#momsvisit

I have not put up a post in a very long time. I was kind of lonely after my mom left and then school got really crazy all of a sudden. Now I have a brief lull, so it's time to finally give a full recap of my mom's visit. It was great to see her for the first time in 5 months and luckily I had no classes so we got to spend her whole 6 day visit together.

I was planning to meet her in the waiting area at the airport with water and some snacks and be all excited. Of course, none of my planning involved a huge Tube strike. I left very early and tried to get there but ended up giving up after getting stuck at a random station in West London and getting a cab and arriving 40 minutes late. (The most frustrating part of this was that their publicity was so bad, I have no clue why they were striking and caused such chaos) It didn't matter in the end because we were just thrilled to see each other. We had a very confusing trip back to my place but we eventually made it. Once my mom was settled and we'd had some lunch we had time to hit the British Museum.

This ancient Roman glass vase was one of my favorite things to show her. It was once shattered but museum restorers carefully pieced it back together and it's still one of the best treasures in the museum.

The next day, we slept in before heading out for a walking tour of the major sites. The tube strike was continuing for another day and I thought it best to avoid the tube as much as possible. We stopped at a small cafe  first to get some breakfast. They advertized a traditional English breakfast and we both laughed when we realized that the place was run by a nice Italian man, but it still seemed pretty authentic to us.

So much food: toast, sausages, bacon, grilled tomato, scrambled eggs, and baked beans. The only thing missing was grilled mushrooms, which we both hate anyway. Neither one of us could finish but it definitely gave us fuel for the rest of the day.

Our first stop was the National Portrait Gallery. It was fun seeing the different portraits we recognized. I knew all of the artists, and my mom found tons of writers she'd studied while getting her English degree (14 courses in English lit, I think that's the equivalent of a double major in it.) When we came out, it was raining lightly and would get progressively worse for the rest of the day (Yay for UK weather!) Neither one of us has ever been much phased by weather so we continued on through Trafalgar Square, Horse Guard's Parade, and then to Big Ben.

The quintessential London photo: Big Ben, a red telephone booth, and a doubledecker bus in the background. This is one of my favs of mom.

I got one too! A sightseeing buddy means far fewer awkward selfies.

Had to check out Churchill for Dad. Supposedly, this statue has a device that gives an electric shock when something touches the head. God forbid a pigeon feel the need to rest on him!

On our way through St. James' Park we had to hunt for the memorial to the Queen Mother, placed in front of the one to her husband George VI. Mom has always been fascinated by her and I can appreciate any woman this elegant that still has a liking for whiskey.

Then we reached Buckingham Palace, which somehow Mom had only seen the back of on her trip to London 30 years ago. (I still don't understand how she and her friend managed that one.)

After hours walking through the rain, we needed a warm break inside. Luckily it was time for afternoon tea, an English tradition my mom and I were thrilled to experience together. We went to Fortnum and Mason's Diamond Jubilee Tea Room, where the queen has had tea.

An individual pot of tea for each of us. Wedding Breakfast Blend for Mom and Lemon Verbena for me (thank god for herbal teas with no caffeine for me). Then there were a variety of finger sandwiches, scones with jam and lemon curd, which we discovered we both love, and little tea pastries. And still more after with full slices of cakes covered in marzipan.

It was a wonderful afternoon and we had fun exploring the 4 levels of the shops that make up the queen's grocer afterwards.

The day wasn't over as we took a ride on a doubledecker bus, went to Selfridges to see the famous department store but purchase nothing, and then Primark for some deeply discounted shopping (Mom bought me an imitation leather jacket that I'd been eyeing, score!) Drinks at a pub finished the night off nicely.

The next morning we went to the V&A to explore the British Galleries and their 500 years of British art and design. They're filled with silly interactives like design your own fabric or try on a knight's glove. The highlight of the day though was our afternoon at Kensington Palace, one of the Historic Royal Palaces and the childhood home of Queen Victoria.

I had no idea that one of Queen Victoria's daughters was an accomplished sculptor and made this image of her mother, which is now displayed in front of the palace.

The palace had four different trails. I think we both liked Victoria Revealed the most. I really enjoyed the way they've reinterpreted the space using artifacts, contemporary art, like these paper cutouts, and sound installations. It brought the history of the palace to life in ways I didn't expect.

An unexpected bonus was the royal fashion display, which included the clothes of Queen Elizabeth, her sister Princess Margaret, and the late Princess Diana. I know Diana was some fashion icon in the 80s but I honestly thought her dresses were hideous. This gown of Queen Elizabeth's on the other hand was breathtaking.

No trip to the UK is complete without a plate of fish and chips :)

After dinner we hit a performance of Mousetrap, an Agatha Christie play that has been running continuously for 62 years. It was a great whodunnit.

We got up bright and early the next morning to catch the train from Kings Cross to Leeds, and then to Knieghley, and then to Haworth to see the Bronte Parsonage. A trip you heard all about in my mom's post.

We spent that night in Leeds and got to grab dinner with my friend Maria, who I was glad to catch up with. We went to an Indian Vegetarian restaurant for dinner to try something that was new for all of us.

I don't remember what most of it was called but it was really good.

We headed back to London in the morning so that we wouldn't waste a whole day traveling. After making it to mass at Westminister Cathedral, we went into central London for more sightseeing.

We saw the inside of St. Paul's and went to nearby Postman's Park. Then we walked across Millennium Bridge in a sudden hail storm (seriously the worst weather since I've been here happened during my mother's visit)

We also took a tour of the replica of Shakespeare's Globe that has been built on the Southbank. It was cool to see the inside of the theater but we both found the accompanying exhibition a bit underwhelming.

We ended the night with dinner at another pub and then an improv show called Austentatious based around the work of Jane Austen, which was pretty funny.

The next day was my mom's last full day in London. We left central London and took the tube north for a change of pace. Mom loved all the huge old houses around. Our first stop was Pax Lodge, one of four international houses of WAGGGS, which is the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

We've both been involved with the organization for so many years that it was wonderful to see a place that welcomes girls from all over the world.

After that we went to Kenwood House, an old estate in North London with beautiful interiors, like this one designed by the famous Robert Adam. They also have an amazing art collection there with some real gems, including a Rembrandt self-portrait and this Joseph Wright of Derby painting.

The label pointed out the girls are unintentionally torturing the kitten by dressing it up, which of all the things a museum label could state made me chuckle. Obsessed pet owners listen!

When we came out there was a beautiful rainbow over the house and estate. Sometimes rain gives you nice surprises like that.

Kenwood wasn't just a house but a whole estate. It definitely gave mom her historic house fix. It also gave us a chance for a brilliant view of the London skyline.

We headed back to central London for Harrods after that.

Harrod's is on everyone's must-see list in London and its fun to look around but Mom and I both agreed that 7 pounds for a pen was too much and headed back towards my hood in Bloomsbury for souvenir shopping, the essential bookstore stop of any vacation, and one last pub dinner together.

We were both kind of sad the next morning, knowing that we only had a few hours of the visit left. We wanted to make the most of it, so we headed for Regents Park, so I could show mom where I go to walk around and relax.

Despite the fact that it started raining heavily while we were there, Mom agreed its a beautiful place to stroll through. We made a quick stop at the British Library to see things like Jane Austen's and Virginia Woolf's handwriting before going to get mom's bags.

We made a stop at Platform 9 3/4 in Kings Cross for a silly Harry Potter photo op before grabbing sandwiches to eat on the tube ride to the airport. Luckily, there was no tube strike this time, making the trip to Heathrow much easier.