Saturday, November 1, 2008

NanaPa Visits

FRIDAY
Nana and Pa arrived for their 10 day UK adventure Friday morning. They rode the tube from London Heathrow Airport to Waterloo Station where they caught the train to Farncombe. The girls and I met them at the station and together we walked back to the flat. We enjoyed chips from Rina's with our BBQ chicken for lunch and a relaxing afternoon. Madison and Pa went to the park and for a walk around the pond while Nana, Lillian and I enjoyed exploring High Street together. It was an early evening for all of us, as we had to catch the 7:30 train to Windsor the next morning.




SATURDAY: LEGO LAND
Our first adventures in England included a visit to Lego Land. We rode the train (just four changes and 2.5 hours) and dropped our luggage off at the bed and breakfast before making the 3 mile trek to the amusement park.


We enjoyed various rides and exhibits including exploring Loki's Labyrinth and the Dragon's Den roller coaster.






The best part of the park was the life-size lego replicas of various animals, buildings, and famous sites. Lego statues included Harry Potter, Stonehenge, the London Eye, and or course Elephants and Alligators.










SUNDAY: WINDSOR CASTLE
One of the many things on NanaPa's list of things to see in England included a real castle. So we decided to visit Windsor Castle.

After a lovely nights sleep at the Langton House Bed and Breakfast, we walked the short distance to the castle for our tour.

We forgot Lillian's burrito for bed time so we had to make due with a throw blanket. Needless to say, serpent Lillian had a good nights sleep.

Zipped up in our waterproofs with our umbrellas in hand


we walked the grounds and state rooms of Windsor while listening to our audio guides.


We even saw the Queen's guards and posed for a picture.

It was a rainy but fun day!





MONDAY and TUESDAY- LONDON

Another early morning at the train station- our destination LONDON.

We arrived at Waterloo station just after 10am.

Pa and Madison headed to the Science Museum and Nana, Lillian and I head to the Tower of London. We would be meeting up for lunch at one o'clock.

We enjoyed hot baguette sandwiches for lunch and then headed out for our Double Decker bus tour (another thing on the NanaPa list).

It was really cold on the open topped bus but it did not stop us from seeing the sites of London.



Our Double Decker Bus ticket included a boat cruise down the Thames River.

The sites from the water along with the clear blue skies were perfect.

After the boat cruise we walked the short distance to Big Ben and Houses of Parliament.



Then we headed to Westminster Abbey (Nana returned to Westminster on Friday on her own to explore the cathedral).

We enjoyed a walk through Green Park on our way to the Hard Rock Cafe. The leaves changing colors and the crisp air made for perfect fall weather.

After buying a souvenier Hard Rock t-shirt we stopped for a traditional London picture with a red phone booth

We then returned to Farncombe in time for dinner. Nana and Pa could not resist posing with our favorite street sign.


WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY and FRIDAY
The remainder of the week we enjoyed staying in our village and relaxing.
The girls enjoyed wearing their matching fleeces from Nana on our adventures

Madison and Pa enjoyed another visit to the park and a trip to the local swimming pool and we all enjoyed shopping trips on High Street.

We ended our visit with a trip the Jolly Farmer Pub in Bramley for a Halloween dinner. No dinner is complete without Sticky Toffee Pudding.


SATURDAY
8am came early and the girls and I said our good-byes to Nana and Pa as they joined Rob in the company car for their return to London Heathrow Airport.

It was a great visit for the family and in just 6 weeks we will be home!