Chapter Two: Welcome to Fatland

Mum and Dad insisted on the London Eye. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the London Eye is a giant ferris wheel that boasts the best views of London for £17.50! Dad said, 'That's the coolest thing I've ever done.' Mum revised her schedule and helped me point out different locals to the other couple in the pod. £17.50? Really? At least we got a good picture of us and with Bill Guido I guess that's worth every penny. Normally I would attach that picture here...but it's not electronic. They brought the cold and snow. Still that was the coldest week we've had and the snow was so bad...well I get to that later.

I was really proud of my parents for trying to use the public transportation system, but the London Underground is literally impossible to master fully in that time. Because of this, my parents almost missed the train to Scotland, and in the spirit of spontaneity they arrived at London's King Cross without a stitch of luggage. I know right? So off we headed to Edinburgh, me with luggage and warm clothes and them with wallet and purse and literally the clothes of their backs. Thank god I had the guide book...and the tickets! We looked out the window to the beautiful Northern countryside and then it started to snow! Snow! SNow! SNOw! SNOW! By the time we got to Scotland, it was really starting to stick. Luckily we got there in time that it didn't ruin Saturday (Sunday aka the dark day was a different story) Apparently in Scotland, after 9 it's impossible to get food, which was fine because they only place that was open was Mexican. For me, it was an oasis in the desert. Mexican. Margaritas, fajita, guacamole, salsa, so perfect. Then I TRIED to give them a pub crawl but they didn't make it past the first bar! Wimps. It's ok. Dad drank enough whiskey on Saturday to make up for it. Pub life in Edinburgh was hopping. These little guys on bikes buzz around giving drunk people rides, once so funny is Edinburgh is all hills, steps, and valleys. What comes down...must go back up in Scotland. With snow and beer this isn't so easy. This biker was trying to get these guys up the hill and a then in a huff asked, 'Where the fuck(fuck in a Scottish accent sounds like fook) are you from, fatland?' Then everyone rallied and pushed them all up the hill. Perfect. We laughed so hard. Dad's only desire was to go to the Castle so we did it first thing in the morning. After they had a proper English breakfast, I know better than that. Ick. They didn't like it either and kept blaming the restaurant. Trust me, it wasn't the restaurant. Dad also learned that if you want coffee with milk (no cream) you ask for white coffee. The Castle was epic! Mom loves the tours and the tour guide was good, but not as good as the discovery that because of St.Andrew it was free! SCORE! I like free.However, we missed the 1 o'clock gun because we were in the gift shop (everyone expect the good presents from Scotland)! Clearly its not very loud. It's similar when Catherine and I missed the famous clock in Prague play its ditty because we were in the Starbucks line nursing out hangovers after a proper pubcrawl. The perfect, but freezing day, was concluded by a ghost tour. I was genuinely terrified of two things, that my parents would fall getting around the tour and of the poltergeist! It was a good scare and if you ever on in Scotland, go on a ghost tour in the vaults at night. The snow really added to the effect. Anyone want to guess what we did after? We went drink! And warm up, we accidentally ended up at the Elephant House. To continue my literary pilgrimage it just happened to be the bar/coffee house/cafe where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter! Yes! It's true and this discovery was made via a toilet. There was an HP toilet seat in the bathroom and people had signed the stalls. Epic. Truly epic.

Day Three: Mom and Dad in the same clothes from Day 1 and 2.
The snow was basically a borderline blizzard and our tour was canceled! We were supposed to go into the highlands to see the cows. It was my birthday and I was very upset. Everything was closed except the Royal Scottish Museum. There we saw half of the Lewis Chessman which was cool, but other than that it was potentially the most boring museum ever. Needless to say we left and wandered around. We ended up at the Christmas Market where I made my parents ride the ferris wheel for my birthday, turns out they are afraid of heights. I had no idea after the London Eye. It was hilarious. For anyone who's wondering, hot buttered rum punch, amazing. Then to escape the cold we saw Harry Potter, my second time, their first. Again, so good! Happy 22nd birthday to me! And because it was my birthday, I got to eat popcorn and peanut m&m's for dinner. Hehe. Are we sure I turned 22? Maybe I'm regressing in age. A few stressful meltdowns occurred in the middle of the day, but we'll ignore those because after 3pm, it was a fabulous birthday! Mom got a behemoth brownie sundae in honor of my birthday at this cafe called Chocolate Soup. I'm lactose intolerant...lol

Early the next morning we went to catch our train which was surprisingly on time. (Mom and Dad still in the same clothes. I'm glad it was cold and not hot...) The train ride was an intense/difficult journey to say the least. We knew the snow might cause a few delays, but never would have guessed that the train in front of us would break down and all their passengers would get on our train adding all their stops, plus an extra 5 hours. Yes, the 3 1/2 hour train ride took 9 hours! The train ran out of food! Anyone want to guess what we came back to? That's right, a planned tube strike.

Starving, haggard, and still in the same clothes we had to go straight to the New London Theatre for Warhorse. My real birthday present. But here's the part where I talk about how proud of my parents I am. Here's why (even though Dad never tried haggis):

1. They never complained about wearing the same clothes for 3 days straight.
2. They climbed 4 billion steps in the freezing cold.
3. They laughed through pain.
4. They told me how awesome I am.
MOST IMPORTANTLY:
5. Mom tried Indian food and loved it!

Yes my picky mother who still complains about how Dad tricked her into eating Thai in Richmond, not only sat down at an Indian restaurant with an open mind, but let me order for her and tried everything that was brought to her! That was a great birthday present for me. My parents are growing up, so cute. ;)

6. And Dad finally realized London theatre is on the same level(if not a higher level) than his precious Broadway. Thanks to Warhorse.

Warhorse was hardly describable. Everyone cried, everyone laughed, everyone clapped. Still no standing O. Classic London. On my bus ride back to Waterloo, I sat next to the quite attractive lead of the play.

Their last full day in England we went to Hampton Court and for the first time in four days I saw my parents in different outfits. Thank goodness since we were attending the Royal Palace of Henry 8th. I really liked Hampton Court. Probably my favorite of the Historic Royal Palaces, but it's freezing in the winter and guess what. The snow followed us to London, and didn't go away for a week. It's good my parents go out when they did because after they left most of the airports closed. We ended that day in Kingston and Surbiton and the historical (to us anyway) Berryland's Berry where my parents got to meet my soul mate Catherine. I hadn't seen her in 9 days, for the two of us it was a lifetime. We laughed, ate a delicious pub meal, and I got more presents. Sure I didn't need anymore presents, but they were good ones. Mom could be a personal shopper. She really gives the best presents. I got a daisy pendant with a real flower inside and an Alexander technique cd (yes theatre dork!)

Graciously my parents dragged 3/4 of my crap back to the states, although it was a trek to get it to them in London with the snow. After they left, reality set in: 2 weeks left, 2 essays, 2 plays, 2 performances, 1 short story all due the Friday before I leave. So if you are wondering where I've been it's in the Kingston Library. With only 5 days left, I have some editing to do and one essay to finish but everything else is pretty much done. I can't believe it's coming to an end and I can't believe how jam packed the last two weeks have been.

I may have mislead you. I am not spending all my time in the library, since my parents left, I've seen 4 shows, finished Christmas shopping, celebrated my birthday with the ladies, yeah and also had my wallet stolen. A minor hiccup in perfection.

This is one of my last entries and I know it's a bit rushed. Thanks you guys for keeping up with me. I wish you could have all come to experience my magical experience abroad. I can't to share more stories and of course tons of pictures!

Cheers yall
Carolyn

Literary and Epic

Dear Blogosphere, do you miss me? I miss you!

I know it's been forever. I seems that my last few weeks in London are doomed. They are not unhappy however, just unlucky. I am pretty sure that I am the unluckiest/luckiest person alive. I am living in an oxymoron I know. I live an amazing life surrounded by fabulous and strong people, but every little bad thing that can happen does happen and will happen. In two weeks, I passed out on the train, Dad's passport was rejected, had my wallet stolen, got snowed in in Scotland, barely survived a 10 hour train ride, turned 22 and my computer broke. Also in the past two weeks, I turned 22, my parents came, Elizabeth was here, I went to Oxford, saw Harry Potter twice, drank a lot, saw Romeo and Juliet, ect! It was really great to have people from home to share this time with.

The past few weeks have had a literary theme. I visited the 100 Acre Wood, although the tea shop called Pooh's Corner was closed, we still hiked through the place where Christopher Robin played. Catherine and I went to Jane Austen's house in the darling village of Chawton. It is one of the only towns in England (not in the Cotswold) with thatched roofs. It was really amazing. The two of us are huge Austen fans. Seeing her witting desk was...well honestly I'm lost for words. However, seeing a lock of her hair was a bit odd. Elizabeth and I visited Oxford, the mecca for literary creativty: the birhtplace of Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Lord of the Rings. Oxford is also one of the many towns that also claims Harry Potter as well. We saw some really great movie locations! I really loved Oxford. It's amazing. So old and quaint, but still modern and full of energy. Funnily enough, Elizabeth and I were both raised Methodist. Turns out, Methodism was born in Oxford. Together we took our own religious pilgrmage. It was cool. We saw many potraits of the JW, and the church where the first methodist meeting was held.

Elizabeth and I saw Harry on opening day in the IMAX, the biggest screen in Great Britain apparently. It was worth it. Deathly Hallows Part 1 really exceeded my expectations the first time, it didn't hold up as well on the second viewing but it was still good. Yes, I saw it twice with less than a week between. I am a super fan, don't judge me.

Honestly, I don't have time to finish this blog entry. I will return to my literary adeventures soon with highlights from Mummy and Daddy's visit.