Liverpool and Abbey Road

After eating our wonderful anniversary meal we headed to the Euston National Rail Station. Our train ended up being delayed by about 10 minutes. When we boarded we discovered that our seats weren't assigned next to each other. There was 2 people on the train sitting next to Josh that explained that there was an open seat next to Josh and let me in. We sat across from each other and there was a table. The two people were going to Liverpool on business and were working on some sort of presentation. It was pretty awkward at times as they were getting annoyed with each other about random things, mostly with the slides. The train had plugs for phones and laptops which was nice. The train itself was very clean and spacious. It was just over 2 hours to get to Liverpool. We couldn't see anything outside because it was night time but it was a relaxing ride. 

We got into Liverpool and it was 10:30 at night. According to maps our hotel was about a 10-15 minute walk. we decided to do that instead of taking a cab. It was a straight forward walk through what looked like a large outdoor mall. There were groups of people walking around at night but never once did it seem unsafe. We walked right by our hotel at first. It was called the Hard Day's Night Hotel. Yeah we did that how could we not? It was a beautiful hotel filled with Pictures and fun facts. Turns out their logo is a guitar chord from the song! We got to our room and there was a big picture of John Lennon hanging above our bed. He happens to be my favorite Beatle. Now the guy who checked us in told us that we had to put our key in to turn on the lights in our room. We did that but yet the lights kept turning off! We called downstairs and we found out that the key has to stay inside the slot for the lights to stay on. The TV had a little message welcoming us too. We ended up face timing with my In-laws however I was so tired that I felt like I was going to fall asleep talking to them. It had been a "hard days night" after all.

I sure slept like a log that night and in the morning I woke up a little earlier then planned so I took the opportunity to take a bath. I was so soar from all the walking we had been doing. After that I grabbed coffee and breakfast for us before our Beatles tour. We took a 15 minute walk through Liverpool to get to our bus tour meeting place. On the way there we happened to walk by an Apple Store. We met on a dock. The tour was "The Magical Mystery Tour" how fitting. I loved our tour guide. He had so many fun stories. We went to places like Penny Lane, The places were The Beatles grew up, the church where John Lennon and Paul McCartney met, Strawberry Fields. It was so much fun! Liverpool itself is so unique and beautiful.  

After our tour we walked around a little more and got lunch from a noodle place which was great. The girl who helped us loved our accents. Our train ride back I ended up taking a nap. Once we got out of the train station we headed to the Abbey Road crossing to truly end our Beatles Day. Apparently a lot of people aren't aware that Abbey Road is in London not Liverpool. We got a little lost getting there but eventually we found it. It turns out that its a very busy street crossing. Simply crossing the road as a normal pedestrian is difficult. People are constantly honking and of course there's tourist. We tried to get a picture several times crossing the road but it was not successful. We took a selfie and called it good. It was just a great experience seeing it and being there. We made it back to the flat dropped off our things when I started feeling a little something in my throat. I wanted to think it was from all the yelling at the concert but I was a little worried. We ended up getting thai food which was so amazing! The server even taught me how to make a lotus flower out of a cloth napkin. Then it was back to flat and to bed. 

A Birthday/Anniversary in London

How amazing to think that we have made it through our first year of marriage and once again it was my birthday! I had the day all planned out. We started out by going to Bread Street Kitchen which was a big deal to me because the restaurant is owned by Gordon Ramsay. We got there just as breakfast was ending so instead of breakfast we ended up getting lunch. I was a little worried about Josh eating here but another vegan friend of mine said she was able to get a pretty good meal so I had hope. Our waiter was so awesome and accommodating. I ended up getting scallops topped with bacon, and cannelloni. Josh got a large garbanzo bean salad which ended up being really filling.  I was a happy birthday girl!

We then went to take a bus tour of London. It was a hop off and on tour so being able to get around and see so much was easy. I feel like a lot of the pictures will speak for themselves but It was an awesome experience. We went on the London eye too which was so much fun. 

After the bus tour we went to have our Anniversary Dinner at an all vegetarian Indian restaurant called Sagar. It was so delicious. 

London Invictus Games

This year Prince Harry put together an event called The Invictus Games. It was held at Queen Elizabeth Park where the Olympics were. There are games and medals just like the olympics and the athletes are wounded soldiers from military all around the world. For more info head to http://invictusgames.org. The closing ceremony included a big concert where The Foo Fighters headlined. We got there early walked around the park which was really cool. The concert itself was a general admission concert and we made the call to not eat or drink so that we wouldn't be separated or have to use the bathroom. I know a lot of people like to drink at concerts however I think its better to just enjoy it sober. 

Now Josh and I aren't tall. I pretty much avoid GA concerts but this was such a unique thing to be a part of, not to mention its the Foo Fighters how could I not try!? In getting there early we started working our way up as much as we could. I worked as a ninja and weaved through as many people as I could and I didn't think we did too bad. However, Josh wanted to keep going forward which I was really hesitant about. We tried a few more times to get forward but kept making it worse as I was behind such tall people I couldn't see anything at all. We actually ended up where I had originally put us. That's where we met a group of teens who were pretty cool. We also met this adorable 10 year old who was a HUGE Foo Fighters fan. Poor thing couldn't see much and I wanted to do was put her on my shoulders but she wasn't much smaller then me. We encouraged her and her mom to keep moving forward and I don't know what happened to her after that but I sure hope they got to see the show ok.

There were a lot of acts including  Bryan Adam, Ellie Golding, and The Kaiser Chiefs. Prince Harry even came out to talk! It was so surreal when I was able to get on my tippy toes and saw him! When the Foo Fighters came on things got really crazy. There was a lot of moshing and pushing. I was slightly concerned about getting hit in the face but luckily I survived and would get views here and there. Most of the time I watched on the big screens. It was such an awesome experience. 

Bryan Adams

Ellie Golding

Prince Harry!

After the concert was down it was around 10:30 PM. Since we didn't eat at the concert we were pretty hungry but everywhere we went things were closed, it was a Sunday night. We decided to head back to the flat and hope there would be something close. After getting out of the station we discovered a turkish place that had falafel. It was a little miracle and we were so thankful to find something that Josh could eat. The guy serving us didn't seem to be too fond of us. It could be because we were American or because they were 5 minutes from closing. Regardless we tried to be nice and not too fussy so we could get our food and go. We ate at the flat and got a good nights rest. 

The Journey to London!

Wow what a crazy couple days its been. My computer says its 2 am in California and its 10 am here. Josh is still sleeping so I figured I'd write a little on whats happened so far!

As you can imagine Thursday was a tortured day at work. I think the last hour of it was the worst, I couldn't focus on anything. Thankfully I wasn't responsible for too much in that last hour other then to finish writing goals to put in my review and study up for some things. Then when I left I found myself soaking it in a little more because I won't be back for a Month since I leave for training as soon as I get back from London. It was bittersweet but once I left I was excited again. Although maybe a little too excited because when Hannah, who gracious picked me up and took me home since my car was being fixed, and I were down the street I realized I had forgotten all the fresh food that I had bought for Quorra and Lily. So back to work to get it. 

When I got home I instantly pulled out my long list of things to do, including laundry which I couldn't finish packing until I did. Cleaning the cages, since I didn't want Ali to have to worry about that. Tested the automated timer on the TV, yes its set up so the birds have their stimulation during the day. A lot of little things can add up and next thing I knew a few hours had passed and I had to put the girls to bed. It was sad not having Josh home to do this. Their night time ritual is a little over kill but they are our babies and thats just how it is. After putting them to bed, solidifying most of the list, I showered quickly made dinner and waited for Josh to get home. He had worked late trying to make sure everything was done. 

We didn't get much sleep still, 5:30am came very fast. There wasn't too many things I needed to do but the biggest thing was changing the sheets for our bird and house sitter Ali and making sure the girls got their veggies for the day. They aren't use to waking up that early and didn't make a single chirp when we left. They had no idea...

We live on a hill and as we were walking to BART I realized that I was missing my purse. So I ran back for it but in doing so I put us behind time wise. I was so concerned about our passports that I forgot my purse instead. Oh well...The train to SFO requires a transfer to getting on the right line with a timed transfer is the best way to go. So we waited longer and this started to give me some anxiety I don't like being late for anything. Luckily we checked in on our phones to help expedite the process when we got to the airport. They checked our bag for free w00t! We got through security pretty fast and next thing I knew we were waiting to board. We had a layover in Detroit. The first flight is something we've gotten quite use to because its close to what we do when coming home. 

The layover was good, we ate a normal meal and we ended up getting Josh a travel pillow and myself a blanket. It seemed a little over priced but I didn't want to regret not having it $20 wasn't so bad. 

I was cozy I brought my slippers, hehe. They brought us dinner which I wasn't expecting. Josh couldn't really have it but I decided to because I figured I would try it. As suspected Josh had a very difficult time sleeping. He took medication to help but he just couldn't get to sleep. I felt so horrible but I didn't know what I could do. I managed to sleep pretty well and I was thrilled to have my extra blanket because many people were complaining about it being cold. 

It was literally the shortest day ever. I couldn't believe it when I saw the sun setting. The time thing is so confusing when you travel. As the sun started rising I started to see part of the ocean and parts of England right before we landed. It was so surreal and exciting. We had to fill out landing cards which I managed to mess up and had to redo. We got off the plane and went through immigration. It was cool to get my very first stamp in my passport! I had some more money I wanted to exchange. Our exchange rate is horrible of course but it is what it is. After that we grabbed our luggage we where off to find the underground. Getting our oyster cards ended up being a lot more complicated. My commuter card also wouldn't work in the machines they had. You see if you haven't been to Europe recently you should know that everyone's credit cards have these chips in them. You type in a pin with the card, its way more secure but because of these chips American Credit cards don't work in these machines. So we went to a person behind the booth who was able to swipe our cards to get oyster cards. 

The underground or "tube" as its nicknamed is pretty cool not to mention clean compared to the BART trains we are use to. Lucky for us the train didn't take too long. The place we were staying is in Shepard's Bush in "zone 2".

Now we had agreed that we wanted to get local sim cards while we were there. Its kind of scary how dependent on phone's we've become. After doing a little research I was set on getting sims through Vodafone. Now our idea was to go to the one in the terminal at Heathrow but after going through customs and immigration we of course couldn't get back to where the store was so we were going to have to just put that off. After getting out of the tube station and attempting to get on wifi we saw a Vodafone store across the street that was open! We got sims and it was a really easy process and almost instantly worked on our phones. After that we headed to the place where we were staying. 

My sister's friend Kim and her roommate Janna graciously late us stay in their home. We decided to take a cab instead of a bus to get to the house we were pretty tired. The taxi's are so spacious, there was so much room for our luggage! These are a couple of pictures of their neighborhood which was really cute. 

I loved their flat it was so bright!

We were greeted by Kim and Janna who were such amazing hosts. Josh didn't manage to sleep on the plane so since it was earlier in the day, 9 am we decided to take a nap. I didn't think I would nap much since I slept on the plane but I guess I was tired because I fell asleep so fast and stayed that way till around 1. It was a little longer then I wanted but Josh really needed it. After waking up and getting ready we went out to explore. I found a stop on the tube that I though was central and we ended up by Tower Bridge. We didn't have a set plan we just wanted to walk around and just explore. Which was great. Now something a little embarrassing  happened... I didn't have a SD card in my camera. Yeah that happened I was so mad at myself but an iPhone I could work with so here are a few. 

Our friend Amanda who we met through a mutual friend of Josh's at Grand Valley lives in London. (or did she just moved back to the states this week) She got out of work and we went and had pints with her and her boyfriend Reese. We ended up by Westminster where I saw Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament for the first time. It really hit me that we were in London! We spent some time with them and it was great catching up. They had to go catch up with friends but they recommended we head to Piccadilly Circus to eat. Now for those who don't know Josh is vegan so its a little difficult just say "hey that place looks cool lets eat there". Pretty much every place we went to was found prior before going there but luckily a lot of places have menus posted outside. We yelped a place in Piccadilly circus but then when we got there it was so packed and way too long of a wait so we started walking around and found a place that served vegetarian Chinese and Thai which didn't look like much. Josh was thrilled and it turned out to be really good too. He ate almost 5 plates, I guess someone was hungry. 

Night time in Piccadilly Circus

After eating we called it a night and headed back. A good nights sleep was definitely needed. 

Newley Weds in New York City

Wait didn't they get married in Michigan? Why yes they did but  being the New Yorkers they are how could they not dress up again and take pictures here?! My sister and her new husband flew me out to New York City so they could re-live their special day. They live in midtown Manhattan and that's where we started a journey. We went through parts of Central Park, Time Square, Brooklyn, Radio City, and landed back outside their home. It was so much fun! I had such a hard time narrowing down my favorites but here you go!