You know how when you are busy and enjoying yourself the time passes like the speed of light. Well, that is how this past week was.

Thursday, Mom and Dad arrived in London! With no napping and going to bed at a normal time in London hours, I was determined to get rid of their jetlag the first day! I quickly showed them the fast paced city life, whizzing them from Trafalgar Square and their first view of Big Ben, to Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus, and then over by Goodge Street for dinner. After all that walking and climbing all those stairs, they were ready to collapse and hit the sack.

The next day we rode one of those touristy buses all over the city seeing the key London sights. We hopped off at the Tower Bridge where we went into the Tower of London and on a tour with a Beefeater. Sadly, it was horribly cold, rainy, and windy so we tried to quickly escape into the different towers. We saw the beautiful Crown Jewels and the six ravens that live at the Tower. It is said that if all the ravens are gone from the Tower, it and England will fall. So, as part of the superstition, six ravens with clipped wings are fed meat and looked after at the Tower. And don’t worry, they have back up raven in case on dies or somehow gets away.

On Saturday, after we visited Harrods food hall and Borough Market, to get some delicious cheesecake and hot cider, Mom and Dad finished up the bus tour along with the complementary river cruise. During that time I watched the London Harlequins versus Gloucester rugby match at the Twickenham Stadium. Those Stonehill rugby girls taught me well seeing as I understood what was happening. However, men's rugby seems to kick the ball much more than the girls. During the last four minutes, the Quins pushed through with one more try making the final score 30-28. Once back in the city with my parents we headed to a local pub for dinner and a slice of Sunday roast...just one day early.

Keeping with the trend, Sunday was a jam packed day as well. We walked through Green Park to get to Buckingham Palace in time for the changing of the guards. Then they went on the exclusive tour of the Metropolitan line up to Northwick Park and good ole Harrow. Swapping clothes and filling my shelf with food, we stayed in my tiny room for a bit before heading back to eat. After attending mass at Westminster Cathedral we took at stroll down to the Thames to see Big Ben and the Eye lit up at night. I had all these photos idealized in my head but my camera was being temperamental and I wouldn’t seem to correctly compensate for the light/darkness. Good thing I'll have plenty more opportunities to go down there. As an extra surprise the British version of "Mummy's Day" takes place in March instead of May, so it was nice Mom was here for that.

Monday was shopping day! Walking up and down Oxford Street, mom and I popped in and out of stores. Later in the afternoon after resting up we headed down by the Thames to visit the new Globe Theatre. Mistakenly, we got off the bus at the wrong stop and had a pretty long stroll to the Millennium Bridge, but we finally made it! Once inside, we saw the entirely hand crafted theatre built in the style of the theatres that Shakespeare himself had intended his plays to be performed in. The Globe has the only thatched roof in central London due to the Great Fire and resulting precautions. We walked up into the different tiers and learned the different prices of the seats. To stand during the performance it only cost a penny in Shakespeare’s time; today it costs 5 pounds. The most expensive seat back then was on stage and cost 6 pence. Today prices go up to 40 something pounds depending on the location. Maybe in the spring I can see a show there. Standing for 5 pounds with groundlings doesn’t sound too bad to me!

While I was busy with classes on Tuesday, Mom and Dad took the bus to Oxford. Later in the evening, after I returned from the park with my art project group, we met at Leicester Square for dinner and a show. The History Boys continued their Oxford themed day. I enjoyed the show although at some points I wish I understood more about the British jokes and French language that would pop up every so often. Overall it was refreshing to see a straight play instead of a musical all the time.

It was great getting to my class in the city on Wednesday after only a 10 minutes tube ride versus 45 plus minutes! After class and a quick bite to eat with Mom and Dad I headed to the Emirates Stadium for a tour. Arsenal, the London football team, plays here. We were guided though the directors box, stands, locker room, and players’ tunnel onto pitch level. The whole afternoon made me wish I knew more about the different clubs here. I want to see a match and get a jersey, but what team, let alone what player to follow is mind boggling. For dinner, we tested some authentic English cuisine along with Chm.

Thursday was bittersweet. I knew it was exactly one week until I would be reuniting with Stonehill girls in Galway, but it was my last day with Mom and Dad. Switching suitcases and traveling on the tube with luggage is easier said than done. Thankfully, I made it back to the hotel after class at Harrow, bags and all. After resting most of the afternoon we ate at Hard Rock Café, the first location of the chain of restaurants. Chicken tenders and fajitas never tasted so good! Mom even got her black cab ride back to the hotel because we were too stuffed to walk another step. Then it was my last night of non spring poking mattresses before my visitors departed for home. All in all, it was a fantastic week filled with birthday cupcakes, eating out, and visiting touristy places that I had yet to see! For now, its back to the grind before the whirlwind of March disappears from future to past within the blink of an eye.