Windsor Castle

The day after my last exam and celebrations, my friend, Josh, and I took a day trip up to Windsor. Yes, we can all be shocked that I hadn't made it up there in my entire time in England.

We grabbed a train out of Waterloo, and before we knew it...we were there! It took about an hour which was fairly quick for some day trips.

Windsor, the town, is exactly what you imagine it would be. Old buildings, cobblestone streets, some modern buildings, and a ton of monuments. 

To start the day, we took a duck tour. It was Josh's first duck tour! If you haven't done a duck tour in a city before, I say run and do one now. It tends to be a bit cheesy, but being a tourist eliminates those words from your vocabulary.

Back of Windsor Castle 

Entering the Thames River

Windsor Castle 

Windsor Castle

The Windsor duck tour started at the base of the castle, took us down to the base of the castle grounds, showed us where some of the horrific floods occurred this past fall, and then we cruised on the Thames. The cruise allowed us to catch a glimpse of the famous Eton College. 

Post the tour, we grabbed a pub lunch. As this all happened in my last week of London, I was adamant about eating traditional fare. Fish and Chips won over for lunch that day.

And, then...the sad part of the day happened. Windsor Castle closed early for some unknown reason. We were left on the outside looking in. While it was a bit disappointing, we looked at as much as we could and then wandered the town.

Cutest Phone Booth Ever?

Fitting Pub Name

As we all know that I'll go back to London sooner rather than later, I'll have to take another day trip up! 

Polo in the Park

I've been dying to go to a polo match since I was a little girl. 

The scene in 'Pretty Woman' where Julia Roberts gets to stomp the divots resonates with me very well.

The part of 'Winning London' with Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen where they go to a polo match was something that I always wanted to do. Fairly sure I can still quote that part of the movie. 

So, as I enter my final weeks in London, I grabbed discounted tickets to Polo in the Park from the SU alumni club! This past Sunday, three of my friends and I ventured down to Putney for a match! 

The entire park was transformed for the perfect day out. From a Pimms Bus to the shopping venues to the location that I dubbed 'food truck heaven,' we had a fabulous time before the match started. 

While I am still a tad confused on the rules of the game, I attempted to follow the match. I do have to admit that it was one of the quietest sporting events that I have ever been. I wanted to cheer, so I had to keep that in check!

During what I deemed to be intermission, we got to stomp the divots! Truly made me feel like I was in 'Pretty Woman.'

It was a fabulous day out...even with getting a horrible sunburn! I would totally go to another match! 

Kensington Palace

If you read my post yesterday, the last few weeks have been a bit stressful. 

I've been trying to balance the load of homework and job applications on my plate with activities in London. It's part of my whole goal to see as much of London before I leave at the end of June. 

Last Friday, the weather was gorgeous. I wandered through Kensington Gardens after having a working breakfast and a quick haircut. 

Kensington Palace

Stopping by Kensington Palace, I saw they had a few new exhibitions open. I hadn't been inside Kensington Palace since I was abroad in 2010. Then, it was still under renovations. So, I was quick to buy a ticket and check it out! 

There was a photography exhibit which featured the famous photo of Wills, Kate, and Prince George. 

There was also an exhibit about Queen Victoria and other royals during that age of British history.

My favorite exhibit was the one that featured the Queen's dresses from the 1950s- 1970s. 

Dress of the Queen's 

Dress of the Queen's 

Lizzy's Fashion

The exhibit also had a small section dedicated to Princess Diana and her fashion. 

Princess Diana's Gowns

It was a perfect Friday afternoon! Although, I did not run into any members of the royal family...

For those students reading my blog, make sure to show your student ID to get the discounted entry fee. There are two different cafes at Kensington Palace. There is one directly inside the Palace post the gift-shop. Yet, I recommend going outside to the Orangery. I've been there several times, and I've never been disappointed!

Have you visited Kensington Palace? Did you happen to see the sighting of the royal family? 

Lest We Forget

Today is both Veteran's Day in the United States and Remembrance Sunday in the United Kingdom. In 2010, I attended the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in London to commemorate those who members of the British military forces who were killed in action as well as those who fought for freedom. When I went in 2010, I was also about ten-fifteen feet away from the Queen, other members of the Royal Family, and the Prime Ministers.  This year, I headed back to the Cenotaph to take part as a spectator in the memorial service. It was extra special today as the ceremony always takes place on the second Sunday in November, but rarely does it actually fall on November 11th.

After waking up around 5am, I was out the door by 5:45 to grab the first of two busses for the morning down to Westminster. Normally, I would have just gotten on the tube, but Sunday tube times run a bit differently. The weather this morning reminded me of Syracuse (minus the snow), so I was glad I bundled up! Thankfully, I reached Notting Hill Gate (the street) earlier than I expected, found the next bus stop, and hopped on the bus that took me to Parliament Square. Around 7am, Nicole and Jenny found me. Watching the sunrise of Big Ben, we soon realized that we were thankful to have gotten there so early. Lessons learned from 2010 when I also got there around 7am.

Right before we were going to enter security and down to the Cenotaph, we were supposed to be interviewed for BBC Radio One, but when security calls, we follow. As soon as we had been checked over, we took off- landing the front row standing room. Better than I had before!

Shortly before 10am, music started to be piped through the area around Whitehall and the Cenotaph.  Around 10:15, the various military bands as well as the troops started to parade. Incredible sight to see- especially with some of the Commonwealth countries sending troops over as well.

Once the hour approached 11am, members of various veterans groups, the clergy, Prime Ministers, and the Royal Family proceeded to enter the area. With our strategic location, we had the prime viewing of seeing the wreaths laid, being able to hear the young choir boys sing, and see the Royals.  In attendance were the Queen, Prince Phillip, Prince William, Kate, Prince Edward, Prince Andrew, Princess Royal, and several other cousins/spouses in the royal family. Former Prime Ministers, Tony Blair and John Major.

Queen Elizabeth laying her wreath

Kate looking down from the balcony with Sophie, Countess of Wessex

Prince William 

Following the wreaths being laid, prayers were said as well as several hymns were sung. The ceremony with the Royal Family ended with singing 'God Save the Queen.' Once the Royal Family, Prime Ministers, and Clergy left, there was a parade of veterans that lasted about an hour. It gave me chills to see all of them passing the Cenotaph.

Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh

Prince William 

PM David Cameron

It was a great day honoring veterans as well as seeing the Royal Family. If you are ever in London in November, it is worth going to the second Sunday ceremony.

Wreaths of the Royal Family

Grab the Guidebook!

Finally this weekend, I got to be a tourist! Since I haven't been in London since 2010, I was actively ready to get started on seeing some of my favorite places. During the week, I was able to see Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus, and Hyde Park when I was running errands. LSE has quite a few historical structures and monuments that I took in quickly as I moved around campus on Friday.

Buckingham Palace

On Saturday, after opening my bank account, I took my bus (#52) all the way down to Victoria. My plan was to get semi-lost, but still in the correct direction of Parliament and Big Ben. I like to get semi-lost to find other things that normally one wouldn't see. I did, eventually, find my way to Parliament and Big Ben. Much too crowded to head towards the Thames view of the Houses, so I quickly changed courses into St. James' Park. Much of the Olympic signage and materials are still around the city, and I wanted to head over to St. James' Palace where the beach volleyball games were conducted. At. St. James' Palace, you can also get a glimpse of Buckingham Palace as well as view into the back of 10 Downing Street.

Road I lived on in 2010

Continuing on my journey, I did pop over to see if Lizzie was in town. The flag signaled she wasn't- there are two different types of flags identifying whether she is in town or not.

And, no, Harry wasn't running around naked anywhere. 

My next plan of my off-beaten tourist jaunt was down to South Kensington where I lived before. Nothing much has changed in the neighborhood. Boujis is still there (nightclub frequented by the elite of London including the Royals), Snog was up and running (frozen yogurt), and it's still a mob at the tube station on the weekends due to the museums. Quickly, I headed down to Queensgate and checked out 123. The door looks to be new, but it was such a flashback to 2010.

Delicious, right?

A sorority sister who is studying abroad in Spain was in town, so my next stop was at Kensington Palace. I still had an hour to kill, so I took the longer walk in Kensington Park to include the gardens before arriving at the Palace. When I was here the last time, it was still under remodeling, so the exhibits have changed. I made a quick note that I will have to come back whenever I have free time. After Aspen and I found each other, we headed over to the Orangery for high tea!  For 20 pounds, we each had our own teapot, scones and clotted cream, sandwiches, and dessert. I went with the traditional English breakfast tea, and let me just say, how excited I was to have the real toppings for scones again. Catching up over tea, we decided to head down to High Street Kensington, Piccadilly Circus, and Oxford Street afterwards. It was nice to see someone from Syracuse (and Pi Phi!), and to do some of the more touristy attractions at night.

Today, it was raining. It was cold. Typical London. Nicole and I did decide that we wanted to be touristy and do things despite the somewhat Syracuse weather that had arrived in town. We had heard about Open House London where many of the famous buildings had free admission. So, rather than read the guidelines about these free admissions, we decided to meet at Tower Hill and redo the Tower of London. We both did the tour with SU London in 2010. My whole plan to steal the crown jewels started off the wrong foot right away in the morning.

The tube line I needed to take that just so happens to run at my stop was closed this weekend for repairs. The TFL worker at Notting Hill Gate said to take the Central line all the way down to Bank and grab a bus. That was funny. After I got off at Bank (already one of my least favorite tube stations), I quickly plugged in Tower Hill into my phone. Magically Google said to take bus 15.  So, here's the thing. I can read maps fairly well. I have the walking and GPS map feature enabled on my phone, and I still couldn't find this said bus stop. Clearly, I inherited Mom and my brother's tendency to get lost today. After walking around in circles for about 10 minutes,  I finally asked someone. He sent me in the right direction, the bus came along, and I figured I was fine. Funny story. The bus terminated half way along the route leaving me to walk the final 20 minutes in the rain. Now, I know I could have gotten a cab. But, I can be stubborn. I was determined to find my own way there.  I did get to see the Shard and walk along the Thames throughout my journey.

Eventually, Nicole and I found each other. I left my flat at 10, got a bus at 10:15, and arrived at the Tower of London at 12:30. Nicole had similar transportation troubles. And, then we realized we should have read the guidelines on Open House London as we had to pay to get in. Skipping out on the tour, we took photos outside, walked across Tower Bridge, and walked by the construction of the Shard. Cold, we decided it was time for lunch. Hot chocolate and a croque madame at a French cafe was perfect to warm up before the rest of our excursions for the day.

Christmas at Harrods

Harrods was the perfect way to continue a rainy day. Who doesn't love getting lost in a store of everything? Quickly, we made our way to Winter Wonderland and Toy World. As a child at heart, I do love looking at all the toys (haha). They have redone a lot of the store since I was there, so it was an interesting change that resulted in a few circles when we were trying to find the pet area. The British bulldogs were all sold out while we were there. Don't worry, Wally, you are still my favorite dog.  Taking in the food hall before we left, we decided we wanted macaroons and hopped on my old bus actually to the Burlington Arcade for Laduree. #nomnomnom

We ended the day with Starbucks and a short spin through Fortnum and Mason. All of the food for the Queen is purchases through F & M, and they also own William Sonoma back home. Fun Fact of the Day: if you order something large and special, it can be delivered by horse drawn carriage. Dad, I saw a really pretty bedding set...(kidding).

Outside of Fortnum and Mason

My pre-semester math course starts tomorrow, so I'm going to bed early. I haven't done a real morning commute yet, so I want to leave a bit earlier for delays. Wish me good luck since I haven't done math since high school!