Lahndah (British speak)

I had/have no motivation to write this blog, it seems like so long ago and I have other things to do, but I know it’s important to get this stuff down. So I spend April 26^th – April 30^th in London. I got in late on the 26^th and left early on the 30^th so really it was just all day Wednesday Thursday and Friday. I flew into London-Stansted and took a bus and taxi to my cousin Margaret’s apartment. She let me stay with her which was so nice bc London is so expensive. And it was nice to be with people I knew. And she has a really cool apartment. So I stayed with her for the week but she had grad school work to do as well as work work to do so she was busy during the day on Wednesday and Thursday so I had to fend for myself.

On Wednesday I took a bike tour with the company that we used in Barcelona (fat tire bike tours) and it was pretty good. My bike’s name was Tinkerbell. We rode through the parks mostly to avoid the busy streets but we did venture into the streets at times. We biked through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park and Green Park and St. James Park. They were all really pretty. We also saw Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey (with people camped outside for the good wedding spots), Parliament, Big Ben, and other stuff. But it was pretty miserable for me because there was so much pollen and stuff blowing around that my eyes were irritated the entire bike ride. They were all scratchy and watery and itchy. :(

After the tour ended I walked around on my own through the parks again and found the Peter Pan statue and the Princess Diana fountain in Hyde Park. Then I continued walking and passed Buckingham Palace again and then Westminster Abbey and Parliament and Big Ben and crossed the Thames and walked on the south bank where I saw a bunk of the bridges and the London Eye. My goal was to reach the Millennium Bridge (it was used in the 6^th harry potter movie) but I was running late since I was going to meet Margaret and her friends for dinner and a pub quiz. So even though I was so close to the bridge, I scurried back to a tube (metro) station and headed to the library to meet up with them.

From there we went to a pub and I got some fish and chips (French fries) and then more of Margaret’s friends showed up and we competed in a pub quiz, which I guess is common in England or London. It’s a trivia quiz and you bring your own team (we were called Queen E-quiz-abeth) and there are a few rounds of questions with different categories and1st place gets money, 2^nd place gets wine, and third place gets crepes. Well it was pretty British-centric, obviously. But there were some other categories such as weddings (since the royal wedding was coming up) and other stuff I can’t remember. But I learned a lot! I learned about the British monarchy which was cool. And I learned some slang words. And we won second place! I can’t say I helped much though. But it was a lot of fun. Then we headed back to the apartment for the night.

The next day I got up early again for a free Royal Tour but sadly, they were slow getting started and the crowds were even more ridiculous than the day before so I had to cut out early because I had plans to meet a friend from Mizzou who was studying in London, for lunch. The tour was supposed to start at 11 and lunch was at 12:30 so I thought I’d have time to learn a little but alas, I didn’t. I was bummed but it was good to meet up with my friend. She actually had to leave that Saturday. Her program was already over! It’s so weird that her program was ending and I was on my spring break.

But then we parted and I headed to Portobello Road Market. Sadly, it wasn’t what I expected. I thought I’d seen that it was a food market but it was more of an antiques and trinkets market. But on the way I passed a lot of nice houses that seems typical London to me. It was a bit outside of the city so things were calmer and cleaner and prettier, like most cities. But after the market, I got a bit lost and couldn’t find a tube station to take me back into the city (p.s. the tube was WAY expensive. Really the whole city was way expensive). But eventually I found one, without having to ask for help, and I took it back into the city. And what did I do after that? I don’t really remember. Oh yeah, I had to check my pictures to remember. I headed to King’s Cross station to find platform 9 ¾ (from Harry Potter). Sadly, since London is gearing up for the Olympics next year, everything is under construction, so they had a fake platform wall put up instead of the real brick one. And since I was alone I had to ask this girl to take a picture of me, and she wasn’t the best photographer. Oh well.

Then I headed to the Tower of London (where Anne Boleyn was beheaded) and saw the outside of that. I wanted to go inside but I just didn’t have enough time. I regret not making it in there. I made my way along the North side o the river this time and finally saw the Millennium Bridge and Tower Bridge which is pretty cool. Then I walked over to St. Paul’s Cathedral (where Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married). It kinda looked like the US capital building from the outside, but inside was really ornate and pretty. Normally you have to pay to get in, but they’re not allowed to charge people to enter for masses and stuff so luckily I showed up with a choir worship thing was going on and I got in for free! It was really nice inside and was surprisingly clean. Things that old normally tend to be kinda dirty. And I took a picture inside but then realized that it was not allowed. Oops.

From there I took the tube back to the apartment and Margaret, Tom (her boyfriend), and I watched some TV, and then Tom left and Margaret and I made dinner and her Swedish friends who were also staying with her, ate with us. It was quite a nice dinner. Then we tried to get to bed a little early since we had to wake up early the next morning for THE ROYAL WEDDING!

So Friday April 29^th, Margaret and I woke up and met her boyfriend and his brother on the Tube at about 7:00am. Tom and his brother were all decked out in British pride stuff, hats, flags/capes, red and white t-shirts. It was awesome. Margaret’s friend had gotten there a lot early and got a good spot so we joined her and toasted the new couple with mimosas and it was so exciting. We were at the most perfect spot. Kinda. I was a little behind the barricades so I had to use my free handy dandy periscope that they were handing out. Perfect for the short people!

Well, we saw all the guards pass and then someone was following the reports on twitter and we had a detailed schedule so first Prince William and Prince Harry left Clarence House and we saw them pass by really quickly (don't laugh at me but I saw them in the car and was like, "Wait, was he in the front seat? Who's in the back seat wearing all that red and blue? Are those guards?) and then all the other royal invitees passed in weird buses. Personally I thought they should have been in something nicer. Then Mrs. Middleton and prince Charles and Camilla and then the queen and then KATE! But they were driving so quickly that it was hard to really see them. But we were still keeping up with twitter so we knew ahead of time that she would be on the left side of the car so we’d be able to see her better. It was all really fast bc they were all in cars but it was so exciting.

Then the wedding started at 11am and they had it playing over loud speakers but it was hard to hear bc everyone was talking. So we caught most of it but not all of it. We heard the most important parts of course… the “I will”s and the vows and the pronouncing of husband and wife. I ALMOST cried, but didn’t’. I rarely cry at stuff like this.

Then after the wedding the happy couple rode by in their carriage (more slowly this time) followed by everyone else! It was awesome!! I saw the queen again, this time I really saw her! And then after they all passed we were held back for a while but then they slowly let us walk to Buckingham Palace to see the kiss! And we had pretty good spots. Facing the palace, we were to the right of the balcony a little ways back. Unfortunately there was a kid on his dad’s shoulders in front of me! But I maneuvered and used my periscope and saw the kiss!

It was so funny. Tom and his brother and their friend attracted so much attention with their outfits. A lady for CNN asked to interview them! And it was live! And I was in the background!! My cousin talked a little but I just sat there looking pretty haha then when the royals went back in the palace we stayed put, bc everyone was leaving and it was better to just wait for the crowd to pass. After a while we made our way closer to the castle and then over to St. James but it took literally 45 minutes to walk a block over bc everyone and their mother wanted a picture with tom and his brother. Seriously EVERYONE! All the other tourists from all over the world. At first it was cute and funny, then it was annoying. Oh well. At least they were good sports. Oh p.s. funniest thing I saw was when some South American news crew went up to a group of Asian guys and was “konnichiwa!” and the guys were like “we’re Chinese” HAHAHA

So yeah we finally made it to St. James Park and had some snacks and Pimms (British sangria) and then got up to find Margaret’s friend and get some food. So we wandered around a little and I was getting really tired by this time. But we found a pub and I got some cherry beer and we found a Chipotle and I was so happy!! Then they went to a tiki bar but I was too tired and needed to pack and get up early the next morning so I headed back and had a nice relaxing night. They got back around midnight and we all went to bed and then the next morning I caught a train to Luton airport and headed off to the Canaries.

I had a great time in London. If my allergies hadn’t been acting up and everything wasn’t so darn expensive, it would have been nearly perfect. Not a spot of rain which was great. And it was so nice to be with family. So refreshing and comforting. But now all of you can say that you know someone who went to the royal wedding and saw all the royals in person! I think it’s definitely the most amazing thing I’ve ever done in my life. I had been waiting for this day for so long! When I heard about their engagement I waited on the edge of my seat and hoped that it would be while I was in Europe. And it was! Everything worked out perfectly! Except I would have liked for my friend Melissa to have been able to go. Oh well. I feel so lucky and blessed. God’s really lookin’ out for me.

I haven’t ever been this happy. And it’s not like I’m a sad person. I’m just so blissfully happy. This semester has been amazing and I’m so glad my parents let me come. I’m growing and changing and even though I was independent before, I’m even more so now. I’m really truly learning about other cultures and that’s what was so awesome about London, spending time with Margaret’s friends and learning so much about them. It’s what studying abroad is all about. Seeing new ways of life. Like I said before, London changed me and I can’t say how, I just know it did. Maybe you guys can clue me in when you see me again and tell me if you see a change. I know I’m more thankful for everything in my life. And I’m so proud to be an American. I appreciate everything so much more (but it’s not like I didn’t before). I’m ready to come home and see everyone. I’m ready to grow up now.

** Two things I also learned

1) Many British people have accepted that Prince Harry is not the biological son of Prince Charles. It's like an unspoken fact. Supposedly Diana had an affair with some head honcho at the palace (James something) and bam. Illegitimate baby. Good thing he's not the first heir to the throne.

2) I never really though of Queen Elizabeth as a married woman. I just assumed she was a widow or asexual. I mean do you know who her husband is? Well now I know. His name is Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh. He's not allowed to be called the King of England bc Liz is in charge. But he's the former prince of Greece. So Prince Charles is 1/2 Greek! Who knew? Seems to me like the future king of England should be all English but that was hard to do back in the day if they wanted to marry other royalty. So yeah, they're Greek. I had never really though of who Prince Charles' father or Prince William's grandfather was. You only really think about the mother/grandmother. But the Queen is not asexual. She has a husband. It's a nice little family when you take the time to think about it.