Day 90

Day 90! Three months gone! This morning I brought the rest of my souvenirs and summer clothes to Mom and Dad's hotel so they could pack them. We then went to grab breakfast and took the bus for about a half an hour to Hampton Court Palace where Henry the VIII and some other rich people lived. The Palace itself was absolutely huge with kitchens, gardens, rooms, etc., to see. The gardens were hard to see since it was cold, windy, and rainy, but the rooms were really pretty. Afterwards we took the bus (For free!) back to Richmond and grabbed lunch at a pizza place nearby. I had this really good pasta and mom gave me the rest of the pizza to bring back to school with me. We then grabbed dessert at Whole Foods (I got a turkey cupcake) then walked back to Mom and Dad's hotel. We said goodbye, and Mom and Dad waited for a taxi to drive them to Heathrow. Three more weeks and I'll see them again. I went back to school, started the homework for this weekend, and skipped the disgusting dinner at Richmond. We spent the rest of the day finishing up homework and studying for an Accounting quiz. School again tomorrow!

Day 87 - 89

Sorry, Papa, that I haven't been writing blogs. I've been so tired and have gotten back late with Mom and Dad that I go right to bed. On Thursday, I met up with Mom and Dad at Westminster Abbey.  We walked around and saw where certain famous people are buried, such as Isaac Newton, Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, etc. It was nice because the people at Westminster wished Americans a happy Thanksgiving over the intercom. After that we decided to find ourselves a nice place to go to lunch to celebrate Thanksgiving, and we ended up at a Mexican restaurant where I got fajitas. It wasn't exactly turkey, but it was good. After that we walked up to the National Portrait Gallery where there's paintings of kings and queens and leaders from the UK. We went through relatively quickly, and then went on the Tube to Kew Gardens. We made a brief detour at Starbucks (where I got a cookie and a really, really good hot apple cider), then went to the Gardens for their Christmas lights at 8. The Park itself is really big, and basically you just walk through all the lights and decorations. It's like Forest Park, except no cars. The displays were really pretty, some with fire and others with dangling lights to walk through and others with peacocks and flowers. We got some hot cinnamon donuts at one of the stands and they reminded me of the ones at the Big E. After walking through we went back to Richmond.

Friday was Cardiff day! Visiting Cardiff in Wales was pretty high on my bucket list, so I was happy we were able to get to go. We took a 3 hour train ride to Cardiff (after switching over in Reading) and eventually got to Cardiff at about 10:30 in the morning. The first stop was to the Ianto Jones Shrine, which was the attraction I had wanted to see. Basically, Ianto Jones is a character from the TV show Torchwood, a spin off of Doctor Who. A lot of that TV show was filmed in Cardiff, so we got to see the entrance to where Torchwood was in the show. Ianto Jones was an amazing character who was in love with another character, but he got killed off in one of the episodes. People were so upset by his death that they created a 'shrine' to him on Cardiff Bay near the ocean. It's basically a lot of pictures, artwork, letters, toys, etc., attached to a wall that people have added over the years. It's a legit thing to see, as it even has a Trip Advisor page. I just love the fact that people can love a character so much as to do something like that. After walking back the 1.5 miles we had walked to get there, we stopped at Nando's to have lunch. We got some good spiced chicken and brownies for dessert, then walked to Cardiff Castle. It was raining at the Castle, but we still got to walk through the corridors of the Castle that were used as bomb shelters during WWII, and got to climb to the top of the Castle's Keep. We also got to walk through some of the rooms, which was my favorite part because the library was so beautiful. Also, the TV shows Doctor Who and Sherlock were both filmed at one point inside Cardiff Castle, so those rooms were cool to see. After the Castle we had time to browse some stores, Dad got a coffee and Mom tried some new cheese dippers at McDonalds. We then had time to walk to the National Museum of Cardiff, which housed an art museum and a natural history museum. We only went to the art museum, but got to see some of my favorite artists like Degas and Monet. After that we walked back to the train station and took the ride back to Richmond. At Richmond I introduced Mom and Dad to Tortilla, which has amazing burritos and nachos for mom. Then we called it a night.

Today was our tour of Leeds, Canterbury, and Dover. We got to Victoria Station to meet our guide, and then left at around 9. Our first stop was Leeds Castle, which was pretty much as picturesque as can be, with a surrounding moat and green grass surrounding it. The Castle was actually still lived in until 2001 by the daughter of a rich American who married an English lord and bought the castle. We got to see all the different rooms of the castle, and my favorite was one room that was solely dedicated to clothes and shoes and was huge with a secret staircase. The outside was prettier than Cardiff Castle, but the inside of Cardiff Castle was prettier. Leeds Castle also was used by different politicians to have peace treaties and for celebrity parties at one point. We also grabbed a snack then hopped back on the bus. Our next stop was the Battle of Britain Memorial. The Memorial itself was an air force pilot sitting on a propeller, but there were two mounds on either side that used to hold guns to shoot down the German Lufthansa(?) If you climbed the mound you could see France in the distance, so that was really amazing to see. After that we stopped on a beach to take a picture of Dover Castle and the White Cliffs of Dover.  Finally, the last stop was in Canterbury for Canterbury Cathedral. We ran after our tour guide to make it to the Cathedral before a certain area was closed for service, so luckily we were able to see the entire Cathedral, which was really beautiful. Afterwards we walked around and shopped a little, then grabbed dinner/lunch. Our tour guide had previously recommended a little family owned restaurant to us on the bus and took our orders, so our food was practically ready for us when we got there. Mom and Dad had fish and chips and I had chicken and chips. I also had some apple juice, which may sound lame, but it was the best tasting thing ever. It tasted like liquid Motts applesauce. We also got apple pie (with whipped cream!) for dessert, which was so good. After that we walked around a little Christmas festival that was happening in the cute town, then got back on the bus and took a nap for the 2 hour ride back. We got back to Victoria and took a train back to Richmond. Mom and Dad then took me to Tesco to buy some granola bars, cereal, and my favorite 17 pence lemonade. Dad also bought me strawberries at Whole Foods because I really need strawberries in my life. We went back up to my school and their hotel, and they have to pack because they're leaving tomorrow :(

Day 86

Class was pretty terrible today. Our homework is near to impossible, and everyone is pretty much failing all the homeworks. After class, I met up with Mom and Dad at Camden Market, and we found a little pizza place to eat lunch. The pizza was really good, but the funniest part was when Mom got stuck in the bathroom because the door wouldn't open. :D Afterwards we walked around and shopped a little, then headed to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland. It was so amazing and beautiful and absolutely huge. Think the Big E but 100000x better. All the rides were intricate and big and there were animatronics and an ice skating rink and carnival games and a huge Ferris wheel. We went to an ice sculpture display which ended up being really impressive. They told us to bundle up, which was an understatement because the room for the displays was probably below freezing.  It was really fun, though, and the sculptures were really pretty. I even got to slide down a slide all made out of ice which was so much fun. They gave us free hand warmers on the way out too. After that we walked around some more until we decided to get some dessert. Dad got chocolate covered pineapple, I got a hot chocolate and split a strawberry and nutella crepe with Mom. I really miss strawberries on a random note. My school does not have that fruit available ever. After that we went back on the Tube, after having hidden my hot chocolate in Mom's purse because I wasn't allowed to bring my drink outside. On the Tube Dad even fell into people even while holding on, which was almost as funny as Mom getting stuck in the bathroom. We then walked back together and went to finish my homework, but to be honest, all of us did badly on it so we're back to pleading with our teacher.

Day 85

Mom and Dad are finally here! Class went by relatively quick, then I went to their hotel to meet up with them. I introduced them to Nando's for lunch, then we went to the Tube station to go to Baker Street.  We went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum (where I got a picture in front of 221b Baker Street). We discovered that people think that Sherlock Holmes actually was a real person who existed, and not just some made up character.  After that Museum we walked to the Wallace Collection to see some art.I showed Mom and Dad the painting that was in Frozen and my personal favorite piece of art from that collection. We then got on the Tube and went back to Richmond, grabbing some dessert at a local cafe. I then showed Mom and Dad my room at Richmond, gave them my chocolate I had bought for them from Belgium, and then went to their hotel to get my Oreos and People magazines, which I am currently doing all the crosswords right now.

Day 84

Today was the first day of my new class. Its a statistic class that is supposed to be a continuation of my QR math class from last semester, so all we did today was tried to review. It didn't work that well though because all of us were trying to be on the wifi on our laptops so none of us were able to open the class assignment. I don't think the teacher knew how bad the wifi is here on a daily basis. Our homework was a test based on last semester, and I'm actually surprised I got an 87 because last semester's class was a blow off course so I don't remember learning anything. We had a quiz in Accounting today that didn't go real well. We were allowed to bring notes and all the examples problems he did during class, but yet the quiz didn't have any resemblance to any of the questions or notes, so we pretty much guessed. After class it took us about two hours to finish, and I had to do more to get ahead for the week for when Mom and Dad get here tomorrow. After dinner we did Accounting homework, and we all sat curled up in bed since it was freezing cold everywhere in Richmond. No ones heat worked so we all had ten layers on and didn't get up out of bed. I swear someone left the windows open all night. Tomorrow Mom and Dad are here!

Day 83

Today was a pretty relaxed Sunday. I ate brunch with everyone, then I decided to go to the Tate Modern Art Museum. I had gone wanting to see Salvador Dali, but unfortunately the museum was being renovated so his works were being taken down. I did see some Warhol, Pollock, and Mondrian, which was pretty cool. The rest of the works were kind of lost on me, however, as modern art still doesn't make sense to me. There was one piece of work that was literally just a canvas painted gray. I mean, I'm pretty sure I could do that if I got a canvas and paint too. After the museum I walked to the nearby Christmas market that was happening. Christmas music was playing and it was all lit up so it was really pretty. I ended up getting huge cinnamon bun which might have been one of the best things I ate. I then walked across Millennium Bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral, which was in the distance. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that today was Sunday so I ended up attending a Protestant service. It was pretty to see the inside, though, which is all I really wanted to do.  After Mass I went back to Richmond, just in time for dinner. Dinner was green beans and cucumbers for me tonight, so it was a good thing that cinnamon bun had filled me up. I then just Skyped Mom and Dad and Mamma and Papa for the rest of the night. I also started to reread the Hunger Games randomly too. Tomorrow's my first class with another new teacher, so hopefully it will go well.

Day 82

Today three of us grabbed brunch and then headed to Camden Market. That place is so big you see something different everytime you go. We got these Dutch Pancakes which were mini pancakes with nutella and powdered sugar and they were so amazing. My roommate needed to buy something for her sister, so we just walked around. It was really, really cold and windy today. It was a pretty bad day to go out. It was about 35 degrees. After the market we went to Tower Bridge to see it all lit up at night. We then took a long Tube ride back to Richmond, grabbed Tortilla for supper, and went back to do some Accounting homework. I'm  not going to see Harry Potter with Emelia because the tickets were sold out, so I'm not sure what I'll be up to tomorrow.