Half Term

In my last post I mentioned that this week would be half term, and all the students are granted a reading week to study, which is mostly just used to travel. So, for the past eight days I was in Central London with my mom, dad, and twin sister. I still can't believe my family came to London! It seems so unreal that I got to see them during my semester abroad. I find myself incredibly lucky. 

Unfortunately, the hotel we stayed in did not have free wifi, so I haven't been able to share all of the things we've been up to. I'll do so in a series of posts this week because there is just so much to say about this past week in one post today.

Day 1: Sunday, October 28

Taking the 'tube' into London

I woke up early from a near sleepless night. I was so excited to greet my family at the airport! I hopped on the X26 bus to Heathrow with my backpack packed for staying at the hotel with my family. The bus ride was longer than I expected, so I was getting nervous. Well, more nervous than I already was. finally, when I arrived at Heathrow airport, I jumped off the bus and headed to... wait... I didn't know where to go. I asked a worker where to find my family's Delta flight and he directed me to terminal 5, but I was in terminal 1. After much confusion, and a lot of backtracking, I got to the correct terminal about thirty minutes before my family arrived. I stood there waiting with a giant grin! I was prepared to see them by wearing my bright red sweater so I would be the first person they see after walking into the terminal. Except, just as I settled myself outside the arrivals door, a large group of teenage girls walked through... all in bright red hoodies. Uh oh! Now my family had nearly 40 red sweaters to look at! I watched intently for them to come through, but never saw them walk out after their plane had landed. Finally, I see my sister running towards me past the group of red-sweatered girls. At least they found me! I rushed to hug my sister and walked back to my parents. We hugged and said hello, but we all really wanted to get to the hotel. 

Unfortunately, we couldn't check into the hotel for a few hours, so we decided to leave our luggage and head into the big city - Central London. It took us about 45 minutes to an hour to get to Westminster tube station, and I think my dad may have fallen asleep on the tube at one point. I tried to stay upbeat while my sleepy family got to look at all the things they've only seen in pictures and postcards. I took them to see Big Ben and the houses of Parliament, then we walked through Leicester Square to Covent Garden where we saw a large number of brilliant street-performers. After Covent Garden we went to Kings Cross, so they could get their pictures with Platform 9 and 3/4. It was dark by this time so we searched for a place to eat, but the best we could find was a Subway. After arriving at the hotel late that night, my family and I crashed. It was a much needed sleep. 

Street performer in Covent Garden

Also, today is Guy Fawkes or Bonfire night. I'm hoping to see some fireworks or a bonfire tonight!! I'm not used to seeing fireworks in November, but I've seen a few private displays this week already and I've been just loving it! And really good fireworks are sold here.