29/3/13 *UPDATED*

Day 1 with Mom and Grandma

Status: Good

So for the first day with Mom and Grandma, very good. We had a lot of fun and it was great seeing people from home.

I woke up at 6:30 (after going to bed around 2) and took such a miserable shower. I then took some money out of the cash point and hopped on the tube by 7:16 to head to Heathrow. The train ride took about 65 minutes. I had a book, so that made it tolerable, but it was still too long for that early in the morning. I meet up with th... FIRST! I got a nice cup of tea. I met up with them around 8:45, just to get back on the same exact train and ride literally all the way back the way I came. We put their luggage in my room and away we went.

We took a bus over to my work for breakfast. I can't believe that neither of them had a heart attack (they were close, believe me). On the bus, we were in the front of the upper deck. They couldn't handle getting so close to bicyclists and driving on the left. Once we got there, we ate at this cafe. We all got eggs, sausage, ham, toast, and fried toast. It was a solid breakfast to give us the energy for 12 more hours of fun (exaggeration, only like 8 or 10).

We looked at the garden and then took the 149 to London Bridge. They were surprised by the look of the bridge, but it gave us a great view of Tower Bridge. We went to Borough Market; Grandma was smitten. She loved it. It is mostly a food market, so she just started wandering. Even though she was exhausted, one couldn't wipe the grin off her face as she was looking at the cheeses, strawberries, flowers, and other foodstuffs. *Side note: at the stall with the rabbits-- there was a butcher chopping the heads off with a meat cleaver. Solid job. It reminded me of Grandma Connie and when she skinned that rabbit like she was a professional!

From there, we walked back across London Bridge to the Tower of London. We just walked around it and I told them some facts about it. Then, we walked across Tower Bridge, past the City of London City Hall, to a cafe. We got a coffee, which grandma isn't too fond of coffee here. Anyways, this coffee shop was right next to a PwC office. Then, we took the tube back to their hotel to get that settled. Mom and grandma both have problems understanding British accents over here, so I helped a lot with them checking in. After a solid break (and short nap by mom) we headed off to Canary Wharf.

We took the DLR, which is a train and has great views. We got dinner at this place on West India Quay. Grandma got chicken, I got a wild boar burger, and Mom got pork belly! It was nice sitting, talking and eating. They both actually loved their meals. I am trying to steer them into being adventurous  so I hope it works. Especially for tomorrow. I will tell you how that goes (Pakistani barbecue @ 7:45).

I brought them home by 8:30 and I assume that they passed out not long after that. I will be at there room a little before 9, so Iw ill be sure to tell you tomorrow all about our day. Sorry about no pictures!

***I forgot to mention! When we were getting on the tube at one point, Mom jumped in, then I followed. The beeps were going off and next thing I know, grandma didn't make it in the train. As we slowly pulled away from her, she looks so scared and sad. So mom starts going nuts worrying and I just start laughing because I know there is nothing that we can do. I go mom "Well, I have guided 4 people since coming to London. I have a 75% retention rate. Damn." So we got off at the next stop and waited for the next train. Luckily, she got on that train and we met up back with her. So we made a plan if it happened again. Back to 100%!