Royal Wedding Madness

Camping

So we decided to camp out. It was worth it in the end. but seemed like a bad idea at 3 am when we were freezing. I got to our campsite around 7 pm on Thursday after I got out of class. Luckily 2 of my friends were there at 4 and got a front row spot across from Horse Guard's Parade. There ended up being a group of 8 of us which was good since we needed each other for warmth. The groups on either side of us were Americans who came the whole way to London just for the wedding... now that is crazy. We got interviewed by a British tv station at one point which was awkward but we went with it. We talked and then tried to sleep but the ground was hard and did I mention it was freezing. We had blankets, coats, sweatshirts, and everything, but it was probably the coldest night of the month so far. We woke up around 5 am, looking super rough, as anyone would after the night we had. More people started showing up and invading our space around 6. People were extremly pushy but we pushed right back. We did not camp out for the night to have newcomers take our spots.

Harry and Wills



Kate and her daddy



The Queen

 We had to wait for another 3 and 1/2 hours before anything happened and were kinda cranky at this point but the closer the time got the more excited we got, even if it was still really cold. The marching band came throught a little after 9 which cheered everyone up and got things moving. It was packed. There were thousands of people everywhere, all decked out in their British gear, it was incredible. At 10:10 prince William and my future husband prince Harry came through. They were waving, William looking nervous and Harry looking as happy as could be. I tried to get as many pictures as possible, but given the circumstances, that was easier said then done. Then there were buses and cars of lesser royals, VIPs, other family members, and important foreign leaders. Kate's mom and brother came next but they were hard to see. Prince Andrew, Princess Beatrice and Eugenia came next but they were hard to differentiate from the group. Camilla and Prince Charles followed them but they were also hard to see but also unimportant because honestly, no one likes them anyway. The Queen and Prince Phillip followed. The Queen looked adorable in her yellow dress and hat. I adore her. Finally came Kate and her father. She looked beautiful as she passed but also really nervous. The crowds cheered hard for her and cameras went crazy.

Wills and Kate

HARRY

The Queen and Phil

Parents of the Bride, father of the groom, and Camy

P

 We couldn't see the wedding because there were no screens along the parade route but we were able to hear it on loud speakers. Not being able to see it was worth it because we saw them in person in a way few others did. We listened to the ceremony and sang along, cheering at some parts. Once the ceremony was over we patiently waited for their returns in the carriage. A large procession of horses came first and then Wills and Kate came next looking like a beautiful newly wed couple. This moment made everything up to this point worth it. Harry was in the second carriage with all of the little kids that were in the wedding party. It was soooo cute. Another carriage with more of the wedding party and then more horses and next came the Queen and Phil came next, looking adorable again and Camilla and Chuck followed with the Middletons and rest of the royals. Once they passed we tried to go to Buckingham to see the kiss on the balcony but it was insane and we could not even get close so after 1 we finally were able to make it home. A lot of people could care less about the royal wedding and think it doesn't matter, but that experience today was amazing and it is amazing to know I was a part of history. I got to be there for the wedding of the future King and Queen of the UK and that is sooo cool.

London in the Spring

London has been beautiful so far in April.  I love sitting in the park and people watching.  It has been so amazing.

The past few weeks have flown by, actually the whole semester has flown by and now I am down to less than 2 weeks and I have very mixed feelings.  I am happy to be going home.  I know it sounds crazy, but I need a break from all the craziness that this semester has brought.  I am also sad to be going home and leaving London because who knows when I will be back.  I really do love this city.

Legally Blonde Cocktails

FDR and Churchill

Peter Pan

Fish eating my feet

My weeks have been pretty busy with class and papers, but my weekends have been a lot of fun.  Now I am cramming them with all the things I want to do before I leave.  I saw Legally Blonde the musical which was amazing.  It was probably one of the best shows I have ever seen.  Afterwards we got Legally Blonde cocktails from the bar across the street and they were delicious.  The next day I went with a friend to Hyde Park and Kennsington Gardens and found the Peter Pan statue I have been looking for and the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain which was cool except people were letting their kids swim in it, which is rude.  I also found the "Allies" statue which is FDR and Churchill on a bench with room for me in between.  We talked about this in my history class so I was glad I found it.  We finished the day by going to Camden market and getting a fish pedicure.  We stuck our feet into a tank of water with lots of little toothless fish which sucked and ate the dead skin off.  It tickeled, but was a unique experience.  I probably would not do it again, but am glad I tried it. 

Hampton Court Palace

I went to Hampton Court Palace which belonged to the Tudors.  It was a neat palace but at this point all the palaces are starting to look the same.  The only unique things was there were a lot of deer antlers on the walls which made me think of Pennsylvania.  The gardens at Hampton Court were absolutly beautiful however and I could have sat in them and read forever.  We took a 3 hour boat ride back to London which was cool, but also very relaxing. 

I spent more time at the park this weekend which was nice like always although I did get kicked in the head with a soccer ball.  Friday I had Easter tea at Kennsington with some of my friends.  (Kennsington will be where Kate and Prince William live after the wedding).  The tea sandwiches and desserts were good but the scones were amazing.  I love having tea; I really should do it more often.



Saw Ride




Samurai

 Today I went to Thorpe Park which is a thrill ride amusement park outside of London.  They had a Saw (like the movie) rollercoaster.  It was amazing.  They also usually have a live action Saw maze, but it was closed and I was bummed about that.  Thorpe had lots of really cool rollarcoasters and spinny, upside-down rides.  I had a lot of fun, although when we were on the log flume ride, it broke and we had to get evacuated off.  Never had that happen before.  It really was a great day and I finally got some color on my skin, although right now I am more burnt than tan, but it will get there.





This week is another busy one with papers and then finals are next week.  I hate trying to balance school work with final London exploration, but gotta do what I gotta do.

Paris the Second Time Around

Monet's Gardens

Paris the second time around was pretty fun. We took a 7 hour bus ride there that was rough, but the weather once we got to Paris was worth it. Friday we went to Vernon to Monet's house. I am not into art all that much, but his gardens were absolutly gorgeous. Once we were back in Paris, we went to check in which is easier said then done since the manager only spoke French and we didn't speak any French. We had amazing crepes for dinner by the Eiffel Tower and walked around to look at the beautiful lights. The Eiffel Tower at night might be my favorite thing to do in Paris.

Space Mountain

Saturday we went to Disneyland Paris. It was no Disney World, but it was still a lot of fun. A lot of the main rides like Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and the Rockin Rollercoaster were pretty similar and there were some other new rides as well. It was a really long day, trying to cram both parks into the time we had, but totally worth it. My only issue is that they call Chip and Dale, Tic and Tac which I think is a little wierd. Overall it was a really cool experience.

Sunday we did a lot of shopping and explored new parts of Paris. We didn't do anything real touristy, just wondered around. The weather again was warm and sunny which makes Paris beautiful with all of the many flowers. Paris is an amazing city and I would love to make it back someday.

Paris the first time

The Grand Arch

Versaille

Paris is beautiful! I honestly was not so sure that I would like it at first because I heard bad things about the city and the French in general, but I loved it. This trip was with the school, so it was a little bit different than all of my other trips because we had a planned schedule for a lot of the time. Friday we went to see the Grand Arch which is a giganitc building that was built in honor of the bicentennial of the French Revolution. It was very impressive. We also went to see the church that houses Napleon's tomb, also very impressive. The chuch is there almost solely for the purpose of housing Napoleon and a handful of other famous French dead people. The tomb was the inspiration to Grant's tomb in the US. We saw other various places during the day and ended in a museum before we got free time. The museum we finished at was near the Eiffel Tower so after taking 100 pictures of it, we went up in it. I was slightly scared of the height and the elevator made me a little nervous. First you stop at the second level, which gives you a nice view and has a cafe and stores on it, then you go up to the top. There are signs around the top that tell you in what directions different countries are and how far. I thought that was kinda cool. It was really windy at the top. I was hoping to see a couple get engaged, but that did not happen. Regardless, it was a really beautiful view and a really neat experience. Once we got back to the ground we went for dinner, which was good except my steak ended up being so raw it was practically still mooing. After dinner we went back over and sat on the stairs by the Eiffel Tower. It was beautiful, but really cold.

Saturday we went to the Latin Quarter of the city where many of the universities and college students are found. We walked over to Notre Dame which was really pretty and cool to see, even if there was no hunchback. The trip guides took us for ice cream, which is supposedly the best ice cream in Paris and it just might be. The sun was shining this day and it was so nice out. After walking through Notre Dame we walked over to the Louvre which was also pretty cool. The museum is gigantic and we spent an hour and a half in it and only saw a few of the painting and sculptures, one of them being of course the Mona Lisa. Maybe I just don't understand art, but I don't see what the big deal about that painting is. We walked around and did some shopping and then again went to the Eiffel Tower once it got dark. It's so beautiful, I just couldn't get enough of it. We sat there for hours and talked.

Pompidiu Center

Jim Morrison's Grave

Sunday we got to see a few more random places as well as the the Pere Lachaise which is a big cemetary with a lot of famous dead people it it. It was huge and slightly creepy. We also saw the pompidiu center which is a very interesting modern building and a big tourist attraction. Paris was amazing and I am looking forward to going again this weekend to go to Euro Disney!