Claire and Lauren Visit

After work on Monday, I walked into my house to find Claire and Lauren in my livingroom. J I was really excited to see them, and so after changing/eating/them showering, I took them out on the town. First, we went to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. We crossed the bridge to the Thames Path and walked under the London Eye. We went over the walkway bridge down the street to Trafalgar Square. We then walked through the gates to Buckingham Palace and walked for 20 minutes down to see it. It was great to see it at night, since I have already seen it twice during the day. We then walked back, by which point we were very cold from the wind. After going through Trafalgar Square and by the National Portrait Gallery, we went to Leicester Square. We were going to eat at the Hamburger Union, and then I spotted Wagamama’s! The food and dessert were great, as usual. Oddly, though, I had some sort of weird frostbite thing going on with my ear, and once we walked into the warm building, it swelled up. In addition, my other ear couldn’t hear well, perhaps leftover ear problems from the plane. Anyway, this subsided in a few minutes. After dinner, we quickly walked through Leicester Square to Piccadilly Circus and hopped back on the tube to South Kensington. It was a very successful night of tourism.

On Tuesday, I went to a conference during the day and ate lamb that didn’t sit well with me. Later that night, Claire and Lauren went to visit some Princeton friends at a friend’s house who lives a few blocks from here. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go because I didn’t feel well. They said it was a beautiful home and a lot of fun, and I learned that Hugh Grant lives very nearby. We stayed up chatting for a bit after they got home because Claire and I realize that it will be quite a long summer apart again. We were lucky to have time together this week.

On Wednesday, we ate at Giraffe on High Street. It was very yummy, but unfortunately we got there a bit late and Claire and Lauren had to switch their orders a few times. It tasted great; I love their falafel burgers. I chose not to get dessert, but after trying theirs, I am quite certain to get it next time. J

Claire and Lauren left for Heathrow early Thursday morning. I woke up to say goodbye to them, and it was sad to see them leave. Hopefully, I will be able to join them at lawn parties when I am home in early May.