Guess who's back? Back again...

This week has been amazing!

Monday night was FHE and we had a very fun time running around the building taking pictures of our scavenger hunt. We had to find something that begun with A, take a picture and then B and so on. It was a very short activity, but I had fun. I was able to meet some new people and even added some of them on Facebook! YAY!

Tuesday we put our crockpot to use for the second time and made some soup. I have the latest class, so I put together a creamy potato soup that was soooo warm and tasty. (The first soup we made was a chicken tortilla and I really enjoyed that one)

The top is the chicken tortilla and the bottom is potato. I must say that I was very happy that they turned out well. And even happier when I walked into the flat after coming home from class and smelling that delicious soupy smell. We (MC & TP and I) have decided that we're going to make it a weekly tradition and the girls from upstairs are invited as well! It'll be a fun little dinner party!

Wednesday I got together with SJ to plan some upcoming trips that we want to go to (no I'm not going to tell you where quite yet) and then I took her to Forbidden Planet (yes I'm obsessed) and some of the secondhand book stores I had go to on Saturday (Also obsessed). I don't think I'll ever be able to make a trip to FP without buying something. This is the new DW apron I bought that I cannot wait to wear around the kitchen at home!

We also walked past this mouthwatering bakery, which apparently are famous for their cakes (no, I didn't get any although I was ready for something to eat). 

I think that we'll do something with this for my birthday at the end of the month. 

Thursday MY DAD CAME FOR A VISIT! I left my flat to make the long (but worth it) journey to the airport to meet my dad! 

I was soooo glad that he came for a visit. He's not staying for very long, but I was going to make the most of it! We stopped by my flat before heading to his hotel so that we could drop off all the things that he brought me such as: much needed clothes, chapstick, and goodies from home (homemade banana bread, girl scout cookies, raisins, rolos and organic poptarts). And I loaded the suitcase back up with some clothes I don't wear here, gifts for mom and friends and some of the books that I've bought. I really hope that it doesn't leave here heavier than it arrived.

I was sooooo glad to get some banana bread. (It's only Friday and the loaf is already half gone). 

We went to the National Gallery so I could show him Sunflowers by Van Gogh, but due to some sort of strike going on, half of the museum was shut down. Of course it was the half of the museum with Van Gogh, but we walked around the rest of the museum and stayed there until it closed at 6. 

We went to dinner at a place called the Shake Shack. They sold yummy burger and fries and milkshakes (reminded me of a In n Out). We ate pretty quickly and then decided to go see a movie. As much as I love movies, it is not worth the money to go see one in London. Thankfully, because I was a student I got a discounted price, but the discounted price was still more than a matinee at home.  Anyway, we went and saw The Imitation Game with my main squeeze Benedict Cumberbatch. 

Can I just tell you how much I loved this movie? Not only is it a true story about WWII, but the acting and music were amazing (I almost started to cry near the end). It's crazy to think that a man who saved millions of lives during the war was condemned a criminal just because of the choices he made in life. (Queen Elizabeth gave him a full pardon a couple of years ago, but he died thinking that he was a criminal) I'm not going to say much more on the movie, but just know that I loved it and I'm definitely planning on buying it when it comes out. 

Friday. Today we got up early because we had our Fat Tire Bike Tour at 11 and we met for lunch at 9:30. We went to a cute little French Crepe places which made breakfast and dessert crepes all day. (Don't worry, I had a breakfast crepe with spinach and mushrooms. It was probably the first greens I'd had in a while) We then headed off to meet our guide to go on our 4 hour bike tour. 

I really liked the bike tour even though I had seen most, if not all the places that we stopped at. But like any good tour guide, I was given a TON of history on the places that I saw, which I didn't know before:) 

Our first stop was Kensington Palace. This is the current living place of Prince William and Kate Middleton and little George. Their "apartment" spans across 4 floors and holds 21 rooms and it took 1 million pounds to baby proof it. This is also the house that Diana used to live in while she was alive and now it holds some of her dresses from her life. Queen Victoria also lived here for a time and you can also see a pair of her underwear at the museum which apparently are a 56 inch waistline (I think those are the numbers, don't quote me on that though)

Afterward we rode through Kensington Palace Gardens, Hyde Park and stopped at Hyde Park Corner and saw the arch that is a monument to the Duke of Wellington (who was not born a duke, but given the title later in life). We saw a great number of police on horses ride by and even the artillery pulling cannons behind them. Apparently, they take these cannons into Green Park and fire them on special occasions such as the Queen's birthday, coronation days, when George was born etc. They fired them off in the park today, because today is the 63rd or 62nd year anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's succession to the throne. (Not her coronation day, but the day her father died, making her queen)

After riding through the large group gathered to watch the cannons in Green Park, we headed to Buckingham Palace. Our guide told us a story of how a man (in the 80's) was obsessed with the royal family, he broke into Buckingham Palace, stole a bottle of wine and creeped into the queen's bedchamber. He didn't hurt her or anything and he was almost let go because at the time trespassing was a civil offense, not a criminal offense, but they charged him with stealing the bottle of wine from the mail room. 

We then made our way to Trafalger Square where we proceeded to eat lunch and walk our bikes around the square. Then we headed to the back of the buildings on Whitehall Street and stopped in a large lot between the buildings and St. James' park. These buildings are meeting places of government officials (I don't remember exactly), it also included 10 Downing Street where the Prime Minister lives. This large area used to be a car park, until someone drove a van into the middle of the park and launched 2 missiles at 10 Downing Street almost killing the PM at the time. It since has held a small stadium where the Volleyball games were held during the 2012 Olympics. And underneath the lot is the Churchill War Rooms (a museum that has been voted the best museum in London for a couple of years in a row).

We then biked to Westminster Abbey where many special occasions are held such as weddings (Kate and William), coronations (Queen Elizabeth) and funerals. Although this was not the original Westminster Abbey, the original was torn down by the Normans who didn't like it and rebuilt in their own style. 

Our tour ended in Hyde Park when we rode to the monument that Queen Victoria built for Prince Albert (who, I found out today, are known as the grandparents of Europe, and were first cousins. So a bit of inbreeding going on there.) I honestly think that the monument is really ugly. It's out of place and really obnoxious standing at the edge of Hyde Park, but across the street is the Royal Albert Hall, which is actually rather lovely.

After the bike tour ended, I took dad down the Oxford Circus/Regent street to show him where I was going to school and I wanted to take him to Forbidden Planet as well. We walked around quite a bit and called it a somewhat early night because we have some fun plans for tomorrow which include a museum trip, Borough Market (are you surprised?) and a football fixture!