Mom visits London!

This weekend Mom was in town!  (Aside: people here think it is hilarious that I said my mom was "in town" - I guess because London is too big to think of as "town"?  I don't know how else to say it.)  She was here on spring break with one of her school tour groups.  They arrived in London on Saturday morning to the rainiest weekend I have encountered since moving here in January.  Seriously.  Most rain.  I'm going to buy rainboots tonight because it's supposed to be the same this weekend.

I digress!  I met Mom and her group at their hotel out near Heathrow Airport.  We all took the Tube into central London and had a walking tour of the West End.  This is London's primary theater district.  We had a quick lunch in Covent Garden and then spent the afternoon (inside!) at the British Museum. 

St. Martin in the Fields church in Trafalgar Square:

Covent Garden:

The British Museum is full of historical artifacts - from large sections of the Parthenon to the Rosetta Stone to mummies and Viking weapons. It's huge and fascinating and I hope to visit again soon and take a free tour of one of the exhibits. We especially enjoyed the Viking section with items found at the excavation of Sutton Hoo.

We had a fish & chips dinner before heading back to the hotel.  Sunday morning I went home while the group took a bus tour.  In the afternoon I met Mom at Harrods.  We wandered around the first floor looking at jewely, handbags and scarfs that were FAR TOO expensive for us!  Then we browsed the food halls - AMAZING!!  It's sort of like a Fresh Market, but with much more lavish food and presentation.  After a quick lunch at Pret a Manger, we went back to Harrods and picked out two beautiful cupcakes for dessert!

I took Mom back to see my apartment in the afternoon and she helped me hang some pictures.  She (and her friend Gwen) were also nice enough to bring me some goodies from home - JIF peanut butter, mac & cheese, Pop Tarts and peanut butter M&Ms - YUM!  We met back up with the tour group for dinner at a pub and after dinner took a ride on the London Eye.  My pictures from the Eye aren't great because of the rain, but here are some anyway!  The Eye was lit in green for St. Patricks Day.

 

Mom and her group departed London on Monday morning via the train to Paris.  I will plan a much more elaborate tour when she comes back to visit in the summer!