Tea with the Queen: London Part 1

We took my parents to London for two days during their visit. It was my first time going to London as well, so it was quite a treat for everyone. We took a direct train from Chester to London Euston which only took about 2 hours. It gave Simon and I time to prepare our primary lesson. Once we arrived we took the underground to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. We had to hurry because we were cutting it very close on time. It was super crowded, but we found a good spot by one of the gates. A military truck had to go through the gates so the palace police came to the gate and opened it while the truck went in and then later out.  My mom had been wanting a picture with an English policeman (much to my embarrassment) so I finally put my embarrassment aside and asked the policeman if he would mind getting a picture with my mom. He happily obliged even though he was afraid it would start a chain of a million others wanting a picture too. Here are some photos of us by the gate and all that happened above:

Mom, Dad, and I by the palace gate

Mom and Dad in front of the palace

We thought he was going to let us in

Military truck

Going to see the Queen

Our new friends

The palace

Mom was so happy to get this picture

Here are some other pictures from our visit to Buckingham Palace:

After visiting the Queen at the palace we decided to get some grub before going to see Wicked!!! We went to a pub near the B&B we were staying at. It was quite delicious.

Mom and Dad looking over the menu

Kof has decided

Mom got some scrumptious hot chocolate

Mom's lunch- pot roast, yorkshire, roast potatoes, and veg

It was a bad decision to eat lunch at a sit down place because it made us late for the play! We were a minute late (literally) and due to where are seats were we weren't allowed to go in for 20 minutes. They had a tv in the lobby so we could watch the first part. It wasn't very good on the tv though so I was pretty mad that I was missing part of the show. They finally let us go in and the rest of the play was amazing! The singing was so good, the costumes were great, the set was fantastic, I loved it all. Elphaba (the wicked witch) had the best voice in my opinion. My favorite songs were "Defy Gravity" and "For Good."

Defy Gravity- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlMBcTGJ4YM

For Good- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQJaZO2nfGg

Here are some pictures from the play:

After the show outside the theater

The Apollo Victoria theater

Outside the theater

A scene during the play

The stage during intermission

Merchandise

My parents and I after the play

After the play we went to Harrods, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the River Thames, London Eye (used to be the biggest ferris wheel in the world, until 2005), and Waterloo station (I had to go because I am obsessed with Jason Bourne and all the Bourne movies). Big Ben was awesome to see at night. My mom really wanted to go on the London Eye, but I am terrified of heights and I especially hate ski lifts and ferris wheels (I almost had an anxiety attack going on the little kid ferris wheel with my niece at Knotts Berry Farm last summer, she's 4 and was fine... sad I know). Here are some pictures from the evening:

Harrods

Inside Harrods

Chocolates at Harrods

I guess Harrods is this really swanky and expensive department store. There are 7 levels. My dad was talking to one of the workers and they said level 1 through 5 was for normal customers. They said levels 6 and 7 were for celebrities and high rollers. Crazy. We were going to buy a little treat or something, but couldn't bring ourselves to spend any money on the ridiculously priced items.

My parents in front of Big Ben

Simon, Big Ben, and the London Eye

Simon and I in front of Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

View of the River Thames at night

Don't mind if I do

I love beautiful cars

Best shop window ever

A trip to London would not be complete without rein-acting Bourne Ultimatum. Simon and I pretended we were in the movie and re-did the bus stop scene with Simon Ross when Bourne was directing him with what to do.

We were beat after Waterloo. Simon bought me a pedometer for Christmas so I can track how much I walk (it was what I have been wanting). We walked about 10 miles that day. I will give you the total for the 2 days in my next blog post.