all the way up the hills to my flat. I was very excited and surprised to see that over half of my dad's suitcase was filled with Amercian food for me! We spent that first night wondering around Bangor going out to the pier, looking at all of the shops, and ate at a local pub. We then went back to my flat where my parents got to meet most of my flat mates, they even got to see a few of Andy's famous dances! They were very tired from all of their travels so they stole my bed and called it a night while I stayed up to hang out with my flat mates. The next morning I woke up and went to class, and then came back and we got all packed and took off for London for the weekend. 
We had quite the trip to London. We had some complications with the train at Chester causing us to miss our connecting train. We ended up arriving in London over an hour later than expected. Then began our journy of trying to find our hotel, which was not as easy and convenient as it seemed online when I booked it. We took the undergroud to where we thought would be walking distance, found out we needed to take a bus and with the night traffic we would not be able to check into our hotel and make it back into town for the play Wicked. So we turned right around and went to the theatre where we freshened up in the bathroom, and got lucky that they had a cheap coat/luggage room. We really enjoyed Wicked, it was amazing! We finally made it to our hotel and order in some pizza and called it a night. We woke up the next morning grabbed some
breakfast and then took off for a big day in the city. We started off the day by going to see Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey. Then we wondered toward Buckingham Palace, and the old Palace where they will be playing sand volleyball for the Olympics. We also wondered through St. James Park and Green Park. Unfortunately my parents got a taste of England/ Wales weather because it was cold and rainy most of the day. We made our way to Camden Market which is a crazy part of town with all of these little souvenir markets where we got a bite to eat and did a little shopping and I got my cute wellies (rain boots). 
We then caught the tube to St. Paul's Cathedral where we got lucky that there was a little production going on inside so it was free admission all day. This Cathedral was huge and spectacular. It is where Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married, and where Winston Churchill's funeral was held. Just down the road from the Cathedral was a parade with Scottish men playing bag pipes. We then made our way toward the London Tower and Tower Bridge. Here we got to see parts of an old castle and then toured Tower Bridge as it was getting dark. We got an awesome view of London all lit up, and Bonfire Night Weekend (a national holiday over here) so there were fireworks lighting up the sky. We also got to see the bridge open and close which was really neat.
We then decided to go back and see Big Ben and the Parliament all lit up. We then wondered toward the Palace again where there were a small group of 50 or so people around the gate so we decided to join them. After waiting for awhile we were about to leave because no one knew what was going on, just then the gate opened and the block went down and the police on motorcycles left with their lights flashing, and then cars began coming through the arches of the palace. One of the cars had all of the dome lights on, and inside was.... THE QUEEN!
She waved right at me, no big deal! But because we were to busy waving back at her we didn't get our camera out quite in time. You may not believe me, but this is a picture of the back of the Queen's car. After we saw the Queen we got back on the tube and went to Picadilly Circus, no this is not where little robot animals bring you pizza, this was like a mini time square in London. We grabbed some food and then called it a night. The next day we got up and went and rode the London Eye, this is like a big ferris wheel where you get to see great views of London. Accidently found China Town, visited Leicester Square where the movie premiers are held, 
and ate some gelato, which is a form of ice cream. We then went to a couple fun little market places. Then it was time to catch our train back to Bangor. I had a lot of fun in London with my parents, even though the weather was not the greatest we got to see and do a lot of neat stuff. And by the end of the weekend I had worn them down, they are not used to walking as much as we do over here. We got back to Bangor pretty late and went back to my flat and got the rest of their luggage and carried it down to their bed and breakfast where we all called it a night. The next morning we got bus passes for the day and tried to go to one of the castles that has been restored just outside of Bangor to find out that it had shut down for the season the week before. So we got back on the bus and went to Caernarfon where we toured the castle, which is the one where Prince Charles was invested. We then wondered around the town and got a bite to eat and a cute little pub from the 17th century!(Sometime you should ask us what the name of this pub was and what my dad had to eat at it!) We then got on another bus and went to Llanberis where we just missed the last bus out to the foot of Snowdon (the highest peak in the UK).
But this was a cute little town at the foot of some of the mountains, and some of them have slate tips. We then caught a bus back into Bangor just in time to grab some groceries and get me to class on time. The buses are a great way of transportation, but I do fear for my life everytime I ride in one. After class a few of my friends and my parents went and hung out in a local pub. On Tuesday I had OP so my parents took their rail passes and went up to a couple of little towns recommended by Tecwyn and I. They got to explore on the walls of Conwy and around the roman and medieval town of Chester. They had a lot of fun. For OP we got to learn how to properly canoe, and then took our new skills and went down the Menai Straight. It was beautiful weather and scenery. The trees are all the colors of fall, we went by a castle, the sun was shinning on the water, and the mountains were in the distance. After canoeing it was time to grab some lunch. We then talked about next week because we are going to do an overnight camping trip so we had to look at all the kit we will need. After all of that we went back out to the high ropes course. We went to the catwalk, the first one was a log 15ft up in between 2 trees and you are suppose to walk across it, the only thing you are connected to is a rope on the back of your harness is connected to a pully system to the people on the ground belaying you. I did this one okay, but then the 2nd one was 45 ft up, and I just love heights! I ended up doing that one too, I just never looked down! You just walk across then back to the middle, do a finale move, and then get lowered to the ground. After OP I met back up with my parents and we went out for a nice meal with a couple of my friends. Then got everything figured out for their transportation for the next day and then called it a night early. We woke up super early the next morning so they could catch the 5am train. We took a taxi to the train station and said our good-byes, and I went back to bed. I had so much fun with my parents showing them where I have been living and a few of the amazing things that I have experienced and seen. I can't believe how fast that week went, and also can't believe I have less than a month until I am back in the States.
To check out more pictures from my week with my parents click on this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30488030@N04/sets/72157609229943523/detail/
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