London!

Mom and I didn't have much time in London so we tried to cram as much in as humanly possible.  We arrived in London around 1:30 and took the Tube to our hotel-The Boltons.  It was a pretty adorable room.  We relaxed for a little while before heading off for our adventure.  We went to the British Museum and wandered around for a while before trying to find a restaurant to eat at and settling on some pizza.

The British Museum at night

Mom Bolton at The Boltons

Daughter Bolton at The Boltons

Saturday was another jam packed day.  Mom and I explored the Wellcome Collection a museum that one of my classmates used to work at.  Before she told me about it I had never heard of this museum.  It was amazing! Basically it holds the collection of a guy whose name is Mr. Wellcome (he has a first name I just can't recall it).  He tended to collect any object that was somehow involved with medicine.  For example he had Napoleon's toothbrush, 19th century glass eyes, a chastity belt, a birthing chair, etc.).  I was blown away, I plan on going back for the upcoming exhibit on Death. Next we headed to the V&A.  Stopped by the horribly crowded cafe for a delicious lunch before I FINALLY got to see the 16th century collection.  The last two times I have visited the V&A this section has been closed off.  I got to see the death mask of Henry VII, something I have always read about.  Since it was right next to the V&A we visited the Natural History Museum.  I love taxidermy and weird things in jars so it was quite interesting, albeit outdated.  Mom and I relaxed our sore feet back at the hotel for a short while before heading out to a delicious vegan restaurant 15 minutes from our hotel. 

"Obesity" from the Wellcome Collection

Napoleon's toothbrush

Glass eyes

Henry VII

MANATEE!!!!

Tasmanian Tiger

Mom and her orcas

The dress Queen Victoria wore when she found out she was Queen

Our last day in London was my favourite.  I'm a wee bit obsessed with Queen Victoria and mom and I were able to visit Kensington Palace.  It was fantastic! To walk into the exhibit you have to walk up the stairs that Queen Victoria describes using on a daily basis (but until she was queen it was always with someone  holding her hand)  Throughout the exhibit we got to see everyday pieces belonging to the Queen and her family including the gown she was wearing when she found out she was now Queen of England, her wedding dress, personal clothing items of the children, paintings, etc.).  We also got to see an exhibit on Queen Victoria's Jubilee celebration as well as the Royal Apartments used by Queen Anne and a few of the Georges. After we explored a very crowded Camden Town and shared ice cream made with liquid nitrogen, very delicious!  For our last night together we headed to a restaurant in the north end called Le Mercury.  Delicious (and quite cheap).

Her wedding dress

Children's clothes

Jubilee items

Liquid nitrogen ice cream

On Monday I had to take my mom to the airport and sadly send her back to Canada, where she gets to snuggle cats all day.


After I had to say goodbye to the mother I met up with my friend Hilary who I know from high school and university.  She has been living in London for the past year so we went out for lunch and wandered around the non-touristy areas of the the city before I had to board my train back to Norwich.

My mom arrives in the UK! Part 1

On Saturday the 27th I took a very long three hour trip to the airport to pick up my mommy!!! We travelled back to Norwich and she finally got the proper tour of my flat and we relaxed for the night (as she had been awake for 25 hours).  For the first 6 days up until Friday we spent our time together in Norwich.  On Sunday we had an amazing day at the Norwich Halloween Pug meet up.  After mom riding her first double decker bus we headed to Eaton park to snuggle and play with pugs dressed in costumes.  We met many friends.  Lola (a pug with a lovely under bite) and her sister Coco were our favourites.  All they wanted to was sit on your lap and snort.  After the Luna incident, this just made the both of us so happy.

Lola

Coco

Isn't she so freaking cute?!

After the pug adventure we wandered Norwich a bit and went to many stores looking for a square casserole dish.  Since we couldn't find it we gave up and bought a circular one and headed home.  I made my famous mac and cheese that night and we just spend the evening watching wonderful, tack British television. 

The next day we wandered to the Castle museum before joining up with Taylor and wandering around the city a bit before going out for a lovely dinner.  Many of the days of her trip in Norwich are a little blurred since we did SO much! We went out for a lovely dinner at a vegetarian restaurant, visited the Market, got milkshakes, visited my university (but sadly didn't see any bunnies), walked the many old streets of the city.  To top is off mom got to visit the grave of her great-great grandmother (I can't exactly remember how many greats).

Don't we look SO happy.

Mom and I got to participate in our favourite event: afternoon tea.  I took her to Biddy's (the tea place I have mentioned before) and she LOVED it! We got sandwiches, tea, scones and a huge slice of raspberry coconut cake.  Scrumptious.  On her last day here Taylor, mom and myself visited Norwich Cathedral.  Having stepping in it once before but never explored it, I never realized how HUGE it is! We got a guided tour from this sweet older lady who never everything about it! We also went on a ghost walk through Norwich and I found out cute little facts I never knew!

Friday morning we left for London to begin a new adventure.  But I'll write about that in another post.