Work has been so crazy lately and our travel schedules are getting more complicated, so I made a mistake…
A couple of months ago our good friends Dave and Katie (who got married last November in Houston) and Cristy (who visited us this past winter) told us they wanted to come and visit this summer. A couple of weeks after that our friends Molly and Jeremy from Austin (who we’ve spent past summers at Possum Kingdom with) also told us they wanted to visit later this summer. Of course we said everyone had to come and stay with us!
Usually I am a very good planner (sometimes too much of a planner - for those of you who have seen my packing lists and laughed at me) but this time, I got the dates wrong and everyone showed up on the same weekend! Which just happened to be the weekend I was supposed to be in Slovakia for work. :( Luckily I realized my mistake early enough and was able to fly home on Thursday night to prep for the arrival of our guests on Friday.
Needless to say, we had a mighty full house! The only people missing were the Olsen twins (circa 1996).
We took it easy on Friday because Katie and Dave were sleepy from their Houston flight and Cristy was also tired from a long day of travelling across Europe. So we just walked to our local pub across the common and enjoyed some lunch and beers in the garden. After David got off work, we all went into the city and walked from Piccadilly Circus to Covent Garden. In Covent Garden, we had drinks and watched street performers from the balcony of Punch and Judy, an old puppet theatre, now a pub. We had dinner at an outdoor Italian restaurant and then headed back to get lots of sleep before our weekend of site-seeing. Well, at least the girls did. The guys stayed up all night chatting (wait! isn’t that what the girls are supposed to do?) and smoking cigars (not something girls are supposed to do).
Molly and Jeremy met up with us at the pub for dinner, where Jeremy and Dave enjoyed their first fish ‘n chips meal. After dinner, we crossed Millennium Bridge and walked along the Thames to the Tower of London. On the way, I finally got to see London Bridge… which was terrible! It’s just an old, ugly bridge – what a let-down!
Everyone got a kick out of David, who has no sense of direction and started leading the group in the totally opposite direction of the wall. They also enjoyed his commentary throughout their visit. He loves to make up ridiculous ‘historical’ stories. But the scary thing is, people actually believe him! You’ll hear more about this in the Paris blog coming up next…
On Sunday, we started our day with a delicious breakfast at Tom’s Kitchen in Somerset House, the Tudor-style palace built by Edward Seymour that now functions as a museum. The breakfast was sooo good. I had a banana milkshake and brioche French toast with cinnamon cream and caramelized apples. My sweet tooth was obviously screaming at me that morning!
Afterwards we took the group to the London Dungeon. Cristy was TERRIFIED and it must’ve shown because she got selected to participate in the courtroom, the torture chamber, and she got the beejeezus scared out of her in the operating room. Even though that was my third time to the dungeon, it's still so much fun. I love seeing everyone's reactions. And it’s different each time, too. There are different exhibits and even a new ride coming out this summer.
Unfortunately, Sunday evening I had to head back out to Slovakia for work. The rest of the gang went to a local restaurant for dinner and was even able to include me (by putting my picture up in an empty chair). Awww so sweet!
A couple of months ago our good friends Dave and Katie (who got married last November in Houston) and Cristy (who visited us this past winter) told us they wanted to come and visit this summer. A couple of weeks after that our friends Molly and Jeremy from Austin (who we’ve spent past summers at Possum Kingdom with) also told us they wanted to visit later this summer. Of course we said everyone had to come and stay with us!
Usually I am a very good planner (sometimes too much of a planner - for those of you who have seen my packing lists and laughed at me) but this time, I got the dates wrong and everyone showed up on the same weekend! Which just happened to be the weekend I was supposed to be in Slovakia for work. :( Luckily I realized my mistake early enough and was able to fly home on Thursday night to prep for the arrival of our guests on Friday.
Needless to say, we had a mighty full house! The only people missing were the Olsen twins (circa 1996).
Kirby was so happy to see all his old friends. He wanted
everyone to play ball with him (hence the dirty tongue)!
We all had so much fun together! Everyone got along great, even though the Sylestines didn’t know the Vollmars and Cristy that well before the weekend began. But with all 7 people sharing one bathroom, we got to know each other pretty well!
We took it easy on Friday because Katie and Dave were sleepy from their Houston flight and Cristy was also tired from a long day of travelling across Europe. So we just walked to our local pub across the common and enjoyed some lunch and beers in the garden. After David got off work, we all went into the city and walked from Piccadilly Circus to Covent Garden. In Covent Garden, we had drinks and watched street performers from the balcony of Punch and Judy, an old puppet theatre, now a pub. We had dinner at an outdoor Italian restaurant and then headed back to get lots of sleep before our weekend of site-seeing. Well, at least the girls did. The guys stayed up all night chatting (wait! isn’t that what the girls are supposed to do?) and smoking cigars (not something girls are supposed to do).
The Texas gang at The Grange (Katie really loved this place since she's from La Grange)
The next morning we slept in REALLY late and then the Sylestines arrived. Molly is preggers, so she and Jeremy needed a nap before beginning their European "babymoon." David and I took the rest of the group to Westminster Abbey, which I hadn’t been to in over 6 years. I forgot how much I love Westminster, and it was especially cool to see it again after the Royal Wedding. It was so crowded though. Tourist season has definitely begun! The line stretched all the way around the side of the building. It went fast though and the audio guide was only an hour long, which gave us just enough time to run over to Borough Market for some snacks before dinner on the Thames.
Molly and Jeremy met up with us at the pub for dinner, where Jeremy and Dave enjoyed their first fish ‘n chips meal. After dinner, we crossed Millennium Bridge and walked along the Thames to the Tower of London. On the way, I finally got to see London Bridge… which was terrible! It’s just an old, ugly bridge – what a let-down!
David and me on Millennium Bridge with Tower Bridge in the background (and ugly London bridge)
They used to keep the gates open at night around the Tower, so visitors could admire Tower Bridge and parts of the Tower, like Traitor’s Gate, lit up. Unfortunately, the gates were closed when we got there, so instead we walked across the street to show the group the old Roman wall.
Everyone got a kick out of David, who has no sense of direction and started leading the group in the totally opposite direction of the wall. They also enjoyed his commentary throughout their visit. He loves to make up ridiculous ‘historical’ stories. But the scary thing is, people actually believe him! You’ll hear more about this in the Paris blog coming up next…
On Sunday, we started our day with a delicious breakfast at Tom’s Kitchen in Somerset House, the Tudor-style palace built by Edward Seymour that now functions as a museum. The breakfast was sooo good. I had a banana milkshake and brioche French toast with cinnamon cream and caramelized apples. My sweet tooth was obviously screaming at me that morning!
Afterwards we took the group to the London Dungeon. Cristy was TERRIFIED and it must’ve shown because she got selected to participate in the courtroom, the torture chamber, and she got the beejeezus scared out of her in the operating room. Even though that was my third time to the dungeon, it's still so much fun. I love seeing everyone's reactions. And it’s different each time, too. There are different exhibits and even a new ride coming out this summer.
Unfortunately, Sunday evening I had to head back out to Slovakia for work. The rest of the gang went to a local restaurant for dinner and was even able to include me (by putting my picture up in an empty chair). Awww so sweet!
Last week I was at the W in Dallas for work and Cristy and Katie were also there! So we were able to spend some girl time together celebrating the Mavs victories literally across the street from the arena with all of the sports celebrities and ABC/ESPN sports casters none of us recognized…
And David and I got to spend some extra time with the Sylestines the next weekend in Paris! So stay tuned for the Paris blog!
