Bobby's parent's visit!

Bobby's parents visited last week! They got in last Friday morning and "checked into" our tiny flat while we were at class/work (we insisted they stayed with us and loved it!). That afternoon they explored parts of Westminster on their own, then met me and Bobby after work for drinks on Villier's street. Then we went to dinner at a tiny greek restaurant in Covent Garden - Bobby was psyched because they served the bread free with the hummus! It's the little things in life...

Saturday Bobby had a full day of class so Bob, Ellen & I headed out for the sights - Portobello Road, St. Paul's, Tate Modern Art museum and Harrods... We even walked and saw a gibbet outside Clink Prison (a gibbet is a structure that was used to display the dead bodies of executed criminals to the public) which now has special meaning for Bobby and I since it is also the name of the place we're getting married - how romantic. Anyway, after Bobby got out of class we headed up to Hampstead Heath for dinner, but couldn't get a table anywhere! So we ended up having a liquid meal at a couple pubs that Andrew showed us and then headed back to our flat for a few more glasses of wine. There was a lot of catching up to do!

Sunday we prepped for Bob & Ellen's trip to Paris with a dry run to King Cross station and had to see platform 9 3/4 while we were there! We went to Covent Garden again to watch some street performers and grab a traditional pasty as a snack before meeting up with Bobby for a tour of his school. This was actually more difficult than you'd expect because of the security at Cass - they treat it like Fort Knox! Afterwards, Bobby gave us a walking tour of the financial district and then we stopped for a traditional Sunday Roast. That night Bobby got us tickets for the Keys Ceremony at the Tower of London - a traditional ceremony where they lock up the Tower that has been going on for over 700 years. It was one of the highlights of the week - amazing!

Monday and Tuesday Bob and Ellen went to Paris on the Eurostar - ate crepes, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and did the L'Open bus tour to make sure they saw everything in only a couple days. They even brought us back some wine and cheese!



Bobby's classes were finished, so he was able to go with them up to Windsor Castle on Wednesday. Only problem was that April 23rd is St George's Day in England (who knew) and it's one of 5 days all year that the castle is closed to the public! They at least were able to walk around and see Eton College as well (where the princes went to school) and stopped at some cute shops along the high street. When they got back to London, they took a trip to our local grocery store to buy some ingredients for dinner. Bob cooked a delicious meal for all of us and Frankie too - I think the only leftovers were a few green beans! Afterwards, we went to see Spamalot and then whistled the tunes as we walked to Soho to get a drink at a trendy little bar. It was a busy day!

Thursday Bobby and his parents went to the Tower of London tour (saw the crown jewels), took a tour of Chelsea, and saw Kensington Palace. Bob and Ellen took a walk around Regent's Park and saw the zoo, rose gardens, etc. We all met back at the apartment for drinks and apps before a wonderful meal at Pattersons that Bobby's parents treated us to! It was such a special night!



They saved the best for last and took a trip to Borough Market on Friday - my favorite! Then one more walk down the Thames to pick me up at my office after work. We went back to our place to pack and have a few apps and wine before we headed to a sunset, champagne flight on the London Eye! The view was amazing and we got to share our "bubble" with the nicest family! Afterwards we found a bar that played jazz and Bob and I thumbwrestled over who paid the bill -they had already picked up too much!

Then back to Boston for Bobby's parents on Saturday morning. He ended up going with them to the airport since he was flying out to India an hour later. We still never ended up riding the double decker bus - so it looks like they have no choice but to come back soon! :)

Frankie turns 21

Frankie celebrated her 21st in London on April 16th. Bobby and I took her to dinner on Marylebone High St, then we went on a pub crawl with her friends from Regent's College. At one of the pubs, Frankie's friend Kasey got roped into playing darts with a 70 year old man who called himself "Dave the Dart". Ah, to be 21 again....

Dee & Frankie visit Salzburg

Frankie and I spent the weekend in Salzburg. It may seem like a random location for a girl's trip and an early celebration of her 21st birthday (so soon!), but there was a lot to do and see! It is a gorgeous city.


We took a 3:30 am bus to the airport to catch our early morning flight on Friday and ended up getting into our hotel in Salzberg around 10am. We had a "sound of music" themed room and the movie was showing on the TV 24 hours a day - ha. We wasted no time, got ready and started to explore! Our hotel was a 10 min walk to the "old town" so we went to the Getriedegasse, the main shopping street, and got some new cute shoes and tops. We walked up the River Salzach, to the Mirabell gardens (where they shot the "do re mi" song - recognize it from the pic?), through the market, and headed up to the Festung Hohensalzburg (literally "High Salzburg Fortress" in German). You can see the fortress in the background of the pic on the left.

We went to dinner and a Mozart concert that took place in the fortress that night. Our view was amazing - overlooking the Untersburg mountain in the Alps. Dinner was delicious, except for the "beef in aspic" that came as a starter. We took a picture - it was essentially beef flavored jello with veggies and meat in it. We at least tasted it (mom, you'd be proud). The room where the concert was held was an old banquet room in the fortress that overlooked the city. And the music was amazing.

The next day we woke up early and went to see Mozart's birthplace and residence. It was interesting to learn that he was composing at the age of five, he spent over 10 years of his life touring Europe and that he disliked Salzburg very much! That afternoon we went on the Sound of Music tour - what we had been waiting for! Such a fun time. We sang to the soundtrack in the bus, learned all facts about the movie and the actual Von Trapp Family story, and re-enacted all our favorite scenes at all the locations!

That night we had dinner and drinks in the Augustinerbräu beer cellar, which is a HUGE beer cellar in the basement of a church. We could barely find it! No one spoke english, so we ended up ordering food that we had no idea what it was. Delicious though (much better than the beef jello). And drank a lot of beer, of course. Afterwards we went to a bar on the rooftop of a trendy hotel overlooking the "old town" and had some girly drinks...the perfect ending to our trip!