Mom and Dad's 1st visit... Day 1-4!

My Mom and Dad sort of booked a last minute trip (only about 3 1/2 weeks in advance) to come to London to visit us for the first time over my Dad's birthday Feb. 24th!  We were so excited to show them what life is like for us here in London and to spend time with them since it had been over 6 months since seeing them! There was plenty to do and see in what felt like to little of time since they had never been to London before.

The trip began with happy tears at the arrival gate. (Actually for them their trip began by driving through a blizzard to the airport then sitting on the runway in Minneapolis for 4 1/2 hours before take off!) They made it here a bit later then anticipated but it was so exciting to be reunited at last!  Below are pics of their first couple Tube rides.

That night we brought them across the street from our flat to their first British pub for dinner.  It was pretty rowdy as there was a rugby game going on and lots of people watching on TV, Dad thought it was pretty fun to join in the yelling even though we had no clue what was going on, haha! 

Day 2: The next morning we headed out exploring... one of the first stops was Trafalgar Square (and their first glimpse of Big Ben from a distance).  They also got to see one of many street performers that are always there.  This particular day the man balancing on a tube and board wearing a red tutu was the highlight! 

Next we took the overground train about 30 mins to Greenwich.  Brian and I hadn't been there yet, we were saving it since I knew Dad would love to go see the Prime Meridian of the World where the Eastern and Western Hemispheres meet and learn about Greenwich mean time.  

When we first arrived it was around lunch time so our first stop was at the Greenwich Market. Brian quickly sniffed out the cookies and it didn't take Dad long either!

 

 
After lunch we made our way up the steep hill to the Greenwich Mean Time Observatory.  Here is a picture towards the top looking back down...

Dad checking out the mean time clock

Prime Meridian of the World!

The red time ball in the picture above on top is one of the world's earliest public time signals, distributing time to ships on the Thames and many Londoners. It was first used in 1833 and still operates today. Each day at 12:55 pm it raises half way up, then at 12:58 it is all the way at the top and falls at exactly 1:00 pm.

Standing on the Prime Meridian line! There are cities listed along both sides showing how many degrees longitude they are away.

Standing right next to each other but different hemispheres! 0 Degrees Longitude!

After leaving Greenwich we met up with our friends Amy and David to introduce them to Mom and Dad.  A few drinks lead to dinner followed by limoncello to cap off a great day! 

DAY 3:  Sunday we had some surprises in store for Dad's birthday which was actually on Monday but we wanted Brian to be able to be included when he wasn't working.  First we started out by filling one of their requests to attend a service at Westminster Abbey.  After a wonderful service I had planned brunch at the Cellarium Cafe which connected to the side of the Abbey and part is located in the old monk's kitchens.  We had a traditional British Sunday Roast (roast beef, vegetables, potatoes & gravy.  They were out of the yorkshire pudding...bummer!)  

Then at 2:00 pm it was time for Dad's birthday surprise! I had arranged a Rock n' Rolls tour that had been recommended to me.  A really cool guy name Ronnie dressed in an old suit and funky hat picked us up in his Rolls Royce and drove us around London showing us all sorts of famous Rock and Roll history sites, recording studios, and of course Abbey Road where the Beatles took one of their album covers! He waited for us right in front of Westminster with the Rolls Royce so we pretended we were taking pics of the church. Then, once we got close enough to the car we told Dad to hop in! He was so surprised to hear rock and roll music playing and to find out he was headed on a private tour of the city! The tour lasted 4 1/2 hours and to say Dad had a great time would be a HUGE understatement! (More on that later!) 

DAY 4:   On Dad's actual birthday we started out by going to one of my favorite restaurants for breakfast, the crepe place just down the street from our flat.  

From there we went to see the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels.

 Then we headed to Tower Bridge to get a closer view and walk across it.

Next, it was time for a trip up to the top of the Shard for a birthday toast and to see the city from above.

You can see the Tower Bridge if you look closely behind my head.  A few months ago I found out about the Aqua Shard Bar... no reservation necessary, one floor below the observation deck which costs 17 pounds to go up just to look out... seems like a no brainer to at pay less AND to have a drink with the view, right?!

Mom really loved the other highlight of this place... The bathrooms! (I also learned from experience the first time I visited here what that men's room looks like... accidentally walked in and saw a man standing up against the glass, yep the urinals have a pretty nice view too!)

After we left the Shard, I took Mom and Dad to introduce them to Munch, the dog I've been walking since November. They had fun meeting him!

After taking Munch for a walk, we were off to Harrods. Loved showing them my favorite part... the Food Hall! They enjoyed it too and we even picked out a big slice of rainbow cake and a slice of strawberry cheesecake for Dad's birthday! Also, all the cute Easter candy was out which was fun to look at and Mom bought some to bring home.  

 

We finished the day with a great dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant nearby our place.  The first few days of their trip were off to a great start!