Special Visitors!

Sorry that it's been so long since my last post, but I have a good excuse! Mom and Nunner came to visit me in London! We had a bunch of fun and some great adventures, so get ready!

Mom and Nunner flew in on Thursday and immediately took the train up to Edinburgh, Scotland. I had class that afternoon so as soon as I was done, I hopped on the train and headed to meet them! After being delayed an hour due to power failures and passenger problem that required us to be met by the police at one of the stations, I finally arrived at 9pm.

 The view from the train on the way to Edinburgh

Friday morning, we went strolling. Here's some history about Edinburgh:

It is pronounced "Edinburrah"

Edinburgh is split into two halves, Old Town and New Town

Old Town is where the historical part of the city is. When it got overcrowded, the rich moved to the other side and formed New Town, which is now where all the shopping is located

The beautiful views of Edinburgh and the Sir Walter Scott memorial

We spent most of the day in Old Town visiting some historic sights. We went to a tartan and kilt factory and found out that my mom's maiden name is Scottish, so we found our tartan! Mom and Nunner also finally purchased Barbour coats which came in handy with all the rain (I almost always have mine in hand)!

IT'S BEAKER!!!

Afterwards, we headed towards Holyrood Palace, the Queen's royal residence in Edinburgh. Before touring the castle, we were able to see an exhibit of Leonardo Da Vinci's anatomical sketches. While touring the castle, we learned all about Mary Queen of Scots and James VI/I. 

The Abbey at Holyrood

Saturday, we took a bus tour around the city. The tour had only us, plus one or two others, so we had a private bus tour where the guide was able to answer all of our questions. That afternoon, we had a lovely afternoon tea at the Balmoral Hotel before heading back to pack up before leaving for London Sunday morning

Sunday, we took the train back down to London and were able to see the seaside and some cute little sheep (probably the highlight of my train ride)! 

Pre-train ride selfies

The sheep by the sea

Once we arrived in London, we dropped off our luggage and headed toward the National Portrait Gallery. Their hotel was located right next to Trafalgar Square, which is a perfect location! 

I snuck a photo of Jane Austen's sketch!

Monday, we went to Bath for the day. Once we pulled into the station, it started raining. But we didn't let that dampen our day! We headed straight for the Jane Austen Centre and spent the morning wandering around and looking at the beautiful costumes and props. Jane Austen lived in Bath for several years and both Persuasion and Northanger Abbey (my favorite!) partially take place there.

"Please take care of this bear. Thank you."

The Jane Austen Centre

After Jane Austen, we went to the Fashion Museum and Assembly Rooms. The Assembly Rooms are where the dances and other events of the season would take place during the height of Bath being the fashionable place to holiday. The Fashion Museum has clothes spanning from the 1600's to 2011, so Nunner really enjoyed it. We then headed to lunch at Wagamama's and decided where we were going to go next.

After lunch, we headed over to the Holbourne museum which was where the portrait of Kate Middleton was on loan from the National Portrait Gallery. After walking around the museum, we headed to Sally Lunn Bun Shoppe, home of the Sally Lunn bun (AKA the Colonial Williamsburg bread). 

Delicious!

Doctor Who approved!

Tuesday, I was in class all day, but Mom walked Nunner all over London, taking her to all the important sites of London. Wednesday, I had class in the morning, but met Mom and Nunner for a trip to Harrods and stroll around Covent Gardens. That evening, we had dinner at the Sherlock Holmes pub and headed to a West End production of The Ladykillers. I had never seen the movie, but it was HILARIOUS!!!! I would recommend it to anyone visiting London who isn't afraid of wetting their pants from laughing too much :)! 

Thursday morning, was the Museum of London and then I headed to class. Mom took Nunner to see the Tower of London and then they came to visit me on campus! I gave them the full campus tour, great practice for when I get back to Meredith and start doing White Iris tours. We headed back to the hotel to pack and eat burritos from a delicious take-away restaurant called Tortilla (which I promptly went back to the next day for another). 

Friday morning, Mom and Nunner said farewell at 6am and went off to the airport. I moved back to campus and met up with some of my friends to catch up on what I'd missed. None of us had class, so we went to Trafalger so they could try the yummy burritos. As a spur of the moment decision, Maddy, Becca and I got last minute tickets to see Once which is AMAZING!

They serve refreshments on stage and the cast comes out and jams before the show!

This past week, I've been catching up on reading and submitting assignments in preparation for Reading Week, a week of no classes, which starts today. This week will be full of more adventures, so keep an eye out for some more posts (and I promise, no more long breaks)!

Found the home of Harry Potter!