London!

“A foggy day, in London town….” 

Mr. Buble’s song was stuck in my head the whole week we were in London town. 

Now, did I just get back from London? No. I went this time last year. But, like my NYC trip, I didn’t have a blog a year ago and future Katy will really like to look back on this. So in honor of #tbt, as well as the new little Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge, we’re revisiting London.

First up, please note the Reeves family preparation:

 Here we have dad hiding all of his personal documents (though still in the airport Pappadeaux of the good ole USA), me and pops on the brink of cabin fever (before take-off), and Allen getting innovative with his sleep (in the IAH terminal).

Fools. We are a bunch of fools. 

 Once we touched down in London town, we embarked on our journey to our hotel. And I led us about a mile in the wrong direction (I hadn't been to London in 6 years...I was a little rusty). Please note that to go on this trip, I submitted an application to my parents (yes, you read that correctly) to be their tour guide. See provided resume below...

And I got the job! So strike one on the whole tour guide thing. Luckily it was my only mistake, but big brother never let me live it down.

That was near this place. Glory Be Hallelujah.

Our rainy little neighborhood

Sunday night we got settled in, Allen fell asleep (apparently being 6'5 and sleeping on a plane doesn't mix well),  and the remaining three of us made our first stop. And where do you think that was?

DUH hello Big Ben of course!

And since we didn't have Al, we went ahead and purchased tickets for the London Eye for the next evening. My original itinerary then had us going to the Texas Embassy (the referenced Tex-Mex spot in my resume) for dinner. So we walked. And we walked. In the rain. And the cold. So yeah, funny story, the Texas Embassy closed. Dang, okay so maybe that was a tour guide fail #2. 

Monday we spent the whole day (not exaggerating) at the Tower of London. When I first went, I spent a couple of hours. But no no - not this time. This time I went with three history buffs. 

....the "buffs," themselves

Y'all. We did the tour, saw the jewels, toured the living quarters, hung out in the torture chamber, and touched all seventy-five floors of the museum. I mean, okay, it was pretty cool. I just like being dramatic.

....because why not?

Home of the gowns and the crowns

The boys waiting on Susie to get through reading every single plaque...

 Whew! So that was the Tower of London. But you can't visit the Tower without snapping a few photos of that pretty Tower Bridge (one of my favorite landmarks)...

Look at my precious parents. Aren't they cute? And yes my mom is holding historical reading material...

After the Tower we went back to the hotel in order to switch hotels. Mhmm, Yep. We were staying in cute little London B&B types, and the way my dad put it, "we were just too big." We were too large for our space. So we moved across the street to a different B&B. Which just happened to be across the way from a cupcake shop :)

Later that evening we set out for the London Eye!

Right before the rain came in....

Oh and we also snapped a couple more pictures with Ben now that Allen was awake.

Guess what Tuesday was? More history!! We hit up Downing Street and Westminster, and then as a little break reprieve treat to me....we got lost in Harrods :)

While my parents were buying tickets for the Abbey, I ran in the middle of the street (while Allen was yelling at me that I was a lunatic) to snap this photo. Worth it. This photo just looks like London to me.

Soon enough it was time for Harrods! Eeks! By the way, if you've never been to Harrods, prepare yourself. It is highly overwhelming. We all stood over in the shoe section with the 14-page map just to get our "bearings." I don't know how one actually shops for clothes there. Me? I just go for the ice cream sundaes :)


Isn't my mom just the cutest little thing ever? She makes me smile. And yes, she is holding a bag of more historical memorabilia from Westminster. 

All smiles after our ice cream!

My "simple" chocolate shake

 And then I saw a giant red coat teddy bear. So that of course happened.

Wednesday we took a break from London proper and headed off to Oxford! We checked out Christ's Church (home of some religious stuff and the Harry Potter Hogwarts Hall inspiration), visited some old pubs, ate Ben's cookies, and just enjoyed being in the college town. Where we of course bought our fair share of sweatshirts. Buncha posers :)

Heeeeeey HP

Outside of Christ's Church

Oldest pub in the London area! (1492) - and I had to.

Ben's freaking cookies. The Tiff's Treats of Europe.

 So that was Wednesday, obviously lots more pictures and things but I'm trying to fit one week in one post so bear with me. Next up was Thursday which was probably my favorite day of the trip. It was just a lot of family time. And a ton of laughs. We went to Buckingham Palace and then grabbed some hot cocoa and strolled around Hyde Park. We toured Kensington palace, said hey to baby George (not really) and then wrapped the day with the Phantom of the Opera!

My future home. I toured this thing in 2008. Quite an establishment right there.

 I think I look good in royal :) Okay so this next picture will not be funny to you. But this one picture had all four of us cracking up. We all hopped up on this cement block to get a better look of the palace, and I of course turn around to take a selfie. Well, then mom turns around and smiles next to me. Then in my phone I see Allen lean in behind me, and before I know it, my dad slams (yes, slams) his head in next to mine, and this happened. 

I am cracking up while I type this y'all. It was hilarious. This will forever be one of my favorite pictures. I love these people so much.

OH - and we saw the queen! Well everyone did except mom. Cause she was too short to see above the crowd. But we went up to the gates and sure enough, people started screaming and out she rides, waving and wearing a royal hat! Sorry, mom. It was pretty cool.

I love Hyde Park. Hyde Park is my happy place.

Seriously incredible musical. Andrew Lloyd Webber is brilliant.

 Friday we all went our separate ways and did our own thing. I went to my old study abroad stomping grounds and wrote a song while sitting on a bench in Hyde Park. Then me and my sweet mama had high tea.........in the lobby of the Hilton. Long story. So it may not have been the true high tea experience, but we still had great girl time :) 

Love this gorgeous woman

And those are the highlights!! A trip I'll always remember with some of my favorites. Saturday morning we headed to the airport and Allen returned home while me and the parentals took off for Italy!! But that'll have to be another day :)

Until next time,
Katy