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! 

State Opening of Parliament

Pomp and circumstance tends to be synonymous  with the UK.

This past Wednesday, my friend, Nicola, and I went to the State Opening of Parliament. 

The State Opening of Parliament essentially marks the first day of the parliamentary year. On the day, the Queen gives a speech about the government's agenda for the upcoming session.  It's on this day that the Queen, members of the House of Commons, and members of the House of Lords all are together (apart from other official events). 

Nicola and I got to the Houses of Parliament around 9am to camp out for the procession! It was a gloomy, rainy day, but we made do. Thank goodness for rain jackets and umbrellas. 

The procession started around 11am with several military bands.

From there, the crown jewels arrived.

Followed by the royals...

First, Prince Charles & Camilla

And, then the Queen and Prince Phillip arrived! 

It was well worth the cold and rain to see the procession as well as some of the members of the royal family! 

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? 

Tired of London, Tired of Life

I acquired a book called, "Tired of London, Tired of Life," awhile back. Essentially, it's a book detailing something new to do everyday in London. I'm a tourist at heart, so this book was made for me. 

A goal of mine this year is to finally complete all of the tourist attractions in London that I have never done. In 2010, I felt as if I was always on a marathon mission to get to the next big attraction whereas in the past year, the things I did in London were still big attractions, but off the beaten track, too! 

This past weekend, I did just that: find some off the beaten track tourist attractions, but spend some time with the favorites as well. 

On Saturday, I took off to find the location where the last D-Day briefing took place. It was actually quite close to my home in Hammersmith. Hammersmith is also an area that I've never really explored apart from the tube/bus station! 

The location was tucked into gardens where a school used to exist. Now, the cite is occupied by a college. You couldn't go inside or rather too close to the building due to construction works, but it was still a sight to see especially due to the significance of the plan that was finalized there. 

From there, I wandered around to my favorite areas of London: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower of London, and St. James' Park.

Buckingham Palace

Tower of London

Second Star to the Right & Straight onto Morning

On Sunday, I showed a fellow Syracuse alumna around Portobello Road before I committed to homework and waiting out the UK storm!

The Blue Door from the movie, Notting Hill 

How would you spend your day in London? Or any place?

Father Daughter Eurotrip: Day 2

On Tuesday, Dad had finally started to get over jet lag. We took a casual morning to get started complete with a full English breakfast. We dined at Shakespeare's Head- a local place near the LSE campus that my friends and I often visit! It was my Dad's first experience with traditional English breakfast, and we left full for a day of sightseeing!

Traditional English Breakfast

Since we were so close by campus, Dad deserved a campus tour. When I applied to LSE, I had only walked by it during my time abroad in 2010. It was not like the whole touring process that my Dad and I did in 2007 when I was looking at colleges. Nevertheless, I gave him a full campus tour complete with a stop at the George (on campus pub).

Outside the Old Building at the LSE

And, since we had no luck getting into the Churchill Museum on Monday- that was our next stop! We spent about two hours in the museum looking at the war rooms from World War II. It's one of my favorite museums in London, so I was glad to get back and go through it again!

The man in the trenchcoat I do believe was Churchill's ghost

To round up the afternoon after the museum, we wander through St. James' Park up to Buckingham Palace and then to the Royal Mews.  The Royal Mews is where the carriages, cars, and horses for the royal family are kept.  We were able to see the carriages used for the royal wedding as well as the gold stagecoach which is used for coronations. Begged me to ask the questions: When is the next wedding? And, when will see another coronation? 

Dad and me outside Buckingham Palace

The Golden Stagecoach used for Coronations 

Early evening before we changed for dinner, we headed down to Waterloo to do the London Eye. I've been meaning to do the London Eye since I studied abroad in 2010. Yet, I never had the time to do it! But, now I can officially cross it off the bucket list and my 101 in 1001 days list! It was a bit overcast, so the views farther away were limited. However, we still got some great shots of the iconic London buildings!

Big Ben in the Background

On the London Eye

After we had a quick change at the hotel, we set off for dinner at Rules. Rules is the oldest restaurant in London. It was established in 1794 complete with tons of stories about the royals and celebrities surrounding the establishment. There's actually a secret entrance for the royal family as well as a private club to be invited too. Sadly, we just ate in the dining room for the evening, but it was a real treat. The walls are decorated with photos, paintings, clocks, etc. from over the years. The atmosphere was elegance left over from the days gone by. And, the food was divine!

The Kate Middleton "29"

The Experience of Rules

And, no...for all of you Downton Abbey fans. Edith was not in for the evening.

Tuesday in London was busy, but we saw a lot! Dad and I were both able to cross off quite a few things on the bucket list! Stay tuned for more adventures. 

Marcus Mumford

Those of you who follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or are friends with me on Facebook, you know I had quite the excitement two weekends ago.  With all of the craziness of school, I haven't had a chance to actually post what happened.

Two weekends ago, as you may remember, I spent the majority of my Saturday at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland. On my way there as I had quite the trouble with busses that day, I had to change three times on the tube.

Starting off in Notting Hill, I casually boarded the train, Starbucks in hand, and sat down listening to Mumford and Sons.  Suddenly, I noticed the woman next to me and across from me were looking at this man sitting down across from me as well. There was a woman with him who was talking to him. Then, I noticed others looking around at him as well. Deciding to look directly at him, I'm glad I did.

It was MARCUS MUMFORD!

This was the girl he was talking to. 

 I was that person. I took a photo. I also took off my headphones and verified the voice. It was him! Did not be that fan girl though and tell him that I'm going to his concert in a few weeks. Oh yes, I did end up buying tickets for the concert with Nicole!

It was my first celebrity spotting not at a planned event (yay Queen!)! 

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