Beefeaters and Birthdays

This blog covers the last week in July:
The day before Pat returned to the states (the last blog’s topic), I hopped a plane to London. Nate followed after finishing up the work week and spending one last evening with his brother. We had a lot to celebrate during our trip to London! For starters, we had our next group of visitors in from the states - Brandy and Jen, from Nate's hometown stomping grounds (pictured above). We also met up with Tucker, a friend from college (pictured with Brandy below), and his wife Kerri. In addition to my (gulp) 29th birthday, we were also celebrating Brandy's birthday, Tucker's new job and new house, and Jen's recent wedding!



I met up with Brandy and Jen earlier in the week in order to fit in some classic London sightseeing. We kicked the festivities off with a trip up the London Eye - timed perfectly, at sunset! The next day was spent at Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and the ultimate piece de resistance - a performance of Antony and Cleopatra at the Globe Theater! I was in my element, melting in the heat, but enraptured by the opportunity to watch a work of Shakespeare in his original theater - a replica of course, but that's the best we can ask for after 400 years in a fire-prone city!



During our final days in London, we ate lots of food, shopped at Camden market, ate more food, took in a little history at the Museum of London, gawked at Dali's works in the Tate Modern art museum . . . and ate more food. Tucker and Kerri really know how to entertain a group – we ate more incredible food that week than we've probably had throughout our stay here. We've promised to return their hospitality when they visit us in Dublin - we have a high standard to live up to!