London Part II

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was quite uneventful. I think the first weekend you come back from vacation you are entitled to days filled with grocery shopping, laundry and cleaning. Oh joy.

We made our way over to the Tower of London for a history lesson and to check out the crown jewels.

We checked out Abbey Road.

Lisa wanted the infamous walking photo. Surprisingly, lots of people were willing to dodge cars and double decker buses to get the same shot. Abbey Road Studios is in the background.

We had a day trip scheduled for our last day in the UK. Windsor Castle was up first. The flag is gold when the Queen is home.

We got the fortunate pleasure of witnessing the changing of the guard. I caught the tail end of it. It was pretty cool. The fanfare consisted of a full band, horses and a pretty large crowd.

Don’t mind my weird stance here. All I was thinking about was if anyone had a feather so I could tickle this skinny boy guardsman. It was a little weird to walk up to someone and just take a picture with them.

Our second stop was to Stonehenge. It was seriously freezing. I made every effort to take it all in.

Our last stop was Oxford University. Each building has a unique history. It’s so beautiful.

Above is Oxford’s Library. Such beautiful architecture. Below is where a scene from Harry Potter took place. That was a good transition, right? I had to stick something in here about the awesomeness of Harry Potter.

And some randoms.

View from the London Eye.

London Part I

I give you London. Enjoy!

Trafalgar Square

We arrived in London around 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 12th. The three of us spent three hours dealing with customs, currency exchange and staring at a London map hunting for our hotel.

We ended up having to drop our bags off at the hotel and head to a local pub until we could check in.

I’m embarrassed to say I had a complete meltdown once we arrived at our hotel, the Enrico Hotel. I believe it was a mixture of culture shock, lack of sleep and the realization that our room was the size of my closet. Just imagine me hysterically laughing and crying. I really should have taken a photo.

By 2 p.m., we were in our hotel and snuggling in our beds for a nap. Jet lag was an absolute hag. See that? Totally just rhymed. Mind blown? I know.

We got up around 6 p.m. and headed to Trafalgar Square for the night.

The next morning we made our way to Kensington Palace.

The ceilings are to die for. I think my head was cocked back staring at the ceiling nearly 40% of the time.

The beautiful Queen Victoria. Check out that frame!

We made our way to Buckingham Palace.

And Westminster Abbey. This place was absolutely gorgeous. We aren’t allowed to take photos inside at all. I had no idea how ginormous the Abbey is. There are numerous alcoves and nooks and crannies to explore. So beautiful.

Check out the side of this thang. I’d be down for getting married here. Note to self: Use my connections to get in touch with Prince Harry. Yes, I’ve got connections people.

Just back at Buckingham Palace in front of this beauty.

The London Eye

Where have you traveled to lately? Hopefully, it was somewhere warmer than London.

The Last Thing Thursdays: Linky Party

I love link parties and Jenna over at The Life of the Wife has a great party and I’m joining in today. Woohoo! I mean, who doesn’t like a good party?

{The last thing I…}

{Craved}

PICKLES!
Okay, I’m not pregnant, but for some reason I’ve been eating these little nuggets in handfuls everyday this week. Joe thinks it’s extremely disgusting. But when that day comes where I’m barefoot and preggers, he’ll be marching his butt to costco for the economy size jar. Be forewarned babe!

{Received in the mail}
Naptime Diaries Print.

I’m geeking out over this beauty. I’ll be framing it and finding a home on my wall for it very soon. (Sorry the picture quality sucks. I took it from my phone.)

{Listened to}
Let’s all say it together. Gotye.
I absolutely love this album. I bought it for my trip and I haven’t been able to stop playing it. Except for that one time on the train back to London where all I wanted was Wade Bowen. Mmmm Texas Country 🙂

{Watched}

Game of Thrones. Last night, I finally caught up on Game of Thrones. This photo was too awesome to pass up. Thank you, Internet. Thank you.

If we sat down for coffee

Last night, I uploaded about 1,400 photos to my computer. Considering I still need to go through them and do some editing, my guess is you’ll see the first Europe vacation recap on Friday.

Moving on to today, I’ve noticed several bloggers posting about coffee dates. The way it works is you and I sit down for coffee/tea/soda virtually. Since you and I aren’t in the same town or general 5 mile radius, I thought we could have a little chat session. So, I want to have a coffee date with you! Sounds fun huh?

If we sat down for coffee…

I’d ask how you were and listen intently as I sip on a chai tea latte or iced tea.

I’d continue to ask you questions because I’m generally curious about other people (especially since I’m a professional people watcher). I’d ask you about your family, where you work and what makes you happy. I’d ask you where you’ve traveled and what your hobbies are.

I guarantee we would have some similarities and my face would immediately light up.

I’d tell you that Europe was amazing, but coming home to a comfortable bed, Mexican food and familiar faces was almost just as good.

I’d tell you the stereotype of snooty, unfriendly Parisians is kind of true. Sorry Frenchies!

I’d tell you that London was really neat, but my feet are royally peeved with me right now.

I’d tell you Amsterdam was the prettiest.

I’d tell you that getting back to the swing of things is a lot easier than I was expecting.

I’d ask you about what other blogs you read. I’m always looking for new blogs to read. I love bloggers!

I’d ask about your favorite shops on Etsy because I’m unhealthily (had no idea that was a word) obsessed with Etsy.

I’d tell you about all the recipes I’m dreaming up of and several others that have caught my eye on Iowa Girl Eats.

I’d tell you I’m craving Chipotle and ask if you want to continue the conversation over some delicious burrito bowls and iced tea.

Instagram: European Edition

What’s up guys? It’s been a while, huh?

I’m currently catching up on my dvr and scarfing down a delicious burger. I need to deal with my laundry and do some cleaning, but Glee comes first.

Europe was absolutely amazing. Amazingly challenging, but totally worth it. So, to keep things a bit easy today since I’m a bit exhausted from the lack of sleep, I give you Europe through my Instagram lens.

Hopefully, I’ll have regularly scheduled posts by the end of the week. I missed you all.

[1] Mapping it out

[2] Boarding Pass

[3] British Airways

[4] Big Ben

[5] Underground: The Tube

[6] Broadway Musical

[7] Traditional English breakfast

[8] Bodean’s BBQ

[9] Skyline

[10] Near Buckingham Palace

[11] Versailles

[12] Eiffel Tower

[13] French desserts

[14] Amsterdam Canal

[15] View from breakfast

Stick around. I’ll have a few more posts on my big European adventure.

Follow me on Instagram, my bloggy friends. Username: amberlb88