I know I've been lacking with the blogging, but today is the day where I catch you all up!
My family was here and it was so amazingly fun! I woke up Friday morning and packed up my things and headed over to the Royal Garden Hotel to meet up with them. I was so excited to be staying in a nice hotel for the weekend. I arrived and my dad and Liam met me at the door. It was almost surreal to see them because it has been so long since I've seen my dad and even longer since I saw Lilo. We headed up to the room where my cousin, Cait and my mom were taking a nap. That would be the room Cait and I were going to be staying in. We caught up for a bit and then my parents room was finally ready. When we went in, I made fun of them because Cait and I had a significantly larger room and they had 3 people staying in theirs. (Eventually they got moved to a larger room so all was right in the world.)
We headed over to Westminster to see Big Ben and Parliament and whatnot. We walked across one of the Wire Bridges and took some pictures. We walked through the area with all of the street performers and just took in the sights.
Next it was time for Gordon's Wine Bar! This is literally one of my favorite places that I have been to when it comes to bars. We were lucky enough to get a table and we had a number of bottles of wine and lots of cheese. We were some happy campers, that's for sure. We chatted for a bit before heading to Covent Garden for dinner. We stopped by the Apple Store so I could get a decent screen protector for my phone.
We then tried to find a pub that was not super crowded where we could get fish n' chips. If you can even believe it, I've been in London for 4 months and had yet to have fish n' chips! We finally found a restaurant and ordered it. I was a little nervous, but actually really enjoyed it. We enjoyed some English Lager and then headed back to the hotel because they were exhausted.
Well, Cait and I were not ready for bed no matter how tired she was. We headed over to the convenience store to grab some things to drink before we headed out to a club for a birthday party. Paul was the man and gave us money for a cab so we wouldn't have to worry about the buses later on. We lost track of time while we were talking and getting ready and didn't leave until around 12. Our taxi driver was fantastic. We had a life chat with him the entire way there. By the time we got to Tiger Tiger, we were saying how we'd rather stay in the cab and talk to him.
We got out and went in. I saw Andrew and he told me everyone was upstairs. Well we got upstairs and couldn't find anyone. I had been to the club a couple of times and never realized HOW MANY ROOMS THERE ARE. It was blowing my mind. Cait and I walked around for what seems like forever before we got some drinks and sat down. We were talking to some British boys when suddenly the one I was talking with passed out on the table. They eventually were asked to leave since the kid was asleep hahah. We got up and got ready to go when I realized I lost my jacket. We attempted to search the neverending club to find the place where we were sitting, but no luck. We finally headed back to the hotel where Caitlin decided that a 3:30 am bubble bath was a fabulous idea, which of course it was.
We woke up the next morning needing water more than ever and headed down to breakfast to meet the family. My mom was feeling awfully sick, so Lilo, Cait, my dad and I headed back to Westminster to put locks on the bridge and do the London Eye. We saw some AMAZING street performers who twisted their bodies into the most disturbing shapes and did back handsprings like it was the most completely normal thing in the world. We were in AWE.
We met up with Gretch and bought tickets for a boat tour and grabbed a quick lunch. We saw so many sights in the course of an hour. I still didn't have a jacket, so I had to buy an Oxford Sweatshirt to keep me warm because it was FREEZING. Cait and I chickened out and had to go below the deck where there was heat. We then headed back to the hotel for a nap because we were exhausted.
We awoke from our slumber, slightly cranky, but sleep is for the weak. China Town was the next stop on the agenda. We had some chinese food, saki and a few Chinese beers mixed with a number of good laughs.
Sunday morning Cait, my mom and I woke up for a walk around Kensington Gardens. We grabbed some breakfast and then went to the sauna. While in there, we talked with a woman who gave us some advice on some cool shopping areas. My mom asked for "cool, funky, little shops with London things." We were so excited to head to a discount warehouse with designer clothes. We got ready real quick and took the almost 2 hour journey out to the suburbs of London. Turns out this discounted place was an outlet mall with stores such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Fendi selling things for thousands of pounds. Not even remotely close to the day we wanted, but we still enjoyed ourselves because, hey, we're the Hoffmann/Shields.
We headed back to the hotel and I packed up my things and took Cait to my flat. I packed up everything I wanted my parents to bring home with them before they arrived. I decided to take them to Tex Mex for some yummy food and margaritas. It is a restaurant that Chelsea and I have become obsessed with. We had some margaritas and even got some free tequila shots from the waiter.
We went back to the hotel, got Liam settled and then my mom, dad, Cait and I headed to the bar across the street called Archangel. I didn't realize until we were inside that I had actually been there before. We had a number of drinks, jammed out to some songs and talked about everything from my internship to the talent that rap artists have. We got kicked out because it was closing time, but we were just not ready to call it a night. We saw that the bar in the hotel was open and proceeded to have one more drink as well as chat up the bartenders. As Cait referred to the male bartender as "a breath of fresh air," I realized I left my purse across the street. My dad ran back and grabbed it for me and all of the contents were still in it thank GOD.
Monday morning, I woke up wishing that I had stopped multiple drinks before I had. Sitting at breakfast was a struggle and I had to go to work. I said goodbye to Liam and Cait and my parents walked me to the tube station. It was a little teary eyed, but much easier for them because they know I'll be home so soon! I headed off to work and wanted to just melt into my chair. Looking at a spreadsheet all day was nauseating, but I made it through the day!
It was so great to see my family because I missed them so much! Especially after seeing everyone with their families the weekend before. It was also so wonderful to spend some time with Cait because I never get to see her! We had some serious bonding time and I loved every second of it.
Tuesday, I had my last day of my internship. The ladies took me out for a lovely lunch and I finished up some things. By the time it was 5pm and I was getting ready to head home, the skies opened up. What a way to send me off.
That night, I headed to Sport Cafe with Julianne, Sarah, Lindsey and John. I didn't realize I didn't have my ID until I got there so I went all that way for nothing, or so I thought. This bar is in the same area as Tiger Tiger (the club I lost my jacket at). I stopped in there to see if they had found it. I almost cried when the man handed it to me. My favorite jacket has been returned! I was so happy.
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