Meet the Parents

The parents have now come and gone so it's officially time to write about their visit!

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Mom and Dad arrived last Wednesday morning, and I met them at our flat's Official Relative Meeting Place--Starbucks. I showed them my flat and unpacked the goodies (clothes and food) Mom brought me. I helped them find their hotel in between classes then left them to recover from their flight. In the evening, we met up with Jenna and had a celebratory dinner at Cafe Pasta. Mom even brought along a small care package for her as well (instant oatmeal and peanut butter from her grandma).

The next morning, I jogged up to their hotel. Predictably, Dad had been up for quite some time. He was already downstairs having breakfast while Mom had just gotten up! We solidified plans to meet-up later in the day. While I toiled away in class, they shopped at Harrod's and visited the Victoria and Albert Museum. At 3:30, we met up at the Courtauld Collection a private art collection that I had never heard of, but it is very impressive. The Collection has an impressive assortment of works by Peter Paul Rubens, Gauguin, Seurat, Degas, Van Gogh, and Kandinsky, among others. It's most famous work is this familiar piece by Edouard Manet:



Mom made me sit down and consider what's wrong with it (the reflection, duh). At this point, I half expected her to whip out a handmade workbook for me to do on the collection. Oh yes, this would not have been a shock. That evening I treated Mom and Dad to tickets to The Producers. Meanwhile, I ran off to a "Girls Night Out" event at Canary Wharf. I'm told they enjoyed the show, especially the old-ladies-with-walkers dance, and I had a fun evening sipping free champagne and eating chocolate-covered strawberries with H and Jen.

After attending my two Friday classes, I met Mom and Dad at Russell Square, where we caught the Tube out to Heathrow. We rented a car (a lovely Saab) for our road trip through southern England. We managed to get out of the airport craziness without incident, but I had to alter our route after we missed our initial exit. But as luck would have it, the new route took us right by Stonehenge. Of course, none of us realized this until we literally drove right by it (see the pictures for details) so it was a pleasant surprise.

Our first destination was Moretonhampstead, a small town in the middle of Dartmoor National Forest, where we'd be staying for the night. The road out of town to our B&B was--how do I put this--interesting. Tall hedges lined the sides of this narrow, winding lane, and trees hung over the top, creating a slightly unnerving tunnel effect, and it was only wide enough for one vehicle. We also had to drive over two cattle grids. Thanks goodness we got there before dark! Our B&B--Great Wooston Farm--was cozy and quaint. We checked in, got a dinner recommendation from the proprietor, and faced the country road back into town. Our dinner was wonderful; I had a lamb dish for the main course, and the chocolate and lavender fondant I had for dessert as simply to die for.

After a good night's rest, we had a full English breakfast. I couldn't possibly eat everything she served us, but Dad was the good farmer's boy and cleaned his plate. Dad then showed me around the farm (it's a working farm with 350 head of cattle), and we took some pictures. Then we were off to drive through the Dartmoor National Forest. The drive was wonderful--hedge fences, hills, interesting rock formations (a.k.a. tors), and sheep as far as the eye could see. At one point, we saw a "Sheep Lying in the Road" sign, which turned out to be quite accurate. We hadn’t gone a quarter mile before coming across a few sheep drinking water out of the potholes in the road. We also stopped to see a clapper bridge, which I won't bother to define--just check out the pictures!

That morning we drove all the way to the coastal town of Tintagel, where we visited the ruins of Tintagel Castle. Legend has it this castle is the birthplace of King Arthur. Mom explained to us the legend of his birth, accused us of not listening!, and then sent us off the cliff-side ruins to take pictures for her (her knee not being up to the steep steps to the ruins). The seaside cliffs were astonishingly beautiful, and the water was a lovely blue-turquoise color that day. If there hadn't been a blustering wind, it would've felt like the Caribbean. After trekking back up the hill into town, we stopped by King Arthur's Bistro for some Cornish specialties--a Cornish pasty for Dad, potato and leek soup for Mom, and Cornish ice cream for me. Yum.

As we drove to our next stop, Mom noticed that we were incredibly close to our B&B for that night, the Old Bissett Mill. So we stopped by, checked-in, and had some tea before driving on to St. Ives, a popular resort town that is also home to an artist's colony. After getting a bit lost among the town's narrow streets, we finally parked and wandered along a sandy beach and a pier. It was a gorgeous afternoon, and the sunlight felt lovely and warm on my face. But the daylight was fading quickly so we off in the car once more. We drove toward Penzance and then along the southern coast. We stopped briefly in Marazion to take some pictures of St. Michael's Mount. The Mount houses a still-inhabited castle and is an island at high tide. During low tide, it is accessible by a footpath. That night we had dinner at the Norway Inn near Truro. Mom and I had traditional Fish 'n Chips, while Dad tried the local beef. Dad and I also sampled the local ale from St. Austell brewery.

Sunday morning we had another nice breakfast and then headed to St. Austell, where I was to catch a train back to London. We stopped by a grocery store to pick up provisions, and then I said goodbye to Mom and Dad until Tuesday evening. For the record, they visited the Lost Garden of Heligan, the Cerne Abbas Giant, Maiden Castle, Winchester, Sissinghurst, and Hever Castle. They also stayed in very interesting B&Bs. Sunday night it was Brambles, which has a thatched roof (picture here). On Monday night they stayed at Leaver's Oast, an old, 19-century oast (picture here) in Kent.

I met up with them on Tuesday evening back at their hotel in London. Mom assured me that they only got lost "a little bit," and Dad only drove on the wrong side of the road a "couple times." Without independent confirmation, I cannot attest to the accuracy of these claims. After swapping pictures and stories, we made plans to meet up the next morning.

We met in Leicester Square, where we bought tickets to Billy Elliot. In true Stephens style, both Mom and Dad managed to chat up other travelers. Dad chatted up two Kiwis--mother and son--in the ticket line, while Mom met two young women from California. Parents! While I was in class, Mom and Dad visited the National Gallery. We met up for dinner that evening at Montagu Pyke, a pub that Jen, H, and I frequent because of its cheap-yet-yummy steak deal. I brought Jen and H along to meet the parents, and everyone ended up ordering the steak. We had a fun dinner, and I was mostly spared from embarrassment.

Billy Elliot was wonderful. I enjoyed the movie, and the musical version was splendid. The boy who played Billy was simply amazing; other memorable cast members included Billy's hilarious Grandma, dance teacher Mrs. Wilkinson, and the "Born to Boogie" Mr. Braithwaite. But my favorite was Michael, Billy's cross-dressing best friend. His "Express Yourself" number with Billy nearly brought the house down and got a well-deserved mini-ovation. I also loved "Grandma's Song" ("and I never...would be sober"), "Born to Boogie," and "Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher," which features a 20-foot puppet of the Iron Lady. Naturally, the dance numbers were a highlight; the first act ends with an amazing, angry solo dance by Billy, and a Swan Lake number with Billy and his older self highlights the second half. The encore--a massive tap number--stars the entire cast, including Grandma! I loved this musical. How I wish I had time to see it again!

After the show, I took Mom and Dad back to their hotel. They caught an early plane home yesterday morning, and I've just had word that they got home safely. Great seeing you, Mom and Dad!