Friday, October 29th
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I had asked my boss earlier in the week for the day off on Friday (I decided it was better to be honest then go the whole calling in “sick” route). I did have a legitimate excuse, however: after two months of not seeing them, my parents were visiting Londontown! But only for a little over 48 hours, the reasoning behind my day off. After some hesitation, my boss said yes, but said I would “need to make up the hours at some point.” I liked my dad’s response better: “Tell them to just deduct the hours from your paycheck!”
Friday morning my alarm went off at the same time as if I were going to work; I had arranged to meet my parents at the Grosvenor House hotel at 8AM (they got in about 10:30 Thursday night)! When the door to room 701 swung open, I was greeted by a big hug from my mom, then my dad, and then another round from both. It was weird to think about how long we had been talking about this weekend, but at the same time, it felt like I had just said goodbye to them at JFK. We had a leisurely (and delicious) breakfast in the Executive lounge (including incredible carrot spice muffins with cream cheese frosting center) before heading back to my neck of the woods for the “local tour”.
After my parents first ride of the weekend on the Tube, I showed them Courtfield, our flat and kitchen, followed by Harrington (where we have classes... including a mini-photo shoot in the Cassels Room), and some other local spots (like the florist I pass at least twice a day that always reminds me of Kathryn!). Our next stop was the Victoria & Albert Museum (Natural History had even longer lines than Monday), so I took them down Cromwell and showed them Sainsburys, our beloved Bobo’s Bubbles, Waitrose, and where the other two BU dorms are located. As my dad so sentimentally put it, “Show me all the places you charge at so when I get the alerts I can picture where you are!” Unfortunately, TopShop was not on the tour…
At the V&A we took a tour of a museum, which showed us the highlights and gave a feel for the layout. After that was over, I took my parents to some of the other exhibits I thought were worthwhile before heading back out into South Kensington for lunch. Of course, I had to take them to the blog-famous Creperie! I had only ever gotten sweet crepes there, so the three of us ordering savory ones was a first! But don’t worry… my dad and I shared a chocolate and coffee liqueur one for dessert (for those of you who know him well, I made sure there was actual sharing but cutting it down the middle…)! After a filling meal and a thorough Wilton/Audrey/Collin/Brock update, we headed back to Courtfield. Along the way, I showed my parents the club where Prince Harry has been known to be a frequent visitor, our neighborhood Chinese place, and the flat I want to buy when I’m older (hopefully).
The stop at Courtfield was short, just long enough for me to change for our night out! We headed back on the tube to Park Lane and had some afternoon tea and scones in the Executive lounge before resting for a little while. About 5 o’clock, we headed back on the underground to Leicester Square where we met Carolyn and my dad’s good friend from FASB, Paul, for dinner at a restaurant called The Forge. We had a lovely dinner and I know my dad was happy to visit with Paul after such a long time between visits. They used to travel all over together when they were younger, so it was like two generations of travel companions sitting at one table!
After a yummy three-course meal, we walked a few blocks (in the London drizzle) to the Adelphi Theatre, our next stop of the night and home to “Love Never Dies”… The Phantom of the Opera sequel! We said goodbye to Paul and made plans for dinner for the next night before heading inside. We had bought our tickets in July: the show had gotten mixed reviews, so we were all a bit nervous, but it turned out to be amazing! Besides the actors’ incredible voices, amazing score, and a great story line, the staging and special effects were like nothing I had ever seen before. My dad even mentioned them being “Disney-like” which is a high compliment in our books! I would attempt to describe them, but it wouldn’t do them justice. However, apparently, they are closing it down for a few weeks to implement new changes, so if I get the opportunity to see it again, it will be interesting to see what they’ve edited.
After the show let out, we all made our way to Charing Cross station to make our respective ways back. I had a wonderful first day with my parents and the show topped it all off, but Carolyn and I were both exhausted. We tried to get in as much sleep as possible, but we have a 9AM date at the Grosvenor tomorrow!
Cheers,
LC
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