London with friends and Carla's trip to the States

Before you begin reading this post, I should warn you that it's not very good! During the entire three weeks in which the below events took place, our camera battery was on low. We were thus quite stingy with taking photos, and it's just no fun writing a long post without accompanying photos! Ok, you've been warned :)

Several weekends ago our good Danish friends Thomas and Thomas spent a long weekend with Bobby me in London. Our weekend was filled with lots of laughs, lots of walking, and lots of great food. Thomas and Thomas are quite the foodies (they have been to a number of Michelin-starred restaurants around Europe, including Copenhagen's two star restaurant Noma, which for the third year in a row has been voted the best restaurant in the world) and we always enjoy trying new restaurants with them. While in London, we enjoyed a 9-course dinner at The Ledbury, recently voted number 14 in the world and recipient of two Michelin stars. While the restaurant was pretty good, it wasn't the best meal any of us has had, which was a bit disappointing.

Another restaurant we tried was NOPI, which was pretty good. But, believe it or not, we also managed to do some sightseeing in between our meals! We went to London Towers, where the Beefeaters work and the royal jewels are housed.

And, of course, Tower Bridge.

We saw a lot more of London with Thomas and Thomas (or, as we like to call them, T&T), but in the interest of time/not boring you to death, I'll move on to the next trip. After our long weekend with T&T, I flew to Los Angeles, where I got to spend a few days with my Dad and the lovely Gloria (we ate lots of seafood and had a fun BBQ) before heading over to my Mom's. The reason I went to LA was for my Mom's graduation. She received her Master's in Public Administration and I am very, very proud of her! Here is the graduation girl with my brother and me.

After Mom's graduation ceremony, we enjoyed breakfast with my grandparents, Aunt Gwen (pictured here with Mom and me), Joseph, and Jordan. After breakfast, Mom and I were off to the airport!

In order to properly celebrate Mom's graduation, she and I took a girls' trip to the Hawai'ian island of Kaua'i. We had a great time there: we enjoyed plenty of Mai Tais,

beautiful sunsets,

stunning views

gorgeous tropical flowers and plants,

awesome natural wonders like this blowhole,

and wild chickens. Yep, chickens. They were everywhere.

After getting sun, fun, and family time in the States, I flew back to London, where Bobby and I, along with millions of others in the city, celebrated the Queen's Diamond (60th) Jubilee. If you squint really hard, you can see the Queen's blue hat in this photo!

At least the flyover was easier to see.

What trip to London would be complete without tea and scones?