My parents came to visit!

My parents came over to London to visit for a week, it was great! They got to London on Tuesday and we were lucky to have amazing weather, it was sunny and warm. We wen to lunch then got a coffee and walked around the park across from where I live. It was great to show them my area and allow them to see what my life has been like since I have been here. We just hung out the night at their hotel which was really close to my flat. We had fish and chips for dinner, wait: they had fish and chips and I had a burger from a take away place. On Thursday we went to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. It was the same as always but I think my parents liked it. We went to lunch at the Hard Rock, which is the first in the world, and was definite american food that was nice. We then walked threw Green park and St. James Park and ended up at Parliament and in front of the London Eye. We went back and hung out at my flat for a while, then went and had dinner at a little Italian place by us.  We then went and hung out at their hotel. 

     On Friday we went to Burogh market, which is a food market. We walked around and sampled all the great food and got really great grilled cheese sandwiches. From there we walked to Tower Bridge and across it. We then did the tower of the tower of london. It was cool, we had a beefeater as a guide. From there we went back to the area around me and had dinner at a greek restaurant. 

On Saturday we went to Portobelo Road in Notting hill. It was crazy busy but fun to show mom around. Dad decided to stay at a book store at the top of the hill, cause he does not love large crowds. It was fun! From there we went to the South-bank area which is where the London Eye is. We decided that since it was clear it would be a good time to do it. It was fun, it is something that I have done before but it was fun to do again and have my parents do. After that we went to a Spanish Tapps restaurant, it was really good and my parents really liked. My plan was that my parents would like the different foods and like traveling and want to do more of it. That night mom and I went and saw a movie. It was just nice to do things that we always do together. 

    On Sunday we took an open top tour bus ride. That was really fun and we saw different areas of london and things we had already seen. We also took a river cruse which was fun, it was a different way to see the main sights that are on the river. That night we had dinner at a pub on the water. 

    On Monday we went to St. Pauls and looked around that area. We then went into the center of london and looked around and shopped a little bit. That night mom and I went to see Hairspray and that was really fun, it was a good show. 

   On Tuesday we went to Appy Road where the beatles took their famous Abby Road Album photo cover. We saw the studios where they recorded a lot of their albums. From there we went to the London zoo, it was fun cause it was a nice day. After that we went to Kings Cross station so my parents could see the platform 9 and 3/4 sign. From there we went to Covent garden and had a nice dinner at an Italian place.

On Wednesday we went back to notting hill cause mom wanted to visit a store again. We then went a had lunch at a Portuguese Chicken restaurant that was really good. We went back to my place and  I packed a little so that my parents could take it home for me. We then went to dinner at the Italian place we went to the first night. It was a great thing to have my parents come and see me. It was a lot of fun and great to see them. Hope you are all doing well!

The emerald Isle.

This past weekend I went to Ireland. I flew into Dublin and spent the night there, then started a tour of Northern Ireland. It ended up that it was just me and another girl on the tour, she was a teacher who is a nanny in Ireland. We also had a girl guide so it was great fun! We went up to Derry and stooped a few times on the way. We were able to learn about the history of the city and Bloody Sunday. It was really interesting to learn about the history and the fighting that took there and why. I had thought that I had know what it was about but I did not and it was great to learn and be able to see it. We even went to the Bog side, which is where Bloody Sunday happened and saw Free Derry. It is a part of the city that during the fighting declared itself free and not a part of the UK. 

   The next day we went to the Giants Causeway. It is an amazing place, it is a rock formation that was caused when lave was coming out of the earth and froze. It is amazing it looks like a stairway into the ocean. I went on the tour so that I could see this, it is something that I had wanted to see for a while and am so happy that I have. We got to Balfest that night, which is when I caught a stomach bug. LAME! But the next morning I was ok. We went on a black taxi ride. It takes you through belfast and into the catholic and protestant areas. As well as by the peace walls. The driver tells you the history as you go. It was so strange to see a wall about 50 feet high with cameras all around it in a modern world. I kept being reminded of the segregation that happened in the states. I could not understand how people could still hold onto past grudges and choose to live in this way. I was able to understand towards the end just how deeply it still effects people. But that there is also progress being made. I had asked are driver if he was Chatolics or Protestant and at the end of the tour he told us that he is Protestant. he said that he has children and he and his wife have chosen that they go to an integrated school. A school where both Protestant and Catholics go.  The night we were in Belfast was the same night that the shooting of the two british soldiers occurred. It was the first violence since 2000. The city as well as the whole region were in shock and really seemed afraid that they might return to the old ways of fighting. 

 

When we got back to the hostel I went and got food from a shop with a girl from my  room and ended up in the hostel talking with some other people staying there. I was sitting there talking with these people that I had just meet and we talked about what we all have in common, travel. It was great a canadian, Swede, german, Argentinean and myself.  It was great to sit and eat together and share travel stories. 

When I got home on Monday I was told that I new roommate was moving in the next night. I meet him and he seemed nice enough. He is an Italian guy who moved in the next day and is nice and I think it will be fine. Today a french couple moved in. They seem nice and I like her it will be nice to have a girl in here to talk to . I think it will be great and I do only have another month left so it will be ok even if it is not a perfect situation.