FAMILY!!

So, Mom, Dad and Rach came this week, and it was amazing! My only regret is that I didn't get to spend more time with them... I basically didn't see them Wednesday or Thursday because I had class, work and Sean's birthday party. But on our other days out, we had so much fun and ate SO much food! They did a lot of siteseeing on their own, but here are some things we all did together:

-Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace
We showed up just before the guards (and marching band?) marched from some smaller palace to Buckingham, so we ran alongside them with the rest of the crowd and got some good photos. Once they went behind the gates of the palace, we couldn't really see anything, but stuck it out for a while anyway.

-St. Paul's Cathedral

-Tate Modern

-London Eye
The Eye was pretty good. It was a little overcast when we went so we didn't get a lot of great pictures. The young-ish couple who were in our pod asked us, "Have you guys found any place to eat around here?" Um... actually yes, it's a huge city with a million great restaurants. Dad told them to get Rick Steve's. The other funny thing that happened was at the end of the ride they take a photo. Rach and Mom refused to get in it, but Dad and I did. The problem was, I had no idea where the camera was, so in the photo I was looking way off to the side and Dad was actually looking at the lens. He bought it anyway...

-Westminster Abbey
It was really cool to see the stone of scone and the tombs of old royalty... and to even just be in the place where nearly every king has had a coronation ceremony. Poets' Corner was probably my favorite though... I saw headstones for Jane Austen, Rudyard Kipling, and Charles Dickens.

The most memorable part of the Abbey, though, was Isaac Newton's tomb. Rachel wanted to find it because she could get extra credit for school by taking a picture of herself on Spring Break with her Calculus book. Isaac Newton's grave seemed like an appropriate backdrop. It took us forever to find the tombstone. No photography is allowed in the Abbey, so we had to quickly and subtly take the picture before being accosted by one of the many guards milling around. As you may know, subtly is not a particular strength of the Ogle family... as Mom took the photos, Dad paced, I fled the scene altogether, and Rachel giggled continually and nervously. After 2 very blurry photos were taken, a guard walked over and told us not to take any more, at which point we left abruptly. Only the Ogles.

-"The White Guard" at the National Theatre

-"Billy Elliot" at the Victoria
Rachel and I loved the show and giggled through most of it. It's much more lighthearted, humorous and showy than the movie, which is actually a bit somber. The actor who played Billy is the youngest to ever have done so! Dad didn't like it quite as much, as he doesn't really like musicals. He and Mom wanted to leave before the final number, but Rach and I stayed, and it was quite amusing as the entire cast wore tutu's.

-Gordon's Wine Bar
Near Trafalgar square, this place is the oldest wine bar in London. The food was just okay, as it was traditional British food (pork, beans, various kinds of potatoes, etc.) The venue was really cool, as we sat in a very dark cellar that looked like a cave, lit only by candelight. Rachel hated it, the rest of us gave it a "thumbs up," as Dad always says...


Today I absolutely have to do laundry, and then I'm meeting Donnie at Selfridge's for some shopping. Going out for Sean's birthday tonight (again)!