Fitzwaters Do London

So, 18 December, the family, or at least a chunk of them, arrived in the UK. After an introduction to the city, culture, and tube, they explored on their own on Monday while I returned to another v. slow half-week of work leading up to the Xmas holiday. That Monday, Mom, Joe, and Leslie went to the Tower of London, later meeting me for dinner at The Sherlock Holmes pub near Trafalgar (seriously, that crazy guy from Baker Street is flippin everywhere here! I do love it!). Leslie loved her mushy peas and I had them all try the delious spotted dick and other local dishes. We again walked past Big Ben before showing the family my flat.

Tuesday, the family explored more of the city (St. Paul's, London Museum, etc.) before surprising me at my office. We then headed on an impromtu tour of the business district before ending up at an O'Neill's (gasp, a chain pub, but they enjoyed the variety and prices of food). I then left them to go meet friends at our neighborhood pub, The Clifton, since one of our flatmates was leaving for six weeks. Wednesday, my last day at work for the year, was extremely slow. My work that I hadn't thought that I'd finish on Monday was done by noon on Wednesday. The rest of the day was spent looking for projects, which people had a hard time finding since they were so short on work that they just did them all themselves. After work, I met the family again for dinner and relaxing at their hotel before heading home to start to pack. The next day, I was up early to do laundry and pack for my trips to France and Scotland. (photos: the fam in front of their first pop near Bayswater; and us kids in front of The Sherlock Holmes near Trafalgar)