Crocus is a flower, not to be mistaken for a bird

Monday:
Yesterday was a full day for my family, they went on a guided walk that ended up at the Globe Theatre, ate lunch at The Anchor pub, and then went to the Imperial War Museum. I met them after my classes. It was such a bummer to be in class when I knew my family was here, but oh well. I was almost late for class on Monday as I underestimated the time it took to get to Goodge Street from Baker Street. Whoops.

When I met up with my family, my mom and Jessica had just returned from taking an adventure to find some delicious chocolate milk shakes. The last time my mom and Jessica and I were in London two summers ago we fell in love with these chocolate milkshakes that were at Victoria Station at a little kiosk. Unfortunately they are no longer at Victoria but we found them at Bond Street. They are still as good as I remember them and I will be going back for more at some point in the semester! Yum. After our milkshakes we wandered around the neighborhood here and looked at the blue plaques that are all over on the sides of buildings representing famous people who lived on the site. It is fun to find random ones and even more fun when you recognize the name of the person. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle creator of Sherlock Holmes lived on the street where our apartment is. After that we went to eat at the Golden Hind, which I highly recommend. They get fresh fish daily and we had the best fish and chips I've had so far. My dad said he hasn't had any better fish than what we had and I'm sure he's had his share of fish. It is a very small restaurant, but tasty.

After dinner, we headed to Westminster where a group was meeting for a guided walking tour called, 'London by Gaslight.' Right when you walk up the steps to exit Westminster tube station, you see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. It is quite the sight. The first time I stepped out and saw them I was just amazed and now I don't even think twice. I almost forgot that it was my dad's first time seeing them. I think they are even prettier at night, so I'm glad he got to see them like that. The walk lasted about two hours and took us around the neighborhood of Westminster. The guide talked a lot about Parliament and the two sections of it -the House of Commons and the House of Lords. During daytime you can tell if Parliament is still in session by whether or not a flag is flying on the building, but at night you can tell by a light that will be toward the top of Big Ben. Big Ben is also just the name for the bell, not the bell tower. So although we talk about Big Ben all the time, really we never see it. It is one of the most accurate clocks in London and it is cracked which is the reason for its unique sound. The walk took us behind Westminster Abbey and to a really nice neighborhood where some of the members of Parliament may live because it is a good distance from the House.

After the walk we headed back to our flat and crashed.

Tuesday:
Today I was at my internship all day and my family made the trip to Leed's Castle which is about an hour from London. It is sort of between London and Canterbury and I think it may be the castle I saw out of the coach window when I was on my way back from Canterbury. Anyway, my internship was the usual. I got to talk to the speech therapist a lot so I feel like I am getting the experience I need. The only good story from the day is: one of the children bit on of the teachers, and she said "ouch that really hurt" in a British accent. I had to hold back from laughing because the only thing I could think of was "ouch Charlie, that really hurt" (also said in a British accent). I'm assuming the youtube video Charlie Bit my finger is not popular over here so I kept it too myself.

I beat my family back to the flat, but I had the keys so I was able to get in. They got back sooner than I thought and pounded on the window so I would hear to let them in. There are two doors that lock automatically to get into our apartment. The first is the one from the outside that lets you into the apartment building and the second door which is approximately 10 feet or less from the first door lets you into our actual apartment. Anyway, I let them in the door from the outside only to turn around and realize I had locked us out of the apartment with the keys inside. Whoops. I went up to the main level to use the intercom system to try to get a hold of the man who we rented the apartment from, I must have pushed the wrong one because I got a lady. The first time I couldn't really understand what she was saying and so about five minutes later I tried again and got the same lady. I proceeded to tell her how we were locked out the of apartment and she asked, "well how do you expect to get into your apartment?" and I said, "Well I was hoping you could help us with that". She was very confused and apparently she was not the person who would have extra keys but a resident of the building. Again, whoops. So I called the guy and he laughed at me as I told him the story and said he would bring the spare keys to us, but he wouldn't be back for an hour. So, we headed out to find a bookshop for Jessica and then some dinner. We ended up eating at a pub just down the street. It was a really cute pub that served only typical 'English' pub food. I had a chicken and mushroom pie, which was actually quite tasty although the name would suggest otherwise. We also tried a cherry beer which is not so tasty. It was odd because it tasted as though it would be cherry cola but with a beer after taste. We finished the night off with brownies and ice cream and planned our day for tomorrow. :)