Best Valentine's Day in Years!

It's a littttttle late but I thought I'd update you all on last weekend! Friday we decided to check out Westminster Abbey. Katy, Bess, and I took the Tube there (Emily had already been there for a class) and paid the entrance fee, somewhere around 10 pounds, but it was definitely worth it. We started off by wandering around the entrance until we finally decided to get personal audio tours, which was definitely a good choice. There were about 25 stations, and when we got to each one, we typed the number in the little keypad and we got to hear all about the area. It was really interesting to hear facts and stories about the different burial places and memorials and everything--Bess and I were especially excited about anything to do with the Tudors :) My favorite area was the Poet's Corner, which either held the graves of prominent poets/writers or memorials dedicated to them. I can't remember all of the people there but I'm sure you could find it on Google :) After the audio tour, we decided to head back, but not before we made a quick photo stop in front of Parliament and Big Ben. Here are a few pictures:

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben

Parliament Building--to the right of Big Ben

Friday night, we ate in the dining hall (:/ bleh... at least it's free) and then went to see Valentine's Day! We figured after going to the premiere, we definitely had to see the movie! It was good--nothing too deep or meaningful but it was cute! Definitely entertaining. Taylor Swift was definitely not at her best while acting but other than that, it was a good movie. It was especially exciting to see Ashton Kutcher on screen the day after seeing him in person!! Anyway, that concludes our night on Friday.

Saturday, the only plans we made revolved around lunch. We decided to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe, which is just on the corner of Hyde Park--about two miles away. We walked, which didn't take TOO long, but once we got to the edge of the park, we couldn't quite find our way. I had directions, and we were going the right way, but the road we needed to turn on was apparently non-existent! I finally asked someone where the Hard Rock was and we were only a few blocks off target. We headed back and found the missing road--in my defense, there was construction going on and the sign was only visible if you were standing right next to it! Anyway, we finally arrived and found the wait to be 40 minutes. We had no where else to be so we sat it out. There was some random soup outside for the people waiting to snack on, and we still have no idea what it was, but it was hot and it was decent tasting so we ate it! Once we finally sat down, I ordered a veggie burger :) mmmmm! It was wonderful.

After the Hard Rock, we headed back and did some homework. It was rather chilly outside so we didn't waste a beautiful day, no worries! We planned to go out to a club that night, but when dinner time rolled around, none of us were hungry OR had the energy to go out. We decided to have a low-key movie night and ventured down the block to Starbucks for dinner. I had a sandwich so it was a legit dinner! Sort of. Anyway, we watched Stepbrothers because I had never seen it--definitely a good choice!

Sunday was Valentine's Day. I am most definitely not a fan of V-Day, whether I'm in a relationship or not. It just fees fakey and commercialized. I always end up stressed, not "lovey-dovey" because I have no idea what to get for them (which I don't think should even matter!!) and I feel so pressured to be so happy all the time, and what if I happen to wake up on the wrong side of the bed that day?? I'm not anti-love or anything, but I just feel like there is no need to create a holiday for love when really, almost every day could (and maybe should) be celebrated! Anyway, this year was the best Valentine's Day I've had in years because I didn't have to worry about a thing! I just got to hang out with friends. It was great. We had breakfast at the Old Dutch Pancake House which was AMAZING!!! Anyone who comes to visit me is most definitely going there. SO yummy. The pancakes were super thin and HUGE! See my apple and cinnamon pancake below:

After the most amazing breakfast ever, I did some more homework (I had a presentation this week--it went really well!) before wandering to Le Pain Quotidien--a really good bakery/restaurant/coffee shop nearby. I got a scone and munched on that for a while back in the room. For dinner, we ordered Chinese food from a nearby restaurant and watched Bridget Jones' Diary! I'd never seen it and I loved it! So good. Clearly, the best Valentine's Day so far!

:)

Jackie