Royal Wedding Fever

THE BIG DAY!!! aka the Royal Wedding Day!

We walked down to Buckingham Palace and the crowds were insane-they had created big barricades at the edge of Green Park to prevent more people from entering. There was an intense carnival atmosphere and excitement in the air. We then took the bus to Chelsea for a viewing/brunch party at the Johnston's. Watched the ceremony/procession on tv and then ate the most delicious meal ever. Favorite parts of the wedding: when the ring would not fit over the knuckle and Beatrice and Eugenia's hats!

After that we went to another street party in South Kensington (thrown by the Horgans)- all the ladies were dressed up in the blue Issa dress Kate wore for the press conference which added a fun twist to the proceedings!

Finally we went to ANOTHER party at the Honey's. Mrs. Honey made a very impressive crown shaped pavlova.

We had a competition before the wedding to see who could most accurately predict by drawing the dress. My sketch was really close to the real thing! I had envisioned something a la Grace Kelly and Sarah Burton's dress was along the same lines. I think Kate looked gorgeous!

Court-eous Activities

Started off the day with a behind the scenes tour of the Old Bailey with Janet. We were shown around by a police officer and taken all over the court house and into the historic areas. The highlights for me included going to the basements, seeing Deadman's Walk (an outdoor corridor where a series of archways getting increasingly narrower to make the condemned feel even more uncomfortable), a dark tunnel leading from the court to a church across the street, a hatch leading down to the Fleet River, the roof and court room #1.

After the tour Mom and I went to Notting Hill for lunch at Nandos and to walk around the neighborhood. In the evening we went to a lecture at the Tower, followed by a stop at a pub with Tricia, Katherine and Andrew. We decided to walk back to the flat via Westminster, the Mall and Buckingham Palace--It was really surreal with tons of people milling about and camping on the side of the road...all in union jack attire. Very excited for tomorrow!

Easter Outings

Thursday the 21st: KCWC Palace and Prisons tour in Temple. It ended at St. Bartholomew's church and then we went out to pizza and for a walk.

Friday: Walked through Hyde Park and visited various statues (notably that of Peter Pan). Went to Notting Hill for the fish spa experience. It is like a pedicure but small toothless fish eat the dead skin off your feet...very strange. The Honeys came over for games (Charades, Liebrary, Boulderdash, Celebrities) and we ate lots of delicious varieties of ice cream!

Saturday: Visited a cool exhibition of past royal wedding cakes ("Eat Cake") at the Wellington Arch. There were lots of really ornately decorated cakes as well as models of the Queen's and Princess Diana/Prince Charles' wedding cakes. The Queens was 9 feet tall! Afterwards we made out way to the Seftel's for the weekend. In Winchester we toured St. Cross and the gardens and then walked to a big swimming hole where Dad and Paul swam.

Sunday: Attended the Easter service at Saint Cross where to the biggest surprise ever Gabriella Hills joined us! In the afternoon went on a delightful walk in a blue bell forest and then painted in the back yard.

Monday: Set off early for Highclere Castle otherwise known as the house in Downton Abbey! After touring the house and grounds we returned to London.

Tuesday: Went painting with the Honeys at a ceramic cafe (I made a plate on which I painted a red British bus and English phrases). In the evening attended an event at Banqueting Hall where an actor impersonated King James I (for the anniversary of the King James Bible).

Today: Woke up at 4am to see the dress rehearsal for the royal wedding procession. The bitter cold was worth it to see up close the impressive team of calvary, soldiers and carriages. There were several press crews present and the Entertainment Tonight reps and anchors were kind of embarrassing for the US...royally obsessed. At the reasonable hour of 9 am met the Honeys for Emilia's 9th birthday breakfast at the Serpentine restaurant and shared fun camaraderie. Parting ways I returned to the apartment to collapse in exhaustion until the afternoon when I stopped by Browns, went to Whole Foods and walked the length of the park. This evening took us to see Les Mis (I saw it 4 years ago). It was truly spectacular, better than I remember. The actors voices were some of the best I have ever heard in a musical production-phenominal!

Where Wills met Kate

Sunday: Went to a London Marathon watching party at Katherine and Gordon's. Then went to a Dartmouth BBQ at Imperial College with Sophia.

Monday: York with the Honeys. Visited Yurvik (a Viking museum with a fossilized human poop...hehe), the Minster, the railway museum, a National Trust site, the Roman wall, Betty's, the Shambles, etc.

Tuesday: Visited St. Andrews and met up with Emily Dunn. Our tour took us to the expected places: the Links Golf course, the castle, the cathedral and then school. Had drinks at the Jigger Inn then dinner at "The UKs Best Thai Restaurant".

Wednesday: Took the train to Aberdeen and set out to follow "our roots" to the Birnie Inn/Church and then MacDuff (where my Mom's grandfather was born). After looking around MacDuff we went to a really windy town perched on the edge of the sea. A narrow road skirted the coast and had a sharp drop to the beach. Thinking there was a turnoff road we drove quite a ways down only to discover there was no road and no good way of turning around...luckily a nice local man was there to back out our car for us! It was quite a pretty pickle. At the mans suggestion we then visited the super isolated and very quaint town of Covie. It too was nestled at the base of steep hills right on the seaside. It consisted of a row of small beach cottages, weathered with time and puffing smoke from their chimneys. Lastly there were lots and lots and lots of fields full of baby sheep-THE CUTEST!

Drowning in the Cotswolds

Went to the Cotswolds today to go Aqua sphereing. Had brilliant memories of doing it in 2007 but this time was rather upsetting in a "I am going to die!" kind of way. Being mid-April it was a semi-overcast day and not warm enough to warrant submerging one's self in frigid water. That was the main problem-the sphere was so full of water that as my Mom and I tumbled down the hill my head was periodically under and I feared drowning. Sounds all very dramatic and overblown but during the 20 second experience I was rather traumatized.

Anyhow...after sphereing we continued our day in much pleasanter pursuits driving and walking through numerous quaint villages. In one we stopped at an ice cream factory and talked with the dairy farmer who ran it. He showed us all the cute baby cows and I also saw numerous lambs. LOVE! Another vivid memory is that of the Rape seed fields blooming vibrant yellow.

This evening Sophia Johnston and her family came over for dinner and we all played Liebrary.

Not to Shabby

Went to the country side (north of London) for a house tour with the KCWC.

Then had dinner with a past student of Ralph Potter.

Bee-ing active

Had a bee keeping class at the Chelsea Physic Garden..realized bee keeping isn't for me-too complicated!

Then went to a spa day and got my nail painted sparky pink!

Finally the highlight of the day: Going to Roddy's 30 years on the force party at-duh na na na- THE TOWER OF LONDON!!! In the Yeoman Warder's Club. Very cool and very fun. Watched the Changing of the Keys and had a really neat tour of the Tower. Muy divertido!

Walking, Walking and more Walking

The 8th: Visited Disraeli's house in High Wiccombe with our Culture classmates, Katherine, Kathy, Vicky, Sue, Eva, etc. It was stupendous weather and we walked through the grounds. On our way there the rest of the group stuck to the road but the fam picked our way across a pond via some broken up pieces of a concrete dam. Once back in London mommy and I made our way to Whole Foods...on one bike.

The 9th: Rosie arrived at Victoria coach station and we set off for a country walk starting at Hever with members of the group from the day's previous outing. The walk took us so scenic meadows and paths. We passed a castle, large manor house, several historic churches and numerous picturesque houses. After a stop for dinner at a local pub, daylight began to wane and our hike continued into the night and darkness. It was very surreal, very funny and quite intrepid of us. We were not on clearly designated paths but crossing wide fields. At one point we saw some looming white shapes, wondering what they could be we were greeted with a herd of cows. One was ridiculously huge (seriously the size of a pick up truck!) and looked ominously over at us..seriously scary...I was through that squeeze gate as fast as possible. After ages, we found our way to the train station (Leigh) and were on our way back to the city. On the train these ridiculously overdone girls (think no clothing, orange skin and big white hair) kept laughing and obsessing over the poodle who was on the walk with us. It was so so funny.

Slept like a rock after our 10+ mile walk!

The 10th: Sunday saw Rosie and I covering a lot of ground as we made our way all around the city. Lots and lots of walking. Our journey took us to Green Park, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, Westminster, Big Ben/Houses of Parliament, by the London Eye, back to 10 Downing St., up to Trafalgar Square, into the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery, to Covent Garden, to Pain for a Pavlova, to Spitalfield's Market, Brick Lane, South Kensington and Jak's, Hummingbird Bakery, Tower Hill, The Jack the Ripper tour, Oxford Circus, Regents St. and finally Piccadilly. We were absolutely zonked.

The 11th: More sightseeing with Rosie took us to: Burlington Arcade, Bond St, South Moulton St, Oxford Circus, Notting Hill, by Kensington Palace, onto Whole Foods, a little more walking in the park and then on an old 40's #9 bus back to our flat. In Notting Hill we round our way through cute streets and window shopped. The weather was absolutely tremendous and we had to change into cooler clothes!

Set of again this time to the Old Bailey (only to be turned away...) We proceeded to the Bank of England where we quickly perused the exhibit. After walking around the old city a bit more we were very weary and made our way to Westminster Abbey for Eve and Song.

After the service Rosie and I went to the Lanesborough for tea and coco. We sat in the Library bar by a warm fire and had an absolutely charming time. I love the ambience of the hotel-it is my absolute favorite!

Finally Giles (the barrister) came over for dinner and we played Liebrary.

The 12th: Rosie and I attempted to go to the old Bailey and sat in on a very unclear trial....something to do with a dark nightclub, a handbag and a gun...Afterwards we walked to Tower Bridge, along the Thames and to the Millennium Bridge. The sad time when Rosie had to depart was drawing near and we returned to the flat for the Culture class potluck. I escorted Rosie to the coach station and she was off. That night we went to a Pub Quiz at the Flask in Hampstead with Gareth and two of his friends.

Today: Another tremendously busy day! Started off the day at the Wellcome collection to see the permanent exhibitions and one on dirt. The highlights were a shrunken head, a Peruvian mummy and some of the King George's hair which was examined to see why he was "mad". Then it was onto Hampstead to visit the Fenton House, a museum on Hampstead's History, a delicious lunch and the architect Goldfinger's House. At about 3:30 we got back on the tube bound for Chelsea to visit the historian Carlisle's house. After touring our third National Trust sight for the day we went to Jak's for dinner. Next we went to Harrods and then finally onto the Haymarket Theatre to see Flare Path, a play set around WWII RAF pilots (staring Sienna Miller). I throughly enjoyed the play!!!!

Glorious Sunshine

Started off the day at the East India Club on St James Square for a lecture on the history of interior design and architecture in the 17th century. Later went to Baker and Spice in South Ken for a delicious lunch and to soak up the continuing glorious sunshine. Hot footed it to the BBC for a very dull lecture on 'The Art of the Interview' with Libby P..something (used to edit Tattler and hosts a radio show on BBC 4). Next stop St. Johns Wood to meet up with Maria and walk to Primrose Hill for a cupcake and camaraderie. Spent the rest of the evening chatting.

Interesting tidbit I took away from the lecture. Madam Pompadour had her sights set on Louis 14th and arranged for him to come upon her in his hunting park. Scantily clad, she "fell" off her horse just as he past. When he came to her aid she took off her frilly garter and put it on her head (at the time woman wore hats when addressing the king). Upon becoming his mistress Madam Pompadour popularized larger and more elaborate hats or pompadours. This then was reflected in interior design as chair backs became higher to aid in supporting the head and hat.

"The History Girls"

Started off the day to a museum about England during WWII and the Blitz. Since it was a lovely sunny day we then walked about for a little before heading to the train station for a jaunt to Windsor. Once there we walked around the town and window shopped in Eton. Inspired by the glorious weather we rented a row boat and set out down the river Thames and explored some very jungly offshoots that made me feel like we were in the Danube and would be subject to an imminent crocodile attack.

The next order of business was nourishment and selected a restaurant called The Tower. Within 30 seconds of sitting down the waitress knocked two glasses of water straight into my lap!-thankfully they had a hand dryer in the bathroom which I used to dry myself up.

Our final stop (and reason for the day-trip) was a lecture by three female writers and historians (Allison Weir, Kate Williams and Sarah Gristwood) about the last thousand years of royal weddings and their new book The Ring and the Crown.

Happy Days and Birthdays

Had Tricia's class (focusing on post-war Britain) and lunch at the UWC. Always enjoyable! By the time we got home it was already quite late and we needed to leave to surprise Andrew Honey with a birthday celebration!

Piecing together the last week

Wednesday went to a Taylor Swift concert at the O2 with Liz Lowey. We got front row for three of the songs and I met Mrs. Swift. I gave her a lace headband and she gave me a hug. Then at one point she did the heart sign at me....We however were not invited to the T-party which was such a bummer.

Then on Thursday we went to Windsor and had a "behind the ropes" tour of the castle with a fascinating tour guide. Following our look-around we went to lunch with Sue at Wagamama. Back at Waterloo we quickly turned around and got on a train to Hampton Court for a talk by the writer and producer of the Tudors.

Spent Friday with Liz around the city. Started off shopping Oxford, South Moulton and St. Christopher's Place, then went to a museum adjacent to Sommerset House (lots of Impressionist works, Seurat, Manet and moderns..), ran into Alex White!, had tea and a look-see around Liberty, and stopped by the fancy-schmany gold cave for macaroons. That evening saw the murder mystery, 8 Woman, with Katherine and Gordon.


Saturday I went to Liberty to pitch my headbands, said goodbye to Anita, went on a long walk through Hyde Park and met up with Sophia and Nick in Chelsea.

Yesterday was Mother's Day and we went to church, the Evolving English exhibition, brunch at the club (where we talked with a lady whose house/legends were the inspiration for Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre) and had dinner with the padres, Sue, her husband and Roddy.

Today we went to Becensfield again to visit with the Moe's and then saw The Children's Hour (starring Keira Knightley and the woman from Mad Men). It was extremely good and thought provoking-a really powerful play! Frustrating and emotional it is one of the better dramas I've seen.