I'm still alive!

My family has firmly reminded me that I have been slacking on my blog. Ooopsies!

On Saturday, the 14th, the boyfriend... aka Mark... traveled across the pond to spend some time in London-town. I had so much fun being an expert on my city, even if I was pretending at some points. I did brag quite a bit when it came to my navigation skills as well. It was so fun having him here, and he reminded me of America. (I had forgotten that in the U.S. we look left and then right when crossing the street instead of the other way around.)

Here's a rough overview and a few highlights from the week:

Saturday 14th: Mark had jet lag, but I still took him out for a nice lloooooong walk around 'my hood'. We went through the Winston Churchill Museum and War Cabinet Rooms, and it was great to see where the British War Cabinet actually met during WWII to make some tough decisions. At night we went to a pub just down the street for some British cuisine. I had cottage pie (or something like that) and Mark had lamb casserole. Mine tasted better.

Sunday 15: We walked around Covent Garden and watched some street performers before stopping at St. Paul's, the Millennium Bridge and Tate Modern. Then off to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge where we ate delicious ice cream (easy on the ice with plenty of the cream part... just how I like it!) while taking in the sights. We went to church in the late afternoon, and ate at another pub close by Vandon for some more British food. This time it was pork (Mark always eats pork) and chicken (I always eat chicken). It was cheap. And delicious.

Monday 16: I had class, so Mark went to the British Museum with Allie's boyfriend who was also visiting. We basically gave them a map and said, "Good luck!" I think it took them a while, but they eventually found it. It seemed like they liked the museum, and I am sure they liked the pub they went to after their history lessons.

During the afternoon Mark and I toured the Tower of London. There is a lot of history in this place, and it has been used for many different purposes over the years. Highlight: the crown jewels. RIDICULOUS!

After the Tower of London, we attempted to eat at a Spanish tapas restaurant but had no idea what we were doing... so we hit up the McDonald's across the street.

Monday night: Off to Ireland! We took a plane from London to Dublin, Ireland. St. Patrick's Day was the following day, and since Mark is Irish... and the tickets were really cheap, I thought this would be a fun adventure together! We had to wait a while in the Dublin airport to catch a bus, but we finally met up with Michael McCarty - my former lifeguard amigo who graciously let us stay at his apartment. We spent Monday night finalizing our plans for the following day...

It was so fun traveling with Mark because traveling is anything but glamorous. You never know how things are going to work out... what buses/trains will get you where and at what time... how much it will cost... yada yada... no matter how much you plan. Thank goodness Mark is laid back.

Tuesday: 17...........

To be continued... (I want to keep you all guessing so you don't have to read one really long obnoxious blog. I am tricky like that.)