And on the note of weather, the heat wave is over. Lately,
it’s been chilly and rainy – stereotypical London weather.
But I’m not really talking about the weather specifically.
It’s been over a week since I’ve last posted, and boy has a lot happened. The
beginning of my week (Monday-Wednesday, 28 May – 30 May) was very relaxed. I
didn’t do much of anything outside of school – I read and did homework and
walked through the park, but that was about it.
But then, Thursday, the beginning of my weekend hit, and
that’s when my relaxing week disappeared. This weekend was a five-day weekend
because of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – in addition to our normal weekend,
Monday and Tuesday were bank holidays. But despite the fact that it’s been a
long weekend, I haven’t gotten a break. The weekend has been spent enjoying
things in and around London and celebrating the Queen’s sixty years in power.
Thursday, 31 May 2012
 |
| Hogwarts Castle |
The first major event of my weekend was my visit to the Harry Potter studios in Leavesden.
Immediately after class, we got on a train that took us out to Watford
Junction, where we caught a bus to the studios. We ended up getting there about
two hours early, and since the tour is so popular, we weren’t allowed in until
a half hour prior to our ticket time. So, instead of just waiting around, we
went into the gift shop and explored – even the set up of the gift shop was
interesting, so it made me even more excited for the actual tour. Finally, our wait ended and we were herded into a large room
where we watched an introductory video with Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter),
Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger). Once the video
was over, the screen lifted, revealing the doors to Hogwarts and through the
door was the Great Hall. I don’t want to go into great detail of what I saw
during the tour for two reasons: 1) it took me three hours to walk through the
entire thing, and recounting the entire thing would take pages upon pages; 2) I
don’t want to spoil the experience for anyone who might want to go in the
future. But I will say that all the major sets (the Great Hall, the Gryffindor Common
Room, Dumbledore’s office, the Potions classroom, etc.) were all included. Just
being able to stand mere feet from where the Harry Potter series was filmed was overwhelming – I can’t put into
words how awesome it is to see things that I’ve only seen on screen. I was so
overwhelmed with everything around me that I almost started crying with
happiness.
Friday, 1 June 2012
 |
| Canterbury Cathedral |
Friday was a big day full of train rides, walking, and
hiking. In the morning, our group met to go to Canterbury, and before anyone
makes the joke, no, we did not tell tales on our way there (in fact, most of us
slept on the train). Canterbury Cathedral is absolutely awe-inspiring. The
medieval architecture is gorgeous, full of arches and stained glass. I couldn’t
help just stopping in my tracks to take pictures (which can’t do the beauty of
the cathedral justice) and admire the church and pray. I can’t really explain
the emotions I had walking through the cathedral - the best I can do is to say
I was overwhelmed.
 |
| The White Cliffs of Dover |
After Canterbury, a few of us took a short train ride to
Dover, which is on the coast of England, to see the White Cliffs of Dover. Once
there, we walked/hiked for close to an hour to get to the cliffs. Normally, I
don’t really like walking for long periods of time, but in this case, it was
worth it. We hiked all the way up to the top of the cliffs, and from there, we
could look across the English Channel and see a good portion of the cliffs. The
view was absolutely stunning – the cliffs are magnificent.
Saturday, 2 June 2012
 |
| Tea |
Saturday was a pretty relaxing day. We slept in for a bit (I
finally got to sleep past 8:00!) before heading out to Camden Market. The best
way to describe Camden Market is like Chinatown – it’s a bunch of little shops
with everything from jewelry and clothing to cheap souvenirs. It’s definitely a
place I’ll go back to at the end of my stay here to get souvenirs. After
Camden, we just walked around the city for a little bit and stopped in a café
for some crepes and tea. Finally, we went grocery shopping to get food for our
picnic the next day.
Sunday, 3 June 2012
 |
| The Queen on Her Royal Barge |
Sunday was an interesting day. We went to the Thames River
Pageant, which was the first big event of the Queen’s Jubilee celebration. We
left the college around 11:00 and headed down to Temple Park, which is right
next to the River. There were already a ton of people there, so we just sat
down where we could find space – it must have been a sight seeing fourteen
American college students just camped out in the middle of the street because
several people took pictures of us. Unfortunately, it was rainy and cold, so
our picnic wasn’t the best, but it was still fun sitting out with thousands of
other people who were just as excited as we were. We watched the whole thing on
big screens that were placed all around the park – the boats were absolutely
awe-inspiring and the Royal Family was stunning, as usual.
Monday, 4 June 2012
 |
| High Tea |
Monday was another relaxing day. In the afternoon, we went
to high tea at Topham's Hotel. We got all dressed up and went to the hotel where we were served champagne, finger sandwiches, little desserts, and
tea. It was delicious! And it was cool to have a quintessential English experience. After tea, we went to Hyde
Park to get spots to watch the Jubilee concert. The concert itself was entertaining – it was dedicated to sixty years of music during the Queen’s
reign. It included artists such as Will.i.am, Elton John, Paul
McCartney, and Stevie Wonder. After the concert, Prince Charles gave a speech
in honor of the Queen which was followed by a firework display over Buckingham
Palace.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
 |
| The Queen, Camilla, and Prince Charles |
Tuesday was far and away my
favorite day of the Jubilee celebrations, which was the Carriage Procession
from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace. The night before, I got home from
the concert around midnight and finally got to bed around one and then I woke
up at six ‘o clock in the morning to go stake my claim on a spot to watch the
Procession. I bundled up in long sleeved shirts and jackets, packed a backpack
with a blanket and a book, and headed to the Tube. From Baker Street, I took a
Tube to Trafalgar Square and walked from there to the Admiralty Arch, which
separates the Mall from the Square. There, I stood in a queue for about fifteen
minutes until the police removed the barricades and let us into the Mall. I
rushed through the crowd to find an open spot up against a barricade so I could
see over the crowds. I spread out my mats and my blankets and sat down, my spot
claimed around 7:30. And then I waited. But while I waited, I made friends with
some nice British people and Australian people. It was interesting to hear
their viewpoints on the monarchy and what they thought of Princess Diana. Also,
one of the British people, once he found out I was from Tennessee, he told me I
sounded like Dolly Parton – I definitely don’t agree, but it was quite funny!
During the wait, the service at St. Paul’s Cathedral was broadcast over the
loudspeakers, and following the service, we were entertained by cavalry and
bands. Finally, after nearly seven hours of waiting, the procession finally
started. There were lots of horses followed by two carriages, one with the
Queen, Prince Charles, and Camilla and the other with Prince William, Kate, and
Prince Harry. I can’t believe that I got to see the Royal Family with my own
eyes! Despite the lack of sleep, the cold, and the long wait, it was definitely
worth everything to see the Queen. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience
that I will never forget for the rest of my life.
 |
| Kate, Prince William, and Prince Harry |
I’m really going to try to keep up
with this blog from now on (since I’ve been here for three weeks and I’ve
written as many posts). And on that note, I’m off. This weekend, we’re going to
Stonehenge and then Paris, so I’ll have lots of exciting stories to share on
Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment