Weicher Family in London

Well, it's been 17 days since I was last in London. One of the many great things about studying abroad is that students get a nearly month-long spring break, which meant that I was able to do a lot of traveling these past few weeks. I spent my time off in 6 different countries: the UK, Germany, France, Turkey, the Netherlands, and finally, Belgium. Because I have a lot to write about, as well as a ton of pictures to share, I will be writing a separate blog post for each leg of my trip. The navigation on the right side of my blog page will allow you to view my post about each country/city. Also, rather than writing a small novel for each blog post, I'll be mostly using pictures to explain my trip. Enjoy!

Exactly three weeks ago today, my wonderful family arrived in the UK for the start of my spring break, which fortunately coincided with part of my brother John's spring break. Though I've been having a great time, I've missed them so much throughout my entire time abroad, and was so thrilled for their arrival. We stayed at the Pullman Hotel (it was so nice to escape the dreary walls of Dinwiddy House for a few days) next to St. Pancras Train Station for 5 nights while we explored some of the major sites of London, saw two incredible shows, and had fantastic meals. Here is the visit in pictures and captions:

The Pullman Hotel, our home for 5 nights!

Mom and Dad riding the tube on the first night of the trip,
after having a delicious English pub meal at
The Blackfriar!

On the first full day of the visit, we visited the British Museum; John very
much enjoyed this owl sculpture!

After the British Museum came the British Library, where we
saw the Magna Carta.

That night, we saw a fantastic play called
The Winslow Boy at the Old Vic Theatre. Fun fact, Kevin Spacey is
the theatre's artistic director!

The next day, we visited the Tower of London, a historic
castle located right on the River Thames. It was freezing cold, but we
enjoyed it nonetheless!

Great view of the Tower Bridge from the Tower of London

Entering the Crown Jewels exhibit at the Tower of London;
in my opinion, one of the coolest parts was the conveyer belt
you rode while looking at the jewels, to make sure people kept moving.
What a great idea!

View exiting the Tower of London

On Saturday, we saw one of the greatest shows I'd ever seen:
The Book of Mormon! It had just officially opened in London when
we saw it, and tickets are already sold out until June! It is playing
at the Prince of Wales Theatre, right in Piccadilly Circus. 

On our last full day in London, we visited the Churchill War Rooms;
John apparently enjoyed himself quite a bit.

Cabinet meeting rooms at the Churchill War Rooms. The entire
museum was very interesting and provided a great overview of
Great Britain's role in World War II.  

Brother & Sister pic near Big Ben!

View of the British Library and St. Pancras International
Train Station from the hotel!

I had such a great time showing my family around London for 5 days. It was such a change to be the one in charge on a family vacation! Their visit also made me realize how much I've actually come to know and love London in the short amount of time I've been here. It was such a treat to show them some of my favorite restaurants, where I go to class, where I live, and how I get around to different parts of the city. It felt like having a little bit of home with me here in London; the only thing missing were my precious pups!  

After a great time in London, it was off to Germany for the Weicher Family!