Three Cheers for the Queen!

The British know how to party when it comes to celebrating the Queen. It's like 4th of July on steroids! Everyone has a Union Jack that they're waving around and there are people walking around with masks of the royals on their faces... I thought it was all pretty silly at first. After all, the Queen is just a figurehead, right? Wrong! I learned more about her role as a leader and representative than I ever thought I could. And by seeing the love and respect the people held for her, I too learned to appreciate her and what she represented over the few days of Jubilee.

This Jubilee wasn't your ordinary royal ball, it was the Diamond Jubilee. This has only occurred once before in history. And I was there for the second time it happened. Sunday was the first major celebratory event. What better way to kick off a the festivities than a massive parade down the Thames River with hundreds of barges? After Church, a group of us headed down to the river with our packed dinner, and waited a couple of hours for the queen. We moved around to a few different spots. We settled next to a bench that was raised. Two of my companions got a ledge on the side of the bench, and I shoved my way in front of the bench for a better view. We were determined. It was just a really funny situation. One of those where you just start talking to the people around you. You all have something in common: You're all standing in the cold on your tip-toes, straining to see an 86 year-old woman that for some reason, you adore. And that is what makes this fun. It's the Police Officer directing pedestrian traffic that instructs everyone to move to the right and "keep smiling" as they do so. It's not about fighting crowds for a silly reason. I went because I wanted to have an experience. I got to (literally) immerse myself into Britons and their culture at its best. I was surrounded by Britons that were proud to be British. Gathering together under one flag, and one non partisan leader. 

It was this appeal that had me coming back for more. 

The next night, despite having a chunk of history reading due the next day, a group of us went to Hyde Park to watch a broadcast of the concert. I had been there in front of Buckingham Palace when they were setting up. And there was no chance of getting there, so they set up viewing sites. But this was pretty epic. It was one of my favorite nights in London. There was a huge stage and screens in this park as people gathered to watch. We were just sitting down chilling on the blanket when it began... but three minutes in, we had made our way to the middle of the crowd to dance. We didn't know half of the performers, but we cheered with the rest of the Londoners and had a ball! And, oh boy, when Elton John played "Crocodile Rock" we went at it. But it was Paul McCartney that stole my heart! It was one of those moments, when you just have to feel it to know it. You feel the vibe that everyone around you has as you sing the words to the song. In that moment, you think about how you feel and you know that this is a significant moment that you'll always remember. It was like we were actually at the concert. It was the best concert I have never been to. 

To end this hard rocking concert, Prince Charles got up and said a few words. But to conclude... he had everyone give three cheers for the Queen. "Hip hip!" "HOORAY!!!" "Hip Hip!" "HOORAY!!!!!" "Hip Hip!" "HOORAY!!!" Oh boy did I join the ranks in this one. It was just such a precious moment. The cute little fragile Queen was standing there and I just wanted to cheer her on! And in the most stereotypical way you can cheer on a Monarch. It was just so cute and British. I got all into it with my fist punching the air to each "hooray!" It was fantastic. But, the real finale was in the fireworks, which could be seen from where we stood. When I got back to the centre, I found a group of girls singing Katy Perry's "Firework" song and saw two ladies doing a dance to the singing. I immediately recognized this dance from the Wii game Just Dance. Instinct took over and I jumped in to take the win. Naturally, I had the dance memorized too. Not that I'm the reigning Just Dance Champ in my house or anything. (I am.)

The next day was the Royal Procession through the streets amongst other events the Queen attended. This day, our group actually went into the Churchill War Rooms. This was the cramped underground space where great decisions and pivotal moments in WWII took place. It was fascinating to learn more about Churchill as both a person and a politican. And to see the conditions and the fears that they must have had at the time. It helped me to get a clearer glimpse at the pressure they felt and the foggy future they faced. After this, I walked out and realized that it was about time for the Queen to leave the Houses of Parliament, this happened to be two minutes from where I was standing. So, being the pushy American that I am, I elbow my way to the front just in time to see the Queen in her carriage followed by Will, Kate and Harry. It was pretty awesome. Upon my return to the Centre, we had a "tea" party. We watched the activities the Queen participated in through the day while eating scones with jam and clotted cream. It was pretty fun.  

And with that, this remarkable event was over. 

I am really glad I got to participate in these few days. It was neat to see the different people and especially witness their love for the Queen. 

Nothing like standing in the cold by the Thames to see the queen...

We were determined to get a good view... (thanks to our friend on her boyfriend's shoulders that took this pic!)

It's the queen! (in white)

Hey guys... WE JUST SAW THE QUEEN!

With Amanda, Jared, and Lauren at the Concert broadcast in Hyde Park!

I walk out of the Churchill War Rooms and decide to go stand to see the Queen in her carriage down the street... 

Our "tea" party food

The first carriage has the Queen, Prince Charles, and Camilla... The next one has William, Kate, and Harry... 

Ah, The Luck of the Irish

Dublin: The City of Green

       Literally, everything in Ireland is green. Their lampposts have clovers on them and they have pubs everywhere. So, why not travel there for a weekend?

       It was fabulous. We found our way to our airport (I'm basically a GPS). We land in Dublin and realize that there is an Irish language (What?!). We find the right bus (they give you change for a 20 in all euro coins, it's like winning at the slot machines). Then we don't know where our B&B is... but find it! The Irish are pretty nice if you can understand what they're saying. And after settling in, we head out to find dinner and end up listening to different pubs' Irish music (it's fantastic). 

       The next day, we're total tourists. We go to all the common places. Trinity College, see the Book of Kells (pretty legit if you can fight off the crowd to the case). Loose Amanda.... Find Amanda at the B&B. Wander to Dublin Castle (saddest excuse for a castle ever). Then we go to evensong at the St. Patrick's Cathedral.... scariest experience of my life!!!!!! There was maybe 10 people there for the service. And the cathedral is mainly lit up to the standard of candlelight. So it's dark and huge. Every sound echoes through out the entire cathedral. The ceremony goes and I took the opportunity to seriously ponder the ceremony while sleeping (it's what happens when prayers are pretty songs that last ten minutes). AFter it's over, you're supposed to sit until the organ is done playing. And a little background, we had just read a creepy short story about organ playing ghosts... and we say an empty organ off to the side... and there was no one playing it... but there was music. This was the first sign. While we're sitting there, the organ player goes INSANE! Where ever this creature was, it was possessed or something, because I have never been so scared in my life. I think that Dracula was going to fly down from the rafters and eat me. It's the haunted mansion music x100! Amanda and I just grab the other's leg with horrified looks. And it lasts, FOREVER!!!! We're just sitting there in total terror, trapped in a dumb little pew by this little wooden door! It ends and we book it out of there and get out and just start laughing at how ridiculous this experience just was. But we walked to a park and ended up talking to some local kids that were really funny. They had us say "Apples and oranges," then they'd laugh, and we'd have them say "Ireland" and we'd giggle. They also told me that they thought I was "Posh" when they first saw me.... YES! Best compliment ever! I felt so cool and trendy! 

After having a restless sleep (thank you creepy evensong... I didn't know church could be so scary), we went off for a trip to the other coast! We loaded on a coach and went from Galway to Moher. I am officially in love with the countryside. There is something more rugged about them than in England. We made cute stops along the way... at some cliffy beach... then a pub... then the CLIFFS OF MOHER. You may know these cliffs from their appearance in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. They were pretty awesome. There were so high up and so pretty too! IT was just crazy... We followed the crowd and went to the side of the trail where there (*don't read this part, Mom) was not a safety wall. And it was soooo cool. IT was just beautiful. You couldn't see where the sky met the water. It was quite something. Then we stopped to try to find a leprechaun and make a wish. Then at some really old stones too. After our return to our B&B, we went to a pub to sit a listen to music... it was so Irish and cute! 

       On Saturday, we discovered that the Irish luck... was not necessarily the good kind. After pickin' up a souvenir, Amanda and I met up with Jared at a museum and looked around. And then hiked to a park with everything we needed to live on our backs. We ate lunch and ended up heading the wrong direction in what seemed to be the biggest "park" in the world. And we thought we were going to be late for our plane. So we book it back the way we had just walked. We finally get to a bus stop and we're exhausted. And the sweet bus driver lets us know he's not the right bus but takes us to another stop for free. I did't understand half of what he said, but I think he was really nice. We pay to get on this express bus, and three blocks later, it breaks down. Then we have to go to another stop and get on another bus and hope that we get to the airport on time. We get there... and go to the wrong side of the airport and have to run to the other side of the airport.... but we make it on time... Everything else went smoothly. I have less respect for Disney Channel's Luck of the Irish.... 

       Overall, Ireland was fantastic. Our coach tour guide was hilarious and we just had a blast. I learned a lot about myself and about understanding thick accents.... It was good to get back home to London though. Especially because it was Jubilee Weekend! Imagine 4th of July having been build up for a decade and finally let out in a huge explosion of British pride! That's in my next blog! For now, wish me luck on my finals! (But not the Irish luck.. because that can go either way)

Have a great week! 

When Life Gives You a Field of Flowers, Frolic Through It

Rolling hills of green grass speckled with spontaneous fields of wildflowers. The wind blows through the long grass, pushing emerald waves that make drowning in these seas seem more appealing. What to do with all this beauty? Frolic through it.

            This is my journey to the North! The adventure began with getting good seats on the coach where we would live for the next week. Amanda and I were seat buddies which essentially means we were the party row. We memorized some Justin Bieber, rocked out to some Disney, and freaked out while watching the romantic movie, North and South as a group.
            We took the coach to Preston, where we were able to tour the LDS Missionary Training Center there and take a walk around the temple as well, which was gorgeous.  We then got back on the bus and went up to Ambleside. This is the quaintest, cutest town in the Lake district. This is where William Wordsworth was inspired to write his great poems of nature. I was able to understand the meaning of the poems. We were given the opportunity to dine in his former residence of Dove Cottage, and the next day, we got to handle first edition copies of his poetry, of Frankenstein, his copy of Shakespeare's Sonnets, his Paradise Lost, and many other priceless copies of literature.
             We then proceeded on the most underestimated hike of my life. It took four hours of climbing steep hills into what I thought were actually mountains. The views were amazing though! However, it made navigating the rough terrain more difficult and provided for more stumbling because I could not take my eyes off of how gorgeous the surrounding was. On the sides of the trails were sheep and horses and rams, just chilling a few feet away from us. Naturally, I wanted to pet a ram... it just looked so soft! So, I snuck up behind it without her noticing me. I was inches away when the thought occurs to me that I should take a picture of this moment for my blog. So I'm standing there right behind this ram while I'm fiddling with my camera. This grazing ram decided to look behind it at that moment. And it gave a big bah of a scream which was no match for my scream of terror and we both ran away from each other. I don't think I'll take up herding anytime soon.  Then we also hiked to a waterfall later that evening. It was beautiful, but I don't know if I've ever been so exhausted! But that didn't stop us from walking down to the Roman ruins later that evening and sitting by the lake where we were attacked by a demand duck. The next day we took another pretty hike around sheep and streams and magical beauty then set off on the road to Edinburgh! (We also stopped at a druid structure like Stonehenge, but cooler because you can climb on these rocks. It was also necessary that we joined hands in the middle to create a circle and did a chant... it just needed to happen.)
            Edinburgh (pronounced "Ed-n-bur-rah") was fantastic! We were there for two days. The first evening, we went on ANOTHER hike up a hill called Arthur's Seat which should be called Arthur's Throne because of its HIGHness! (I don't know if anyone else I thinks I'm funny but my mom and I think I am..). It was quite a little trek getting up there. I thought I was going to fall off the cliff a few times! May I just mention that I did not trip ONCE on any of these hikes! And yes, that is a huge achievement for me.
             After Edinburgh (where Kennedy and I decided that men in kilts are attractive), we went to York! This city was so cool! It's just this little Medieval city chillin' in some ancient walls. I loved wandering these streets and even found a fantastic vintage store where I had tons of fun dressing up! Amanda and I found this great little pub where we had one of the best dinners I have had here so far. And the people were so nice, which is sometimes hard to find in London. But soon enough, we were off again. We went to a place called Fountains Abbey. These are the rugged ruins of an old abbey that Henry VIII made into ruins. But it is gorgeous. My breath was taken away by this majestic structure surrounded by fields of flowers. After laying in the flowers, being completely content with everything about my life, it was time to run through it... and boy, did I frolic... Pure joy, I tell ya.
            But all good things must come to an end.. and they did when we got back on the bus to go home to London and realized that we had a history midterm in two days. It put a bit of a damper on things...
             I miss the sun shining on the grass and the soft sea of flowers. I have never seen so many beautiful things in such a small amount of time. Nature is truly beautiful, and it is mind-blowing to me. Watching the sun set on the lake was such an amazing experience that I will hold on to forever.
             Even though I miss this a lot, the Irish landscape that I drove through the following week helped to numb the pain. More to come in the next post!

The view from Dove Cottage

Grasmere beauty!

Lake District HIKE!

Ambleside 

Just crossing a cute river in Ambleside!

Castlerigg Stone Circle

Amanda and I know how to get our Chi on... 

With Trent and Jared in front of Edinburgh Castle!

The view from Arthur's Seat over Edinburgh

Gotta love the Scots!

York Minster! 

Fountains Abbey!