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! 

Stockholm Recap: Part 1

Over the weekend, I snuck off to Stockholm for a quick two day trip.

Sweden has long been on my list to explore. Unfortunately, either timing or cost were never on my side. Until one evening earlier last week when I saw an amazing discount on a hotel rate plus cheap flights...those stars finally aligned! 

I set off Saturday morning with a flight out of Heathrow. Thank goodness for restaurants being open at 6am in Terminal 5 as well as Starbucks. Although, I quickly passed out on the plane ride, and I woke up just before landing.

Stockholm

Dropping my bag off at my hotel, I began to explore the city. First stop? The City Hall where the Nobel Prizes are awarded.

City Hall

I didn't get a chance to go inside, but I checked out the menu for the restaurant located at City Hall. You can order the food item that any Nobel Prize winner has had.

From there, I hopped aboard a ferry down to Drottingholm Palace. The cruise to the Palace took about an hour and got to see more of the outlying areas of Stockholm.

Drottingholm Palace

Drottingholm Palace is the current residence of the Royal Family of Sweden. It's also on UNESCO's World Heritage List. I toured the inside before heading outside to the gardens. The Chinese Pavilion, on site, is also on the World Heritage List.

Chinese Pavilion 

Enjoying my cruise back into Stockholm, I wandered around the city especially Old Town before heading to my hotel.

I luckily got upgraded at the hotel with a balcony overlooking the city! Talk about a view!

Old Town at Night

View from Hotel Balcony

I'll post the second part tomorrow! 

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? 

First Week Back via Instagram

Besides starting my internship and getting ready to begin the second year of my grad school program, I've been up to some tourist activities, catching up with friends, and being a Londoner once again! 

A huge positive about being back in the UK? I get to watch Downton Abbey Season 4 now...rather than in December! 

Back to eating delicious pub food!

There was an overload of Prince George souvenirs at Harrods.

I had brunch with a few of the girls from the Local Levo London group on Saturday. We had a few brunch cocktails, delicious food, and just caught up about careers and our summers. 

And yesterday, I stopped in to see if Wills and Kate needed someone to babysit Prince George. Sadly, they didn't respond to the doorbell. Prince Harry, I would gladly babysit your nephew with you! 

Pip Pip Cheerio!

The past few days have been a blur as I got back into the swing of things. Well, and seeing big red busses all over the place too. 

I landed early Monday morning at Heathrow. I hardly slept on the plane, but I got through immigration quickly. And, they had a film loop playing about Wills and Kate...much appreciated Heathrow Terminal 5.  By the time I got to the taxi rank, I was slowly moving. Traffic was horrible, and I fell asleep for a quick cat nap. About an hour later, I finally got to my flat. Normally, it takes less than a 30 minutes drive up to my neighborhood from Heathrow. #insanity

I quickly did some housekeeping manners before moving my luggage back into my studio. A quick change of my sheets and a shower, and it was time for a nap. I did sleep the majority of the day, only to wake up and run a few errands and eat. Jet lag is a killer!

Yesterday, I started my new internship for the semester! I'm interning at the US Embassy! It was a great first day, and I'm looking forward to an interesting semester! 

Besides running errands, buying groceries, and just getting settled back in, I haven't done too much...yet. Tomorrow, the second year of grad school officially starts. We have a few information sessions followed by the presentation of the capstone projects that we will soon pick. Long day ahead, but I'm ready to get back into the swing of things! And, on Friday, the annual MPA boat party is taking place where I can finally meet some of the incoming students! 

Stay tuned!

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