours. After a tearful reunion we were off for our week's adventures.

We spent our time bonding with our London family and soon Megan became just another one of the family members. She was introduced to one of our family's favorite activities- singing. St. Patrick's Day we had gone down to Trafalgar Square for the parade. We ate lunch in a pub, watched the parade a little, and watched some of the river dancing performances. While we had the Irish spirit, epscially with our Sham-Rockin tattoos, our bodies soon became wet and frozen from the rain. It was time to head home to celebrate the best way the Irish know how, with a party! It was Robert's birthday and one of their family friend's as well and once the party really got started the singing began. My great aunt Kathleen was first, followed by her husband Stan, and it continued from there. Let me tell you I saw a side of some of my family that I've never seen before (cough cough Caron) but good thing I have it all on video! Shout out to Ciaran, who just found my blog, but you have a great voice! The whole time Megan wondered where mine and Kathy, Lauren, and Mom's singing talents were. Well, apart from Lauren (hah!) we can't sing at all and felt no need to embarrass ourselves. Kathy did attempt to sing Dancing Queen but all of a sudden the room became very empty and we noticed it was down to the five of us and Stan.. I think that's a bad sign.

During the week we went and saw Les Miserable. It was my first time to ever see the show, besides the movie, and I loved every minute of it. The singing gave me chills and the way the stage was set was amazing. It was almost like a lazy susan where it just kept spinning around with the actors running on it. That whole time the scene was changing from one to the next. It was impressive that not one of them slipped or fell from going round and round. The kids who played Cosette and Gavroche were too adorable and I loved their little voices.

One activity we seemed to enjoy the most was eating. Typical. I think I ate enough food and chocolate to last me a lifetime. (Lies.) It was definitely nice taking a break from frozen pizzas, PB&J's, and my countless bowls of Frosted Flakes though. We had Mexican, Italian, sushi, and even good ol' fashion American hamburgers. My favorite restaurant we went to was this steak house in Leciester Square. I couldn't tell you the last time I had a steak either. They brought it out on a hot stone and you basically cooked it yourself, adding your own garlic butter and pepper sauce, and I have to say I am an amazing chef. The fries and dessert weren't too bad either!

We spent the rest of our time touring the sites, shopping, and just catching up. It was weird to have them here and be the one showing them around. It's a lot of pressure! It was even stranger to think about how long it had been since I had seen them last. It felt like only a short amount of time had passed and now I'm down to my half way point and only have two months left here! NOOOO. It's too depressing to think about.

Megan, Kathy, Lauren, and Mom thank you for coming across the pond to see me. I loved having you all here and I miss you already! Can't wait to see you all soon! Now I'm off to complete my last week of classes. Time has flown by and I have a lot to do before my Eurotrip begins next Friday. It's paper writing time for me. Thanks for reading! Cheers!

March Already?

I can't believe March is already here. Where has the time gone?? This means my time here in London town is halfway through. Depressing thought. I'm always trying to make the most of my days though.

Last Thursday I encountered my first sighting celebrity here. Sadly it wasn't a random run-in at a grocery store or a quick pass-by on the street, my friends and I actually stood outside for a few embarrassingly long hours to catch the European premiere of Oz the Great and Powerful. I saw some of my favorite actors like James Franco, Mila Kunis, and Rachel Weisz. We quickly learned that premieres aren't as glamourous as they appear on TV or in magazines. The stars arrive, do some press interviews, sign some autographs, walk up and down the carpet a few times, then head inside. After getting our pictures and letting our toes go numb from the cold we were ready to head home. Before we left we had to stop into M&M world to warm up, and obviously buy some treats for the ride home.

Saturday Allyse, Emma, and I walked around the city some more. We stopped into Pret and then headed over to Buckingham Palace and enjoyed our sandwiches with the Queen (or as close as we could get to her..meaning the fountain with all the pigeons and other tourists.) It was such a beautiful and sunny day! We continued our walk to Trafalgar Square where we met up with Mel and her parents who had arrived that morning. We all walked together down to Big Ben, parted ways, and then we continued our adventure down by the Eye. After getting tired of walking we headed closer to home to stop by Borough Market. It had all kinds of little stands filled with fruit, vegetables, cheese, bread, and delicious desserts. I ended up buying some fresh fruit that was soooo good.

Sunday Mel's parents were so sweet and took us all to the top of the Shard. It opened in February and it's now the tallest building in Western Europe. We rode the elevator to the 72nd floor and were greeted with the most spectacular views of London. We could see Big Ben, the London Eye, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St. Pauls, etc. All of the major landmarks looked like tiny play pieces! We were lucky enough to get a clear day so we could see for miles. It was amazing. Afterwards I left to go to my family's house. Not shortly after arriving we loaded into the car and drove down to see Ciaran at his uni in Canterbury. We walked by Canterbury Cathedral and Robert being his sneaky self opened a side door and got us inside. (You normally had to pay to go in.) Whoops! After walking around the town for a little bit and looking at its adorable shops we went to eat. At where else? A Mexican restaurant! My fave. It's safe to say I stuffed myself.

Monday featured school work on top of more school work. I had group projects that were quickly approaching and work had to be done. The worst part was that they're all due the week my family and Megan comes into town. Oh well.

Tuesday was one of the most beautiful days we've had here. It was 55 degrees and I was actually sweating while walking outside. I didn't hate it though. I walked down to Regents Park and sat outside for a few hours just relaxing in the sun. I wish I had brought a book to read! I'll definitely be going back though and having myself a little picnic and book reading. The rest of my evening featured a whole lot more of group work. Blah.

Wednesday we went back to Borough market. I was out of my delicious oranges and we were eager to explore on a day that was less busy. We stumbled upon the most delicious sandwich place. It was stuffed and overflowing with lettuce, chicken, and spicy sauces. Definitely not something to eat in front of a lot of people because you end up wearing most of it on your face.. or maybe that's just my friends and I. Later that night ISA took us to see Wicked, one of my all time favorite musicals. I had seen it a few years ago in New York but I think I had forgotten just how great it was. What made it even better was how close we were seated to the stage where we could see all of the actor's facial expressions. Some of the singing gave me goosebumps and it's safe to say those songs will be stuck in my head for a lonngg time.

I've got a busy weekend ahead of me and then before I know it my mom, Kathy, Lauren, and Megan will be here! Can't wait.

Thanks for reading! Cheers!