London Calling!

Yes, we got the opportunity to go abroad AGAIN!!! I am seriously LOVING 2013!  Let me explain why we were in London this month:

Last year, Jeff asked me if I wanted to spend a little extra time with him and go to a Financial department meeting.  Here we heard about a CFA competition, and how the finals were in London! Back then, it was just a pipe dream - we were already going to France, but wouldn't it be cool if we could do BOTH?

So Jeff applied for the program and got accepted.  They started working on their analysis of their stock (Kona Grill) and preparing for the first round in Arizona.  I was nervous, of course, especially when Jeff mentioned that he was told that his resume would be getting handed out all over Vegas if they won the first round.  So I was just praying that he would make it past that round. Which he did. (and that wasn't the only round that I underestimated how far this team would go... obviously)

So then he went to Canada last month, and I was just hoping that he would make it past the first round (I didn't want him to travel all that way and not make it to at least the second round).  And then I find out that not only did he make it past the first round, but also the second, and was competing in the final four for the Toronto portion.  "What a great accomplishment to make it to that portion of the competition.  He really exceeded my expectations," was what I was thinking.  But he of course decided to win THAT round, too! 

So, even though it was the farthest thing from my projection of reality, Jeff actually made it to the FINAL FOUR in the WORLD - Location: LONDON.  I still have a hard time processing how amazing he is sometimes.  He's proof that the saying, "Why not me?" is totally true.  Jeff saw a random competition and decided to work hard at it, and in the end - 2nd place in the world is not too shabby! :)  I'm so proud to be married to such an overachiever!

A few more noteworthy items about this team (besides coming in 2ND WORLDWIDE) are that they had a few articles written about them locally, in addition to Yahoo! News (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/university-nevada-las-vegas-wins-120000939.html), as well as receiving a Certificate of Commendation from Nevada Senator Harry Reid! I mean, this team of men were pretty extraordinary, if I do say so myself!

Okay, I'm done bragging about what amazing taste I have in men... on to the actual trip! :)

I don't think that my body adjusts well to long flights because, just like in France, I was sick for the first couple days we were out there, so I didn't get the opportunity to go sightseeing on my own like I thought I was going to.  But Jeff and the gang did take a study break and we all went on Thursday to go see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.  We were told that we should get there about thirty minutes early because it can get "pretty crowded."  Honestly, you would've thought that there was going to be a sighting of the Queen herself!  We were not expecting "pretty crowded" to mean "mobs of tourists piling on top of each other and scrambling on top of statues across the street in order to catch a glimpse of the ceremony."  It was crazy!

So, I feel a little ridiculous, but when I finally saw the parade of guards marching into the courtyard, all I could think about was that they bore a strong resemblance to the guards serving the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz!  And of course, I couldn't verify that I wasn't being crazy because my wonderful husband has never seen the movie!  What do you think (about the resemblance, not the fact that I need to have a movie night with the hubby)?

COME ON!!!

The actual changing of the guards was difficult to understand - there was a parade, and then a sort of concert performed by some of the guards, and then they marched out.  I'm sure that I missed a lot of other things because I couldn't see sometimes on account of the crowd.  It was still really cool to be there though :)

We then went to Westminster Abbey and walked around there as well as the Parliament building and Big Ben. I remember thinking how detailed Notre Dame was with those archways, and these buildings were extremely detailed too - ALL OVER the facade.  It was so beautiful - no wonder coronations and weddings take place there.  And honestly, if I was a member of Parliament, I think that I would feel SO AWESOME getting to work in that building!

Parliament/Big Ben:

Intense, right?

Westminster: 

I also wanted to take a picture with a phone booth - however, this is as far as I got because it smelled like someone used it to relieve himself... :(

We later took a tour of Westminster, and just like I came home from France with an interest in reading more about Napoleon, Westminster Abbey gave me the urge to find out more about the monarchies.  Westminster is where royal weddings and coronations happen (2013 celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation) as well as the burial place of many of the past kings, queens, and figureheads.  As we took the tour, we were overwhelmed with all of the drama between them!  This king was crowned at age ten and only reigned for twelve years because his uncle (the next in line for the throne) poisoned him.  One queen imprisoned her cousin for 19 years because she was a threat.  Just crazy!  And then there was the story of Oliver Cromwell.  He overthrew Charles I in the English Civil War.  He was also buried in Westminster Abbey - that is, until the monarchy was reestablished in 1659.  His body was exhumed and then subjected to a public hanging and then beheaded.  His head was then put on a 20-ft spike above Westminster Hall until 1685 (yes - that's 26 years) when a storm broke the pole and then private collectors and museums passed the head along until 1960 when it was finally reburied... Wow. I think that I'll let the monarchies stay as they are...  Despite the drama, we loved all of the history that this building had to offer.  What an amazing site! (We weren't permitted to take pictures, so I've attached a few images that I found on the internet)

 

Jeff thought that it was a little weird that so many tombs were in the church... "People go to church here?" "Yep, they get married here, too..."

We then went over to the Tower of London.  However, our legs were pretty sore, and the Tower of London was so massive - we decided not to take a tour this go around (next time!).  A few things that we know about the Tower - this is where the crown jewels are kept, it was the place where Anne Boleyn was beheaded (another story of major DRAMA), and it was the site of London's first zoo!

After walking around the castle, we went to the London Bridge - right next to it...  It was really windy and cold that day, so we walked to the half-way point and then back (adding up to walking across the London Bridge).  

And, Jeff was kind enough to start singing, "London Bridge is falling -" "STOP THAT!!! Wait until we are OFF the bridge!!!!" haha

  

I told Jeff to take another picture because he looked like a unicorn here, and he said that he liked it because it was funny - agreed. haha

So we didn't get to see nearly as much as we would've liked to, obviously.  But this was more of a business trip than a vacation, and were really happy that we were able to get a little taste of London!

Things we DID learn while we were there:
Taxi cars
England wins for cool factor, I think. :)

           

vs.

         

Crosswalks:

 

They know that they're a little different, and so they make sure you remember - it came in handy more than once... haha - so I have to give England props for preparing their pedestrians - I think that we might need these for over here, because sometimes people just forget to look altogether!  England wins for fewer pedestrian/car accidents!

Meals - AMERICA WINS

EVERY. SINGLE. MEAL. is really really heavy. Don't ever go into a restaurant thinking that you'll "have a light lunch" - it's impossible in England! To quote this little guy from Nacho Libre, "Why can't we ever just have like an esalad, or something?" GOOD QUESTION!!!

Desserts (minus my Grandma Stark's pies) - ENGLAND WINS!!!! (And America wins for pies)

I could write a whole post about how amazing their desserts are!  Just like it was impossible for England to have light meals, I feel like it's impossible to find a light dessert in America - which is really annoying!

Take cheesecake, for example: I could be starving and get a slice of cheesecake here in the states and only be able to eat a few bites before having to stop eating because it's too much - In England, their cheesecake is like eating air it's so light - you are full from your heavy meal, and yet you can still eat your dessert!  They finally made the phrase "Have your cake, and eat it, too" make sense!!!! 

Their chocolate muffins were also delicious.  As much as I love Costco chocolate muffins - England's are better!  I know that I'd get so fat if I lived in London because I would be eating all sorts of desserts every day without any guilt, because you don't feel like you're eating any calories - it's just delicious and wonderful!

Bacon (weird topic, I know, but it needs to be included) - AMERICA WINS!

They don't have our delicious strips of crunchy goodness - they have slices of ham and call it bacon... what? I was so confused when I ordered a bacon burger and there's just a patty with a slice of ham on top!  A definite disappointment!

 

how appetizing... 

VS!!!

And, I was going to include just one picture from Google of the real stuff, but I was a little overwhelmed with the search... I thought I'd share some of the weird things I found because it kind of justifies me mentioning how disappointing English bacon is.. and it's just ridiculous:

We are willing to wear it...?

We accessorize with it, I guess.

We use it for healing, apparently.

People get it permanently put on their bodies?

Would you do that for this????

We seriously loved England though!  It was amazing, and I can't wait to go back! :)