Familiar faces

Hello! I'm very sad our fall break is coming to an end today, but Patrick and I have enjoyed the rest of our break spending time with his mom, aunt, and brother!  It's very nice to see familiar faces that aren't people from our trip. On Wednesday after a long day of traveling coming home from Italy, we went out for dinner with Patrick's mom and aunt at a pub called The White Lion.  They specialize in fish and chips which were delicious!! We had a great time telling them our stories from each trip we have been on.  On Thursday, they went to Liverpool so I had a very relaxing day at home.  Traveling was hard work!! I've never been on a trip that I have organized myself, so I will definitely never take that for granted again.  On Friday, we met up with them again and took them to Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross station and Buckingham Palace.  The temperature in London dropped significantly in a week's time.  Before our fall break I would be able to walk around without a coat some days and definitely did not need gloves or a hat.  It's crazy how much colder it is now!  We should be familiar with this weather as Minnesotans, but we did just get back from almost 80 degree weather in Italy, so I'm sure we will get used to it soon.  At least it's not snowing :) Later Friday evening we met up for dinner with Patrick's brother!  We went to a different pub and I ordered fish and chips once again!  It is so nice to eat real meals while they are here (thanks Debra!!)  Patrick and I rarely go out to eat because it's so expensive here.  Pretty soon I'll be back to my daily sandwiches and noodles....great.  Yesterday we walked around Piccadilly Circus and went to a few pubs with Patrick's brother while his mom and aunt were at a play.  We had a great time and ran into some people at a pub from Minneapolis.  Small world!  After the play was over, we all wandered over to Chinatown and had some excellent Chinese food for dinner.  It has been really nice getting to spend so much time with them while they are here.  Today, we are going to Abbey Road and wandering around that area.  I'm not looking forward to going back to our regular schedule tomorrow.  Mondays are the longest days for me since I volunteer from 9-3 and have night class from 5:30-9. 

I also did not mention that I saw The Phantom of the Opera in London before we went to Italy.  It was an AMAZING show!! I have only seen the movie version but they were extremely similar.  The songs were phenomenal and I never wanted it to end!

Some things I have going on this week-

-Our Marketing professor organized us into small groups of about 5 people and is taking my group out to dinner on Wednesday.  We are going to an Italian restaurant and I am very excited to get a good meal again :)
-Business Law test on Thursday :(
-On Friday, our whole group is going to Inns of Court and Lloyds of London. 

Those are pretty much the only noteworthy events going on this week.  I'm not traveling anywhere next weekend, but Patrick is going back to Scotland for a few days with his brother. 

In my next blog, I will take pictures of my daily routine so you can see what I do, where I stay, and what my school looks like!  This is long overdue but I figured better late than never :)

I miss all of you back at home very much, but I'll be home before we know it!  I can't believe I have already been here for 8 weeks.  Time is flying by.   Hope everyone is staying warm back in MN!!

Love you all :) Cheers!