Happy Thursday (and Thanksgiving) Collegiettes! I hope you’re all home with your families resting up for a delicious Thanksgiving feast! Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it back to Connecticut to celebrate the holiday with my own family. However, I will still manage to have a great holiday thanks to my BC program director who has put together a dinner for all the BC students studying abroad in London! And to top off my BC Thanksgiving, my friend Sarah (a fellow BC student) is coming to London this afternoon to celebrate the holiday and visit me for the weekend!
As is the case with most Americans, the Thanksgiving spirit has got me thinking about everything I’m thankful for in my life and how blessed I feel to be part of my amazing family! I mentioned in last week’s post that my Mom was in London visiting for the first time so I thought I’d write this week’s post about the time we spent together …
(In front of the National Gallery)
My mom arrived early Tuesday morning fresh off the plane from JFK so we decided to start the day off with a hearty breakfast at Caravan, followed by an afternoon of exploring my neighborhood and a relaxing evening catching up over dinner at Moro, a Moroccan restaurant on my street. By the time 10 PM rolled around, we both hit the pillows pretty hard (I stayed with my mom at her hotel – such a special treat). Now that I look back on the week, I’m happy we went to bed early that first night because starting Wednesday morning, we began our sightseeing adventure at full speed!
The following morning we woke up feeling refreshed and ready to hit the town! We started off with a delicious breakfast at our hotel (which was conveniently located in the center of the city) and immediately took off to see some of London’s most famous sites. Over the course of the day we saw the Somerset House, Big Ben, Westminster Cathedral, the London Eye, the Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and Barbican Station all by foot … I mapped out our walk later that night and it turns out we covered over 6 miles! I guess that means my Mom and I really earned the tasty Indian food we indulged in later that night!
(Big Ben)
(Couldn’t leave London without one of these pictures …)
While I was in class Thursday morning, my Mom took off on one of the open-top bus tours around London to get a better idea of the layout of the city. We reconvened for lunch at the Covent Garden market and spent the remainder of the afternoon strolling through the market, checking out the stores, and enjoying the world’s best gelato at the Icecreamists (a must-do for anyone visiting London)!
(Lunch at the Covent Garden market)
Thursday night was by far my favorite part of my Mom’s time in London … After grabbing a quick bite to eat at a local sandwich shop (we were too full from lunch in indulge in a real dinner), we headed to the Prince Edward Theatre to see what I now consider to be my all time favorite show, The Jersey Boys! Both our seats and the show were fantastic! I highly recommend the show to anyone that has yet to see it … and if you need a date, you know exactly who to ask!!
After hearing about the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition while on her tour bus, my Mom insisted that we wake up early Friday morning and get in line at the National Gallery for a set of tickets to see the collection. Even though I wasn’t too happy about that fact that we waited over 3 hours in line to get the tickets, I was thrilled when we eventually made it to the exhibit and had a chance to look at all of da Vinci’s sketches and paintings. As if my day could get even better, I found out that the National Gallery currently has a number of Monet and Van Gogh (my absolute favorite artist) pieces on display!! After a long day of waiting in lines, my Mom and I swapped our jeans for dresses and headed to the Savoy for an elegant and relaxing dinner. Between the wine, the fois gras, and the chocolate fondant, I was in heaven!!
My mom and I spent all of Saturday riding bikes through Hyde Park, watching the changing of the guards (which if I’m being honest, was probably the most boring tourist trap imaginable), checking out the Harrod’s Christmas shop, and last but certainly not least, riding the London Eye after sunset. After an eventful day, we headed to a pub in Soho for a few beers and then to Ed’s Easy Diner for the best burgers, fries, and milkshakes in London!
(Mom and I in Hyde Park)
(View of Big Ben from the London Eye)
We ended my Mom’s stay with a tour of LSE, a stroll down Oxford Street, and a few treats at my favorite café, Gail’s Artisan Bakery, where we met up with the family I’ve been babysitting for while living in London. It was an amazing week and I really wish my Mom could have stayed even longer!! Luckily, we won’t be separated for too long as I’ll be heading back to Connecticut in a few weeks to spend the holidays with my entire family!!
Wow, I think I wore myself out just recapping everything my Mom and I managed to do in only a few days! I hope you all enjoyed reading about our adventures as much as I enjoyed writing about them!
With that being said, I’m off to meet my friend Sarah (who will be featured in next week’s blog post). Have a happy and delicious Thanksgiving!!
Love,
Marissa
P.S. What’s your favorite part of the traditional Thanksgiving meal? My favorite dish is my grandma’s sweet potato casserole!!