The Rundown

At this point, I don't think it is practical for me to give the blow-by-blow, day-by-day account of my visits with my sister, then my parents, then Leah and Janice.  Although that is almost what I would prefer to do-- it seems to lend itself better to the telling of those funny moment and random findings.  But there simple isn't the time to do it.  Two weeks from now I will be home!  And my life will be quite different.  And as much as I enjoy blogging, I do not want to spend the rest of my time here at the computer writing. 
 
So here's what we're going to do.
 
Today, I will give you the run-down of what I saw and did with each my visitors (hooray for lists!).  After that, we will revisit these attractions in a more categorical manner, and I can try to explain what they were like and how I felt about them.
 
Hold onto your hats! Here we go.
 

Kelly

 

When we returned to London, we had 4 days left together to explore the city.  Kelly likes to do ALL the things, but also like to do them well.  She's that person who reads every single word at a museum.  These were conflicting desires to say the least, but all things considered, I think we did pretty well.

 
TUESDAY

• London Transport Museum
• Lunch at Covent Garden
• Quick trip to Harrods
• Tried to get into Westminster Abbey, but didn't get there in time (last admittance is at 3:30)
• Churchill War Rooms Museum
• Enjoyed the view along Victoria Embankment
• Fish and Chips at my favorite pub in Richmond

WEDNESDAY

• Tower of London
• Tower Bridge
• River Boat cruise to Greenwich
• Lunch in Greenwich at Tai Won Mein
• Right back on the boat (didn't even explore Greenwich) to get to Westminster
• Missed our opportunity at Westminster Abbey again (the website said last admittance that day was 6, but it was 3:30)
• Walked to Charing Cross, stopping briefly at Horses Guard because it looked like something was going to happen (nothing happened)
• Went to British Museum and saw the Rosetta Stone, and looked around a bit until it closed
• Had tea and scones at the Tea and Tattle
• Walked down to Piccadilly Circus to meet Tim for dinner
• Dinner at Brasserie Zedel

 

 
THURSDAY

• Coffee shop breakfast to go
• Train to Windsor
• Toured Windsor Castle
• Train to London
• Toured St. Paul's Cathedral
• Afternoon Tea in the Crypt of St. Paul's
• Westminster Abbey (we never did get to tour, but we went to evensong service)
• Back to Richmond for dinner with Tim and his coworkers

 
FRIDAY

• Sleep in
• Shop for souvenirs
• Back to Harrods to look around more and have lunch
• Buy sandwiches at Harrods and take them to Hyde Park
• (Cold and Windy) picnic at Hyde Park
• Wander around Hyde Park
• Head to South Kensington Area for tea and scones (one last time!)
• Back to Richmond for dinner with Tim at Strada

 

She left early Saturday morning, and Tim and I had a fantastic weekend together, mostly just relaxing. Then my parents came on Friday morning.
 

Mom & Dad

FRIDAY
Mom and Dad got in around 7:30 am, and we found our way to their hotel.  They really wanted this to be a vacation and have some time to relax, so I left them to nap in their room while I got come coffee, poked around Selfridges and Primark, then chilled in Hyde Park for awhile.  At the appointed time (2 pm) I went back to check on them.  Mom had woken up, but dad was still pretty beat, so Mom and I sought out some tea/coffee and scones.  After that we woke Dad up and decided where to meet Tim for dinner.

SATURDAY

• Sleep in
• Lunch at Garfunkel's
• Walk to Trafalgar Square, then down Westminster Rd.
• Churchill War Rooms
• Walk along Victoria Embankment and over Hungerford Bridge
• Dinner at Giraffe

SUNDAY

• Tower of London
• Dinner at Brasserie Zedel

MONDAY

• Riverboat cruise to Greenwich
• Painted Hall at the Royal Naval Academy
• Lunch at Maritime Museum
• Royal Observatory
• Maritime Museum
• Boat back to Westminster
• Meet Tim in Richmond for dinner at Carluccios

TUESDAY

• Westminster Abbey (Tour)
• London Transport Museum
• British Museum
• Meet Tim in Richmond for Fish & Chips at our favorite pub

WEDNESDAY

• King's Cross and St. Pancras stations
• British Library
• St. Martin's in the Field
• Lunch near Charing Cross
• National Gallery
• Dim Sung dinner at Ping Pong

THURSDAY

• Walk along Green Park
• Changing of the Guard
• Borough Market
• Pasties for Lunch
• Walk along the Thames from London Bridge to Tower Bridge
• Tower Bridge
• Walk by St. Paul's Cathedral
• Shop for souvenirs
• Dinner at Spaghetti House

 

Friday morning I met my parents at the airport to say good-bye.  I was pretty sad, but at least Leah and Janice were coming the next day!  After Mom and Dad left I did some laundry and studying, so I didn't have to worry about it when Leah and Janice were here.
 

Leah & Janice

I met Leah and Janice at the airport on Saturday morning, then we took a bus to their hotel, then walked to their actual hotel.  After getting them settled in and having a snack, we headed into the city to the British Museum, where we met Tim. After poking around there, Tim led us to Jamie's Italian by Covent Garden for dinner, which was fantastic.  Then we all headed back to our hotels for the night.
 
SUNDAY

• Liverpool St. Station
• Spitafields Market
• Indian food at Brick Lane for dinner (yum!)
• Visit Angel Station (longest escalator in Western Europe)
• Walk along the Thames from London Bridge to Tower Bridge
• See/take picture of Tower Bridge and Tower of London

 

MONDAY

• Walk through Green Park
• See Changing of the Guard (sort of)
• Meander through St. James Park
• Walk to Trafalgar Square
• Eat picnic lunch in Trafalgar Square
• Free lunchtime concert at St. Martin's in the Field
• National Gallery
• Walk to Westminster Abbey
• Evensong service at Westminster Abbey
• Dinner at Café in the Crypt at St. Martin's

 
TUESDAY

• Natural History Museum
• Lunch at Victoria & Albert
• Victoria & Albert Museum
• Walk through Hyde Park
• Shop at Primark
• Richmond for Fish & Chips

 

WEDNESDAY

• Head to Victoria early in the morning to get tickets for our tour figured out, since they wouldn't print
• Wait for our tour to leave
• Ride on tour bus out of city, to Bath
• Quick bus/ walking tour of city of Bath
• Lunch at yummy pizza place
• Tour Roman Baths
• Bus ride to Stonehenge
• Tour Stonehenge
• Bus ride back
• I came back to the hotel, where Tim had cleaned the room and had pizza and ice cream ready for my birthday dinner!

 
THURSDAY

• Borough Market
• Soho's Secret Tea Room for afternoon tea
• Walk by St. Paul's Cathedral
• Tate Modern
• Dinner at Café Rouge near Charing Cross

FRIDAY
Leah and Janice took a day trip to visit a friend who lives in the country, so I slept in and relaxed almost all day.  Then Tim and I went out for a nice birthday dinner.

SATURDAY

• Met at Covent Garden for some shopping
• Camden Market
• Hampstead Heath & Parliament Hill
• Abbey Road
• Met Tim & Manni at Wagamama on the Embankment for dinner

SUNDAY

• Went to church
• Met at Canary Wharf
• Went to Crossharbour to see where Leah did her internship
• Went to Greenwich to eat at Tai Won Mein
• Explored Greenwich shops a little bit
• Walked through Greenwich park to find Prime Meridian
• Found a lot of snails
• Escorted Leah & Janice back to their hotel and said good-bye

It was a whirlwind, and it was exhausting, but I loved it.  Thanks again to everybody for coming to see me!  As Leah kept saying, enjoyment is maximized when it is shared.  It is so much more fun to explore with other people, especially people that you love.