Week Thirty-Eight & Nine | Team Carpenter Takes London

James and I only beat the Carpenters to London by about four hours. Our Stateside weekend had come and gone in a flash and now we were back to "normal" life. James quickly showered and skirted off to work while I awaited our guests' arrival and straightened up the flat a bit.

London Eye Experience

Our time with the Carpenters in London was FILLED with new adventures, but due to James' work schedule, it was typically just Mike, Lisa and me exploring during the day and then we would meet up with James for dinner at night. 

It's not every day you celebrate your 31st 21st birthday in London, (ahem, Happy Birthday Miss Lisa!), so in honor of Lisa's birthday, the Carpenters decided to live it up! Like literally... up in the air... Hello? Are you following me??

Abbey Road | Team Cigary Takes London

When our friends Erika and Jesse mentioned they wanted to visit Abbey Road, I knew it was something I was going to be a part of. It's been on my bucket list, but it was just a little bit out of the way for me, so it was perfect timing for me to get around to it.

Tower Bridge | Team Cigary Takes London

The Tower Bridge, NOTTT the London Bridge, is one of London's most iconic landmarks, and it is for good reason. The Tower Bridge is actually a fully working drawbridge, (or bascule bridge, for you more technical folk) and every day it is trafficked by approximately 40,000 motorists and pedestrians. Hey y'all, not only is she pretty, she's smart too!

Week Thirty-Five | Team Cigary Takes London

I woke up Monday morning bright and early to see our friends off to the airport. 10 days flew by in an instant, but our memories will last a lifetime.

Surprisingly, our final goodbye wasn't as dramatic as expected. Between mapping out train schedules and sharing one bathroom in the early morning hours, there wasn't enough time to build up the emotional tension. Eh, I guess the epic cry Erika and I had last week will have to do...

Afternoon Tea with Team Cigary | The Mandeville Hotel

I have been dying to go to afternoon tea since I arrived in London back in late September. It's so quintessentially British, how could I not want to partake in the fun! When my friend Kristen gushed about the afternoon tea at The Mandeville Hotel, I knew it was something that Team Cigary and Team Starnes needed to experience together.

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!