Aimee Visited

So, Aimee came from DC to visit this weekend. Yes, I had A LOT of homework to do while she was here (think 40+ hours on 1 project...I hate finance), but we managed.

Friday morning, I take the Tube 45 min. to get her at Heathrow. I think she was on her 3rd kick of adrenaline or something. We started our way back to my place, and....wow! I did not remember how loud Americans really are compared to Europeans! Her and the other "just-in" Americans were not just the only ones talking on the Tube, but they were echoing! That took some getting used to.
Anyways, I made her nap as soon as we got in so I could work on my project. A few hours later, we went and grabbed some Thai food nearby, and I went back to work some more. Luckily, the 2 that've been helping me out in this class, Manish and Susanne, were willing to make due in my room so Aimee could "see my sister". We had a reservation at the IceBar for 6:30pm, so we headed for that after a while. This place is hidden really well in this nook on Regent Street, and basically it's this kind of small room that has huge blocks of ice for walls, tables, bartop...even the glasses! We were forced to wear these eskimo-like hoodies, which we were glad for. It was lit kind of dimly blue, to make you feel in an igloo...I don't think there was music playing, but the people were so close and chatty, it didn't matter. The drinks were POTENT! HOLY MOSES! Absolut Vodka, and that's about it. Mine tasted like Christmas, Aimee's tasted like peach.
Eliana & Denysha met up with us to go to Wagamama's for dinner. We ended up at the Leicester Square one because Aimee's friends from DC were there....so we went, feasted, ate, drank. It was nice. Then Aimee's friends wanted to go pub/bar hopping...cute bars, very swanky places, very delicious drinks: The Cosmopolitan was delicious, the French Martini was a little pineapply, the Mojito was light and delightful. After I cut myself off, and I cut off Aimee, too, we walked home from Leicester Square. A bit of a jaunt, but only Aimee complained about it. ;)

Saturday, we woke up to go to the British Museum for the Michelangelo Drawing's exhibit I bought tickets for. It was really cool, that man was a genius! After about 30 minutes in there, Aimee and I went gallavanting around the museum, finding the Rosetta Stone, a crystal skull, the Parthenon, Cleopatra....you know, the essentials. But knowing me, I can't be in crowded, busy places for too long or I get a headache. So we left a few hours later, and went grocery shopping. Then I did some work. Then I forced (literally) Aimee to go to the gym before it closed so I could have some kind of cardio work for the weekend. And then we ruined all of the hard work by eating fish&chips for dinner. Lazy night, full of finance, it was glorious. We went to bed early to wake up earlier (daylight savings happened here on Sunday...).

Sunday, we ran to Victoria Station to hit up our tour bus going to Stonehenge, Devizes, and Avebury. The tour guide never came, so the bus driver (who was new to the english language) attempted to make up for it. 2 hour drive, I napped the whole way. Stonehenge is massive, but not really. Hard to explain. You can tell that it used to be a lot bigger, but it's still big. And it was pretty amazing. The stones were all craggy & ragged on the edges with moss and stuff growing off of it, but it was still elegant. We couldn't go up to it, but we could walk around it, with little audio tours attached to our ears. It's all rolling hills around it (well, except for the highway). And in the distance, you can see ancient funeral mounds !!!
Then we went to Devizes, which wasn't much to see, it was your typical British village; cute, laden with pubs, a square, closed on Sundays. I ate a Sunday roast at some pub (roast beef, potatoes, vegetables), while Aimee ate a jacket potato (basically a baked potato with 2 fillings/toppings).
On our way to Avebury, we saw the oldest man made mountain....in England? Maybe in the world, I can't recall. It was funky looking. Wonder why they made it. Avebury basically is Stonehenge-ish, only older, huger, and a little more primitive(?). It's 2 circles of stones with an inside circle, too. And inside the circles is this little town, divided by how the rocks are positioned. They put up a few keystone rocks to give you the full image of the circle. It was, dare I say, cooler than Stonehenge. And we could touch the rocks, climb them. It was raining and windy, but otherwise, pleasant.
After that, we came back and I taught Aimee how to make eggs & cookies while I worked.

Monday, I had class, so Aimee went to the National Gallery by herself. We met back up around 6pm (with Denysha by my side), and we went to dinner to this cute little Italian restaurante the girls & I have been to before and loved. Good meal. And cheap.
Aimee and I ended up going to a musical afterwards. It's called, "We Will Rock You." Only in London. Yes, it's co-written by Queen, the music's queen, the storyline is about Queen, and the jokes are Queen-related. I enjoyed myself immensely. The story is about the future, where musical instruments are banned, and only digital music can be listened to, and everyone's a clone. There is this group of rebellions, called Bohemians, who are trying to resist the government by finding out about the past and music. In the end, the bohemians learn to rock out, brainwashed people come back to their senses, robots are blown up....The usual. I've had "Under Pressure" stuck in my head all day, now.
After that, I went back to work some more after chatting to Mom, and Aimee called it an early night.

And.....that's it. Back to work. This project's due tomorrow!!!!