TEAM KING TAKES LONDON PART 2

We only had just over two days with the Kings before they were skirting off to Paris, so we wanted to make sure they saw at least all the major monuments. That obviously includes St. Paul's Cathedral, so after lunch at Chapel Market, that's exactly where we went.

James works directly across from St. Paul's, so he took this opportunity to show us his go-to pub nearby for watching sport.

After a pint, we got back on the bus and headed over to Trafalgar Square, where we were surprised to find an Indian festival was going on.

I'm a huge Covent Garden fan, so we deviated off course a bit to see the market and have another pint.

At this point, I was feeling tired, so I went home to relax while the Kings and James went on to Buckingham Palace. After a couple of hours, we met up back in Islington to grab some traditional fish and chips.

The food was good and everyone enjoyed it. Being that it was a Sunday night, things were calming down early, so we just went back to the flat and relaxed with each other for a bit before calling it a night.

It was so, so, so nice having our good friends here for the weekend and I know I started to get a little choked up when we finally said our goodbyes... It's so easy to fall back into the old routine with these familiar faces, but I know that no matter where we are in the world, we will definitely see them again and we will ALWAYS be the best of friends!

Week Thirty-One | TEAM KING TAKES LONDON PART 1

WE HAD OUR FIRST GUESTS THIS PAST WEEKEND! The Kings arrived Saturday and from the moment they got here it was a sightseeing, drinking, eating, laughing and catching-up marathon. Yes, it was just what the doctor ordered! 

James worked hard and long hours all week to ensure that he would be free to entertain over the weekend, and me, I had my first two kickboxing lessons, walked Oliver a few times and got the flat in order for Ryan and Nina. The beginning of the week was uneventful aside from the fact that I almost knocked out my kickboxing instructor with my rendition of a "spinning roundhouse kick" when he simply asked for a left roundhouse kick... (Obviously, sans spin.) Oops! I never said I wasn't a little rusty...

The Kings arrived in Islington Saturday morning around 9:30 AM. We introduced them to our flat, let them freshen up a bit and then we were off to explore London. The Kings are our "foodie friends," so we started off our adventure at Borough Market. We walked around, got some street food and then settled into a local pub to enjoy our first London pint of the day. 

From Borough Market, we leisurely walked up the River Thames, popping in and out of pubs we passed by. I love walking the river, it never gets old. All the buskers and street performers really get me in the London spirit.

After a couple of hours, we eventually ended up at Westminster. It was pretty crowded around Big Ben given that the weather was gorgeous and it was a weekend, but it was so worth it for Ryan and Nina to see some of London's most famous architecture with a backdrop of Carolina blue sky!

At that point, everyone was ready to take it easy for the rest of the night. The Kings didn't sleep on the flight over, so we expected them to crash any minute. We headed back to Islington and stopped into the Pig and Butcher for dinner and drinks.

Once we got back to the flat, it was over. Everyone got into their pajamas and before we knew it, we were saying our goodnights. I was so impressed with the Kings ability to stay awake and *alert* after being awake for over 40 hours... I could never do that! 

Overall, it was a great first day in London for the Kings. As you can see, drinking is an underlying theme of the weekend! We've missed these folks very much and the weekend went by wayyy too fast... Check back later this week for Team King Takes London Part 2!