Steph and Paul's Weekend of Fun... well, for me anyway :)

 Living abroad, I forget all the great American Holidays that we get off work for back home. The weekend of February 18th, my bestie Steph and her fiance Paul came to spend their President's day with us in London! Yayyyy!!


My excitement requires a bit of background. Steph and I became best friends in college, our Junior year, when we took the two week International Marketing tour. We did four countries in two weeks - Munich, Dingolfing, and Auschwitz Concentration camp in Germany; Lucerne, Switzerland; Paris, France; and London, England!!! We didn't really know each other but roomed together the entire two weeks. By the time we made it to London, we were inseparable, so it was really important to me that we did a lot "walks down memory lane"... literally! 


Since it was Paul's first trip to London, I put together a 3 page itinerary, with their every second planned. When they got in on that Friday the 18th, they got settled into our flat, and as much as I wanted to go, I had them do the Big Bus Tour while Andrew and I finished our work days. I can't even begin to describe how amazing it felt to walk in from work to my BEST friend sitting in my London flat! 


We went to dinner at our favorite little Italian place, Santa Lucia in Chelsea. After sharing pizza and wine and talking about their very exciting upcoming wedding, we all hit our pillows hard pretty early that night. 


To make sure we did everything absolutely right for them, Andrew went out and got chocolate croissants from Paul's for breakfast and then we were off to Harrod's! No matter how many times I go to Harrod's, it still amazes me. I only really love the Food hall portions though! Steph found lots of souveniers in the form of teas and biscuits and all sorts of cute little Harrod's things, and then on to Covent Garden. 


In College, Steph and I ate dinner with a small group at a cafe in Covent Garden. Reminiscing about our trip continuously and pointing out "remember, there is where we did...blah blah blah" and "this is where we went that one night...", I realized that I remembered our college trip A LOT better than Steph! I guess that's a good thing for her, since I was showing them a lot of the same places we'd already been to! 


From Covent Garden we went walked up to the British Museum. I had never been to the British Museum, and I was not disappointed! I saw mummies and jewelry that David Yurman must have been inspired by and pieces of the Parthenon and the Rosetta Stone! In Miss Tubb's 6th grade social studies class, I became obsessed with Egyptian history and hieroglyphics. I had never really thought about what the Rosetta Stone was until then, but HOW freaking cool that it deciphers the hieroglyphs!? I love me some good history! 

After the museum, we went home to freshen up before dinner in Trafalgar Square! We went to this little restaurant that was a Whisky Bar/hunting lodge themed called Albannach. I felt like their were Patronuses everywhere! We opted for Prosecco to kick off the night and then stuffed our faces. The food dishes were literally infused with Whiskey! There was a beautiful dessert that Paul ended up getting served in this giant Whiskey glass that was more or less Whiskey and ice cream! It was surprisingly better than I thought it would be! 

Then Sunday was the big walking day. To switch up my standard walking tour, we started off in Notting Hill. I stand firm by my claim that the best day to walk through Notting Hill is Sunday. You still have all the fun vendors, but without the overwhelming touristy crowds. Steph and Paul got a really nice little picture collage of London then over to Hyde Park we went. We saw some of the Gardens on the Kensington Palace Property which I had never seen and then over to Buckingham. Paul was NOT happy with all my walking I made him do, but he was a realy trooper. From Buckingham, it was Westminster and then Borough Market! After that, it was time to rest at home before a lovely Greek dinner and bed. 


Andrew and I had to be back at work on Monday, but I tried to wake Steph up before we left so they could go see the Tower of London, but the Jet lag was extra bad that day so they opted to sleep in instead. 


I cried that Sunday night when I said my real goodbyes to them, she's my best friend in the whole world. It felt like home having them here. Home is a feeling that has been tucked away and almost forgotten since we've moved to London. I love London, but it doesn't feel like home, and when we go back to the States, that doesn't feel like home anymore either. It's a rather interesting place to be in - I'm a nomad! So having Steph and the familiarity and happiness that came with her was such a wonderful gift. I feel refreshed and revived. I'm so lucky to have her in my life!