It was the Queen's birthday this past weekend, and we all got up early to go to the Trooping of the Colour, a.k.a. a parade for her outside of Buckingham Palace. It is a bit surreal seeing her, as well as Prince Charles and Prince William, since royalty, to me, seems so fairy-tale like nowadays. All the soldiers, the carriages, the calvary with the funny hats, they all seem a bit out of place in a world where I feel we've moved on from those things. But here, history is so strong, and has such a deep root in the people that I believe them, cheer for them, revere them. Except Prince Charles, who was awkwardly riding in a bus?
We also got to visit and explore Borough Market, this amazing, upscale farmers market in southeast London. You could eat your body weight in samples, which we did, and buy almost anything you wanted, fresh. The locals were all so nice and it was refreshing to be mixed in with the crowd sampling focaccia bread and dodging giant cheese wheels. And guess what I ended up buying? A chocolate croissant and Tipsy Strawberry Jam with Champagne. Yes, I got a souvenir, and it's some of the best jam I've ever had. And yes, it's almost halfway gone.
After listening to a friend's ravings about it, a group of us went over to St. Paul's Cathedral. It. Was. Beautiful. Seriously. I don't know how people in that day and age could create something so breathtaking and detailed. Not only that, but you could walk up 400 or so steps (no big deal...) to three upper levels that showed you incredible views of the inner dome and panoramic view of the city of London. Let's just say it was well worth the pounds. This is Sarah, my roommate and I at the top of the dome, on the third gallery; very high and frightening, but incredible.
That night we went out to Weatherspoons and watched the World Cup! Made my first British-boy friends, and we all had a blast watching the game, even though it was a draw. The energy from both sides during the game though was exciting enough.
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