More Visitors - Rod & Sam!

Shortly after Julie left for Paris, we had a few more friends come to visit, Rod and Samantha! They came in on a Thursday and stayed through the weekend on Sunday. (Jeff went to UNCW with Sam.)

Even though Jeff was still in Switzerland that first day, we still went out and had a good time. We meet up with another friend that went to UNCW with Jeff and Sam, Hannah. Small world! haha We ended up going to an area in London called Brick Lane. This place is known for having LOADs of curry houses. You walk down the street and everyone is hassling you to come into their curry house because they were the 'Best in 2014'. Well let me tell you... everyone was the Best in 2013 and Best in 2014 and everyone had a deal going on  

I think we ended up finding a decent one though!

The next day Rod and Sam went exploring out into the big city and we all met up later for dinner. It was Rod's Birthday, so we had a booking at Duck and Waffle. Unfortunately, I was not feeling too hot at the beginning of dinner... but started to feel better just in time for when the classic dish came out, Duck and Waffle :) 

(Picture to come soon!) 

The next day we all went out together to explore Borough, Tower Bridge, and a few other spots. It has been really cool having visitors because it reminded me of when we first got here. Some of the same things that we talked about they are bringing up, like the signs on the street to point which direction you need to look for on-coming traffic, etc. 

After exploring borough, we headed toward Tower Bridge. Jeff and I hadn't actually been here yet... so we were photo happy!
                                        





                                          

A cool view/angle on the bridge

People Watching and taking in the view!       

        

   After the bridge we wondered over to 

St. Katherine's Docks. Very cute little area!

As we headed back toward the center of London, 
there were some great views to admire and soak in :) 

We wondered by St. Pauls and headed to one of the oldest Pubs in London, Ye' Olde Chesterire Cheese and then to one of the oldest Wine Bars, Gordon's Wine Bar. Here is a photo of the cheese plate that we got at Gordons. 

After the snacks and drinks, we headed back to the flat. We ordered some Thai and had game night! oh how I have missed game night. We played everything from Phase 10, Spades, to Catch phrase :) While Jeffrey and I are competitive, we still all had a great day and topped it off with a great evening. 

The next day was Easter. The weather was pretty terrible (some of the hardest rain I have seen in london) so we all laid low after going to get some Sunday Roast. 

Wow: All in all, we had another GREAT weekend in London and loved hosting for Sam and Rod. Next stop Amsterdam!!!!

JULZ came to visit!!!!

While Jeff was working in Switzerland... I had my favorite sister come visit for a few days, JULZ!!! She started her grand Europe trip in Venice and I was next on the list :) 

She came in on a Saturday... so the first place we went was to our favorite market, Borough. It was very close to the train stop she came in on from the airport so it worked out perfectly. She got a bite to eat and had her first Pimms and Lemonade. I think she was hooked on the Pimms straight away :) After a bite to eat, we got some delicious cheesecake to go and headed to the flat for her to freshen up before the evening. 

First picture in London, fresh off the plane and she looks great!

That evening we went to a Spanish Tapas place with one of one my good girlfriends, Kathryn. We had some great chats and delicious food.  We went out for a cocktail afterwards in Soho. And believe it or not, we were having so much fun we forgot to take any pictures! Oh well.. we made up on the pictures the next day :) 

On Sunday, I think we covered a lot of ground and were complete tourist for a day! I hadn't done these things in a while and we had so much fun going out and about. We started the day off with going to Buckingham Palace. 

I think this is one of my favorite pictures of us together.. you can definitely tell we are sisters :) 

It was quite a busy day for London as the marathon was going on. We got to see the first person cross the line while we were at the palace too!

It only seemed natural to go along the trail and catch more of the race while seeing the sites... so next stop was Big Ben and Westmister Abby. It was one of the warmest days we have had in a while... the weather was gorgeous! 

After cheering on the runners a little, we decided it was time to take a little stroll around Reagent's Park. I have been wanting to take a bike ride around the park for awhile so I was stoked that Julie was up for it. 

A few sites around the park... 

We got a few sneak peaks into the zoo!

                     

When returning our bikes we saw a yellow one! This may not mean much to you, but it is a pretty big deal haha. Well not really... Boris (Mayor of London) sponsors the bike hire scheme. All the bikes the the blue that were riding except for 100 yellow ones. Boris changed the color of 100 of them 100 days before the Tour de France was coming through London. I was pretty excited to see it....

After the bike ride we headed over to St. Pauls. We went in for an organ recital and then headed over to this terrace I just learned that was even with the doom and had a great view of the church.  It was actually the first time that I had been in the church and it took both of our breaths away. The music was beautiful. It was the last week of a 6 week series, so there was a good crowd there. No pictures were allowed inside though. 

Once on the terrace, we saw some amazing views! 

                            

To top the perfect day off, I took Julie to our favorite Sunday Roast place and it did not disappoint. And when I say perfect, we couldn't have asked for a better day. I had so much fun hanging out with you Julie!!!! Sadly the next day I had to go to work.. but I set Julie out on some fun adventures Tower of London one day and a few museums the next. 

A few fun facts that she shared about the Tower of London... The Queen used to keep the exotic animals here until there were to many and had to be moved to the zoo; there are 6 hawks and any number other than 6 was considered to be bad luck; the crown jewels were pretty cool to see and worth the wait in the queue; and there is a good opportunity for selfies with great backgrounds :) 

This is a great photo of you Julie!

After warding around at the Tower, I took her to see a few more sites around the city. We went to Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, the M&M store, and finished off at a pub serving Thai food (a British staple!)

Trafalgar Square

                   

The next day she explored the Museum of London and British Museum. We had been to the Museum of London but not the British Museum. Seems like the Museum of London was the winner though! It was a great way to learn more about the city and some pretty interesting facts. 

That evening I had planned to take Julie to our local favorite, Havelock Tavern, but it was being remodeled. I was slightly devastated... haha.  But we headed toward the Brook Green Hotel for dinner and it turned out great. We had a great dinner catching up and just hanging out. I loved loved having you here for a few days Julie ! Lucky for me it was only a few more days until we got to hang out again in Amsterdam :) 

I can't wait for everyone else to come visit! If all goes well, we should have enough space for everyone to stay with us as well. Hink hint wink wink ;) WE LOVE VISITORS!!! 

Adventures in Switzerland

So where do I begin, April 2014 has been one of the best months of my life! It has been an amazing whirlwind full of great visits from family and friends, some amazing travel adventures and taking starting a new chapter in our lives!

Here it goes from the beginning... It all started with a facebook message from a good friend back in Charlotte that I used to work with, Fellen :) She was coming to town and wanted to meet up for dinner. I was thrilled to see her again and catch up! We went to a cute little Indian restaurant near Marble Arch. The food was good but the company was even better!!!

That following Monday, Jeff was off to work in the worst location every for 2 weeks. Just kidding! He was on a job in Switzerland and here are a few picture from his time there. 

There was a lake outside of this hotel with a weird fork in it... 

This was his office... 

His celebrity spotting with Charlie Chaplin... 

For a team event they took this tram 

that went up the side of the mountain.

The view from the top of the mountain. 

Given his amazing location, his team decided to stay over the weekend. On Sunday, they had their own little BBQ. Looks like they eat well!

His colleagues, James and Jade, at the BBQ.

For all those wondering what is exactly on the grill... I am ashamed to say that some of that is horse meat :( Apparently it is very common in Switzerland... Jeff said it was good but that is something I will never ever eat. 

To relax after a hard days work his          

team also took a few bike rides...               

Here is a good action one... poor guy he forgot to pack appropriate socks so he was rocking the long black work socks!

 A few sights they saw along the way.. smirfs! haha no one really knows why they are around though. 

A few fun facts about the place he visited..It is the headquarters for Nestle. It is the only place to make liquor from pears. He had his first encounter with Gypsies. So apparently gypsies can squat in a place, like a parking lot, for 3 months before they can be legally removed. The ones he saw all drove BWMs and Mercedes and had trailers they lived in.  He brought back some amazing chocolate for us to nibble on as well :) 

From the pictures and the stories it sounds and looks like Jeffrey and his team worked hard and played hard. My conclusion: Switzerland is very expensive, but if Jeffrey goes back to this client next year, this girl is definitely coming for a visit!!!