Day FIFTY TWO AND FIFTY THREE. The Visitors are here.

Days 52 and 53. The Visitors are here. Started day 52 at church. Then came home, packed my bag again, cleaned out some things of mine in the fridge and headed to the airport to meet The Visitors. Aka my parents. They came straight from a european river cruise and are stopping over here for a few days to see me before heading to the states. They each brought the same amount of luggage (one large & one carryon suitcase) as what I brought, and I am here for 6 months. This was fun to get around. Mom and Dad were troupers as we ventured the tube with lots of luggage. Trying to get them close to the hotel via metro was a challenge with stops I dont frequent...and stairs....I got my workout for the day that is for sure. One big suitcase up, dad brings one small suitcase up, he waits at the top of the stairs, I go back and get the other big suitcase, and finally, go back again for the little suitcase and mom waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Repeated four times at least. Yep. It was good sweaty fun. We checked into the hotel, and ventured out for dinner. My only dinner meal with them as I am in class every night this week. I took them to the first restaurant I went to here in London....Union Jacks. Coowned by Jamie Oliver & Chris Bianco (of PHX fame). Dad got fish & chips, mom got fish pie, and I got a mushroom pizza (mushroom sauce, mushrooms on top with pickled red onion and rocket (arugala). For dessert we couldnt decide, so we got two :) Brownie with clotted cream & bread pudding w/butterscotch sauce. Both were amazing. After that, we headed back to the hotel, made light plans for the next day....and the Visitors were out before my head hit the pillow.

 Day 53. I thought we could do a walking tour, but pops said he didnt want to walk. London is a walking city :) ha. whoops. ahhhh..... Bus Tour! Hop on Hop Off. Luckilly it is the off season, so a one day ticket is good for two. Yippy! A bus to take us everywhere & see all the stuff we want without a metro. We were happy. Pops and I ventured to the top of the double decker bus, and we did almost a full loop, driving by Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Square, Parliament, Big Ben, London Eye, Tower of London, Financial District, St Pauls, Westminster, Harrods, and V&A. We got a quick bite to eat in the midst of it all. We got off at Harrods & took a walk around that beast of a mall. Seriously. Amazing jewlery (why yes I would love a 10 karat diamond ring please....thank you Dior), hand bags, mens clothes....and of course the food stalls. I dont think calling it a food court does it justice at all. Its pretty much a grocery store for anything imaginable, a fish monger, sushi, steak, indian, breads, pastries, and of course chocolate. Amazing! Mom got a cronut & dad got an almond crossaint. I didnt even ask how they liked them....as we got them to go and headed to the V&A and to the church building I go to. That is where I left them and headed to school....I wished them luck and dryness as it had been raining ALL day :( [They did really well without me, went to Kensington Palace and a few other places, had dinner at a Pub, and were at the hotel by 730...tired and worn out. I must have worked them too hard].

 Today's classes were the demonstration & practical for Dobos Chocolate cake. A sponge cake, cut into strips, soaking syrup & chocolate ganache are applied to the layers & then stacked, chilled, and jedi knife cut at a diagonal to get two triangles, which were then ganached together to form a tent (V) shape. The layers then give vertical stripes (IIIII) under the tent. The whole thing is covered in ganache and a layer of chocolate as well. It was easier than I thought it was going to be, but never in my life have I cut my cake in half at an angle before. Oh! We also made puff pastry for our next dish....something with fruit....I dont remember the name. But something fruity tomorrow.

The parents got to eat my cake when I got back to their hotel...and we made plans for tomorrow.  We are venturing on the metro. Seriously please #prayfortheirfeet. They are troopers. They are great. They are my parents. They are The Visitors.