My Parents Visit the UK

England and Scotland, UK

Remember those eggs that were deacorated in
my last London post? Now they were
deacorating the infamous phone booths!

Nine days. Nine days of buses, cabs, tubes, driving on the left hand side of the road, hotels, tourists, natives, sightseeing, touring, pictures, monuments, museums, food, shopping, oohhhing and awwwing. Nine days filled with things to do and places to see with my parents. And it's over.

It had been nine, long months since I have seen my parents in person (because Skype doesn't count). I am not going to lie here, I wanted/needed the attention. As you know, if you have been keeping up with my blog, I didn't even go home for Christmas! I was due for some baby-ing.


On Tuesday, June 19, 2012, I took the train from Durham to London King's Cross and the tube from King's Cross to Holborn Station. Two blocks of walking later, I was sitting in Club Quarters Lincoln's Fields the night before my parents were to arrive. It didn't take me long to make myself comfortable on the double bed in front of the big flat-screen television. Oh how I have missed these luxuries! Around seven, I was hungry. So I got on my iPad and searched for the best fro-yo places in London. Conveniently enough, one was a fifteen minute walk from the hotel in Covent Garden. Snog was the name of the place, and I would say that this was a dinner of champions! After getting myself some natural snog with chocolate chips and strawberries, I strolled back to the hotel. Methinks I will have to take my parents to this fro-yo place. If they don't like it, more for me! Later that night, I decided to make myself comfortable on that double sized bed with four plush pillows and fall asleep.

My alarm woke me up promptly at 6 am. I will be picking up my parents from London-Heathrow! It took about an hour to get to the airport by tube. When I got there, I found out that their flight was due to arrive fifteen minutes later than scheduled. So, a latte, British marching band performance, and an hour and a half later, I see figures resembling my parents through the doors of the arrival terminal. Once they reach the doors, they are looking everywhere for me, all except straight ahead of them. I was walking straight toward them and it wasn't until I was fifteen feet in front of them that they noticed I was there. I tried to take a picture to capture their surprise, but as you can see below, I was moving a little too much. We embraced one another after a long awaited hello and moved toward the Underground. Right away my parents were worried we were getting on the wrong train. I got this under control. Once at our hotel, we checked in, put their luggage in our room, got some caffeine for a reboost, and began the tour of London.

In honor of the Olympics, the International Terminal at London Heathrow hung the Olympic rings.

My first picture of my parents! It was blurry, but I was running for them!

Though the jet lag was bound to set in and they were exhausted from an entire day's travel, I decided to take my parents straight to some of the most well-known monuments in England. Our first stop was the Tower of London. We were able to see where The Royal family used to live before they lived in Buckingham Palace. We also saw some torture chambers, dungeons, and other rooms that had been used. What was the most impressive were the crown jewels. Now talk about bling! The total worth of all of the diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and gold could get the world out of debt, solve world hunger, and probably give an iphone 5 to everyone in the world! It was a sight to see, but unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures of the crown jewels (but the naked pictures of the Royals in the upcoming months took care of that wouldn't you agree?!).

Tower of London

Tower of London

Following the Tower of London, we made our way to the River Thames. Here, we were able to go on a river cruise thanks to our London Pass. It was a neat little tour that provided us some information about the different buildings and bridges along the river. I also learned a new fact, the closest city to London is the City of Westminster. It turns out that London isn't that big at all. The City of London is just over one square mile in size. The metropolis of London contains 32 buroughs, including the City of Westminster.

Mom and Dad on the river cruise.

Tower of London's Entry to the Traitors' Gate

The London Bridge

Millenium Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral

The London Eye

After the river tour, we got off the boat to see Big Ben, St. Steven's Tower and Parliament. This is probably my favorite monument to see in London, it is always so beautiful. If you are unaware, St. Steven's Tower is the tall tower with the big clock. Big Ben is actually a small bell at the top of the tower that cannot be seen unless you were to climb the tower. I have heard that England is wanting to change the name of this tower to honor the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth.

St. Stephen's Tower

The last thing we decided to see was St. Margaret's Church and Westminster Abbey. I had already been inside Westminster Abbey, but it was great to see again. And yes, I was able to see where I would marry Prince Harry again, but this time I was able to show my parents. Both my Mom and Dad were exhausted from their long day, and the jet lag had finally set in. So, we went back to our hotel because tomorrow we would have to wake up for another exciting day!

Westminster Abbey

Looking out of St. Margaret's Church

I woke up at least fifteen minutes before my alarm went off. Today is going to be an exciting day! Why would I be so excited? Well, we bought tickets to see the Warner Brother's Harry Potter Studio Tour! Could you imagine my excitement!?!?!? After going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios, I could not wait to check out how they made the films. It was fascinating to see the sets, props, and costumes that were used. Even my Dad thought it was amazing to see! I was able to fly on a broom with the help of a green screen, see the horcruxes, walk through the Great Hall and take a picture with Doby!

Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour!!!!

The outside of the doubledecker bus we took to the Studio Tour

Inside lobby of the Studio Tour

Tickets and Passport handy!

On Friday, the third day, we went around London and saw more British monuments. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace where we went inside the Queen's Gallery and saw the Changing of the Guards. The Queen's Gallery was rather interesting because we were able to see Leonardo di Vinci's intricate drawings of the human body before any technology could create detailed images of the body for us. My favorite was a picture of the woman's body, but it's not necessarily the drawing I thought was brilliant, but rather the fact that di Vinci placed pin holes around the form so that he could make infinite copies by simply putting chalk over the original copy, allowing the chalk dustings it to go through the holes. This was genius!

We made a visit to the Royal Mews. This is where the intricate carriages, vehicles and horses are kept. This is something neat to see if you are waiting for the changing of the Royal Guards. We were told that Daniel, the white horse pictured below, is the Queen's favorite horse. 

Daniel, The Queen's favorite horse

The carriage we will see when a Royal becomes King

After visiting the Gallery and Royal Mews, we waited in front of Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guards. See the pictures below to get in on the action!

Queen Victoria Memorial

Buckingham Palace

Changing of the Guards

Any trip to London would be wasted if you don't catch a ride on the London Eye. The views from this bad boy were amazing! If you have the opportunity to ever take a ride, I suggest splurging for this experience! The view of Parliament is unparalleled and you can see Buckingham from a short distance.

Next stop, St. Paul's Cathedral. We spent a good 2-3 hours in this guy! My Mom is really into religious places, so of course she wanted to see every nook and cranny. While I was waiting, I climbed to the top of the Cathedral. Over 500 stairs spiriling into a tight circle later, I was dizzy. When I reached the top of the Cathedral, I was able to get a 360 degree view of London. By the time I went back to the ground floor, my Mom was still not finished looking at the place! We eventually left because a mass was about to begin, plus we needed to get a move on to other sites. The next and last stop was the Tower Bridge.

On top of the Cathedral

On Saturday, we took a bus tour to Stonehenge and Bath. I had been warned that Stonehenge was in the middle of nowhere and was just a pile of rocks chillin' there for you to take a picture of and leave. Though true, it was amazing! It was a beautiful sight and really gets you to thinking. If you are into the history behind the stones, your mind wanders to try and figure out their mystery. Even today, scientists and anthropologists have no idea why these stones are placed the way they are. 

Stonehenge

Bath is a beautiful, stone town west of London. I just wish we had more time to see it. With the time we were allocated, we were only able to experience the city centre and see the seven baths or springs that the town is known for. It would be nice to stay a few days in Bath this way you can leisurely stroll the streets and find amazing views of the entire city. We had just enough time to grab lunch, visit the Bath Abbey, see the Roman Baths, walk a few streets, and get some gelato. 

Roman Baths

Sunday, we woke up early to make our way to London-Heathrow to begin the second half of our trip. We went to pick up a rental car so we can drive to Durham, and don't let him fool you, Daddy Barry quite enjoyed driving in a British car. From London we drove to Cambridgeshire where we walked around the Cambridge campus. It was a really nice campus with a small boys choir singing on the front lawn of their college to top it off. The lawns were mowed very pristine and every building was made of stone. However, I must say Durham is a much more remarkable place to be. It could be a biased opinion, but I don't think you would disagree. 

Dad driving on the right side of the car and the left side of the road.

Cambridge boys!

Double parking?

After Cambridge, we went to find R.A.F. Alconbury. This is where my Dad was stationed when he was in England for the Air Force. We couldn't get into the gate, but my Dad enjoyed himself. He chatted to the young guards for over an hour while my Mom and I waited, and waited, and waited in our car rental. All sarcasm aside, it was a really cool experience to be where my Dad was back in his glory days. I could tell that it meant a lot to him to visit and I am glad my Mom and I were able to share that experience with him.

Fun story time.... not! As we were leaving Alconbury, we were well on our way when all of a sudden traffic was held to a dead halt. There was an accident on the motorway, the severity of which was unknown to us drivers. We were told by someone who had gotten out of their car nearby that in England, whenever there is an accident on the motorway, the motorway is closed completely, going both directions, until the scene is cleaned up. It was around 5pm, and we were told the motorway would not open back up until 10pm. Fantastic!

After about an hour of waiting, vehicles began to turn around and drive the wrong way to get to the nearest exit. Before we knew it, everyone was turned around (driving on the RIGHT side of the road), and traffic was deffered to a different route.

We eventually made it to Durham. We stayed at The Garden House Inn. I highly recommend this as accommodation because the price not only right, but the staff and owners are very hospitable (but all northerners will tell you that they are much more friendly than Londoners). The room we stayed in had two double beds, a flat screen television, moderately sized bathroom and a large closet. It was more than enough, but we were also surprised with a wonderful continental breakfast each morning. The staff sets up as many tables as there are guests. The buffet consists of many options from cereal and fruit to lunch meats and bread, toasted to your liking by the staff. You don't even have to pour your own drinks! The staff gives their guests the sense of priority, making every aspect of their stay comfortable.

The bar attached to the bread and breakfast also added a welcomed approach. The bartender was very attentive and socialized with the guests. The bar was homey, and all of the guests made their way to the bar, which stayed open as late as the patrons stayed out.

The next day, my parents and I went to the Durham City Center and I gave them a one-on-one tour. We drove down to the Cathedral and parked just in front of one of the main entrances. The first stop was the Palace Green where I was able to borrow a set of graduation robes to take some pictures. Gray and Son Robemakers were very friendly in allowing me to borrow robes during the undergraduate graduation ceremonies taking place this week. I told them that my graduation wasn't until January, but my parents wanted photos now while they were here.

Walking up to the Cathedral is simply amazing. The magnitude of the building leaves visitors in awe. We walked into the Cathedral, where my Mom got in trouble for trying to take pictures. Apparently they don't like that very much. The inside of the Cathedral is rather spacious in comparison to other Cathedrals that we have seen. The difference between this Cathedral and others that I have written about is that people are not buried throughout the building. Rather, there is a cemetery just outside of the Cathedral. When the weather permits, visitors are able to walk up the tower to see an areial view of Durham. My parents didn't take that journey, but if you are fit enough to take it, it is well worth it. 

I then took my parents in through the cloisters where they noticed that this location was used for the initial Harry Potter films. We made our way through the cloisters and down the back side of the Cathedral towards the Wear River. We took the footpath along the river and I showed my parents what I believe is the best view of the Cathedral. 

We continued along the footpath toward St. Cuthbert's Catholic Church. By the time we were finished, it was time for dinner. I made a reservation at El Cote. This is a Spanish tapas restaurant that I had eaten with Tiffany and her boyfriend, Nick. We ordered the chicken paella, which takes 45 minutes to prepare. Along with the paella, we each ordered our own tapas. I couldn't go without ordering papas bravas for myself. My Dad ordered the marinated beef and my Mom had something, but cannot remember for the life of her! After dinner, my parents and I retired back to our bed and breakfast. However, we were sidetracked by the hotel bar before going to sleep.

The next morning, my parents and I had a fabulous breakfast and headed out of Durham to Scotland. We wanted to stay two nights in Edinburgh. We stayed at Aonach Mor just outside of the center of the city. It was a nice little bed and breakfast guest house, the only downfall was the location being further out of the city than we would prefer.

Because we got to Edinburgh mid-day, we decided to tour the area that afternoon so we could get a head start the next day to see Alnwick Castle. My Dad refused to hail a cab to get to the main sites of Edinburgh, so we walked. We saw the Edinburgh Cathedral, which my Mom was able to take pictures of because my Dad bought her a photo pass for the site. You wouldn't believe the beautiful blue color painted on the ceiling!

We then went to the Edinburgh Castle. There was so much to see, I don't even think we saw everything. We did however, see dungeons, war uniforms, huge canons, memorials, and marvelous views of Edinburgh. After we stopped by the Elephant House cafe, the cafe where J.K. Rowling was inspired to write her Harry Potter series.

 

Funny story: So, as we were walking through the heart of Edinburgh, my parents and I were fascinated by the stone buildings holding themselves strong and proud. After walking around buildings older than New Mexico has been a State, we walked through the University of Edinburgh's School of Business. These buildings looked nothing like the surrounding area. Parts of these buildings were made with white stone, but cement was the main medium used when creating these structures. Cement was all around with little to no landscaping. The school was definitely going for a more modern feel. But apparently there are critics out there who would disagree with the planning of the University. My Dad was looking around at his surroundings, and after the third new building came into his view he said, "These buildings are EMBARRASSING!" Great emphasis on embarrassing. All I could do was laugh!

Another story: Remember how I mentioned my Dad refused to get a cab for our travel into town? Well, the same held true for the journey back to the B&B. Other than the fact that our feet were killing us, it began to rain. Not this Albuquerque version of "rain" where you could manage without an umbrella, but a full on downpour! After ten blocks and six pairs of shoes soaking later, my Dad wanted a cab. Every time we would stop to get a cab's attention, he would just stand there. On top of that, he wouldn't stay put! He would keep walking down the road, not giving a cab a chance. Thankfully, I became pro at this stuff after living in London and visiting Rome, Spain, and France. It was up to me. I took a look around, saw a cab with the window down, and yelled "Taxi!" The cab driver made a u-turn and came to our immediate aide. My Mom thanked me, knowing my Dad didn't have a clue. My Dad was proud, but didn't know how I managed to get a cab when he couldn't. Dad... it takes skill. 

The next morning, we went to take pictures of the palace of Edinburgh, Holyroodhouse Palace, and Parliament. My Dad was so disgusted by the Parliament building while my Mom was in love with the Palace. I must agree with both. Parliament was designed beautifully, don't get me wrong, but it looked more like a building for the arts rather than an official place of government business. The Palace was lovely. I prefer the Edinburgh Palace over Buckingham. It doesn't have the cold, lonely feel that Buckingham has. I bet anyone that this is where the Queen will retire. Afterall, her hubby is the Duke of Edinburgh.

Scottish Parliament

As we were leaving Holyroodhouse, we saw these amazing puppies. Ok, they weren't puppies, but they were the most well behaved dogs I have ever met! They followed and obeyed their owner very well and stayed calm with all of the attention they were receiving. The woman was nice to chat with us for a bit. After mentioning why I was in Europe, she said that Durham University is a very good school. It feels great to get this kind of confirmation from people I don't know! Here is a picture of the Dalmations!

We then left Edinburgh and drove along the east coast of England toward Durham. We made a quick stop to take in the sights of the ocean. It was lovely to see people walking along the coast, enjoying their day. There was another dog that we saw today that was very well behaved. He would play fetch with his owner and listen when called.

Finally, we made our way south, toward Alnwick Castle. Before we went inside the Castle grounds, we went to a cafe for lunch called The Black Olive Cafe. It was actually awarded by TripAdvisor to be one of the best local restaurants in the area! It was just what we were looking for. It was local, it was quick, and the waiter/owner was friendly. 

Alnwick Castle was definitely a sight to see! After purchasing our tickets (adults 24 pounds/ students 21.60 for castle and garden access), we walked straight through the archways that lead to an opening that looked all too familiar. If you could recall the first Harry Potter movie with me for a second, you will be happy to know that the scene where Harry learned to fly was filmed in this exact location! Of course there are far more historic facts about this place. Alnwick Castle has been around for over 1000 years! For the past 700 years, the Percy family has owned this wonderous site. 

Aside from driving back to Durham for the evening, that about sums up my parent's visit to the UK. I am so thankful that they were able to visit. I was able to explore so much more with them at my side! 

On July 3, I left England for the United States. Other than my parents, no one knew that I was coming back, not even my brother, Marcus. When I landed in Albuquerque my parents took me straight to Dick's Sporting Goods where my brother works. Yes, he actually has a job! He has grown up so fast! After searching for about ten minutes for Marcus around the store I finally spotted him. I tried running up behind Marcus to surprise him with my return. As he began to notice me, Marcus took a double take trying to process the fact that I am in front of him. Once he figured it out, he gave me a big hug. It was great to see him after all of this time. My parents and I left Marcus to his work and went to eat at Los Cuates. YUM! I missed NEW Mexican food so much! The taste of chile is unparalleled. 

The next day, July 4, my parents invited my aunts and uncles over to celebrate the holiday with a BBQ. They still didn't know that I have come back to the United States. My Grandma and Grandpa came over first. I hid a bit and casually walked to our backyard where they were gathered. My Grandpa got a huge smile on his face and my Grandma started crying instantly. It touches my heart that they were so happy to see me. One by one families would enter our backyard, all of which had the same reaction. They would enter the backyard, acting casual and saying hello to the general group. Once they noticed that I was there, they would get a confused look on their faces, tilt their head to the left and ask, "What are you doing here?!" This was all followed up with hugs and kisses. 

Now that my European adventure has come to an end, I now have a greater appreciation not only for the United States, but also New Mexico. I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to study abroad and am touched that I have been missed so greatly. To all those that this reaches, please know that I missed you just as much and thought about you wherever I went and will continue to do so. Thank you for your support. 

xxx