Justin's Arrival

Saturday morning Justin was arriving in London.  We planned to wait for him outside Piccadilly Circus at 12:00 but he had a long line at immigration and didn’t get to the city until 1:30.  After waiting for an hour, Eric and I took Sam to borough market.  There were bought grilled cheese for lunch at the famous grilled cheese stand.  It was so good.  They add onions and peppers and there is cheese on the outside too!

{Grilled Cheese at Borough Market- I wish it was open everyday!}

At 3:00 Sam, Eric, and I met my parents and Justin at Madame Tussads.  Madame Tussads is a wax museum and I have wanted to go since I got to London so I was super excited.  We waited for about an hour and finally got inside.  It started with the a-list room.  Top celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, and the Twilight Stars were there.  Then we headed into the movie area and took pictures with Whoopie Goldberg, Arnold Schwartzenager, Marilyn Monroe, and Andrey Hepburn.  Next was sports room and politics room.  There was Prince William and Queen Elizabeth II.  There was JFK and President Obama.  The next room was the pop stars which included Justin Beiber, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Rhianna, Beyonce, and Michael Jackson.  The last room was Marvel Characters- Iron man, spiderman, captain America, and the Hulk. It ended with a 4D marvel characters movie taking place in London.  The museum was a lot of fun and a great break from the historical museums and sites. 

{Angelina Jolie and Brad Bitt}

{Audrey Hepburn}

{Prince Will}

{The fam with President Obama}

That night we got tickets to see Thriller Live.  I wouldn’t consider it a musical rather a performance of Michael Jackson’s music.  There was no story but it was still entertaining.  I really liked this show!

On Sunday we started the morning at the Tower of London.  We got there at 10:00 am when it opened and we were in the tower by 10:30.  For the first hour we followed a Yeoman (beefeater) around the tower hearing stories about the history of the tower.   I had already taken a tour of the tower with my class but it was still fun hearing the stories from the yeoman.  Then we went into a tower and saw the crown jewels.  They were so sparkly! We ended in the armor museum where we were finally towered out. 

{Justin and I at the Tower of London}

From there we went to the London Eye.  We were lucky with another sunny day in London, a rather rare event.  The unlucky part was that other people thought today was a great day for the London Eye too.  We waited in line for probably 45 mins.  Last time I went on the Eye it was at night so I was glad I got to do it again during the day.  It’s a very cool view being able to see the city from that high.  It’s a 30 minute tour and afterwards we crossed the bridge and was in the City of Westminster.  We walked passed the Houses of Parliament and the Big Ben and saw the Westminster Abbey.  It would have been nice to be able to go inside the Abbey but its closed on Sundays for services.  At this point it was 5:00 pm and we headed back to the hotel for a nap before dinner.

{My mom and I in front of the London Eye}

{Me at Big Ben}

That night for dinner we went to a well-known top-scale restaurant called The Ivy.  I ordered a delicious chicken and for dessert malt ice cream!  It was really nice to be together as a family again!

Tomorrow the rest of the gang leaves for Paris while I prepare for my two exams.  I hope they are able to get around the city and do not get lost.  Best of Luck!