I will admit that it is a bit odd to be sitting in your apartment at the end of the day, all alone, with a grin on your face. I can't stop smiling like an idiot.
And I think because...I'm in love!
IN LOVE WITH THIS FRIGGIN' CITY!
(Ooh, gotcha there. That one was for my mom.)
No, but seriously, this city becomes more amazing every day and the feeling of knowing it is bittersweet. I have mentioned many times how lucky I feel and how blessed I am to be here. But everyday I fall deeper in love with this city is another day closer to me having to leave it. And it's breaking my heart a little bit.
Ok, I'll stop whining and tell you why I am in my room smiling like an idiot.
I had such a great day today! Truly, a freakin' amazing day. And I can't really tell you what made it so magical. Well, for one, it probably had something to do with the perfect weather. Blue skies. Crisp autumn air. Sun shinning. I know I probably won't have many more days like this before the weather turns cold and ugly, so I'm glad I took full advantage of it.
My initial plan was to take the ferry from Westminster Pier to Hampton Court (which was originally built for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in 1514 and then taken by Henry VIII in 1529... ahh, Tudor Reign, so fascinating!). Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, that particular ferry only runs on certain days and today was not one of'em. Instead, I decided to go to Westminster Abbey since the last time I had walked around that area and thought about going to it, it was too late and was already closed. So bright and early (uhh... around 11:00), I went to the Abbey and was UTTERLY AMAZED at the history of it. You can't even imagine how many people are buried there and how much history is housed in that one place. So many coronations. So many royal weddings and funerals. So many famous writers in the Poets' Corner. (Poets' Corner particularly blew me away. I've never felt to inspired to write in all my life. I was just in awe of all of the talent and the number of years between them writing and me sitting there ogling their burial sites. Totally wild.)
I actually sat in for church service at Westminster at noon and it was really beautiful. You see, I'm an equal-opportunity-religious-ceremony-attendee. (If you don't get that joke, then check out my post here about The Sunday Assembly.) The service was presided by Cannon Jane, second to only the Dean in the order at the Abbey. One, she was a woman, which shocked the junk out of me. And second, to learn that she was second in command was just awesome. GO HER! Plus, the service was beautiful. Technically, I wasn't supposed to take pictures inside the Abbey, but I kinda couldn't help myself. I REALLY wanted to take a picture of Poets' Corner, but alas, too many eyes watching.
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| Me walking from Westminster Pier over to the Abbey. LOOK AT THIS VIEW! |
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| The Abbey and the bluest skies I've seen a while! |
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| The Lady's Chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. |
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| Burial site of Mary Queen of Scots. (HO. LY. COW!) I don't know if you know this about me, but I am fascinated with Tutor England and the whole Henry the VIII drama. Talk about family shenanigans! Whew! |
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And just across the way, the burial site of Elizabeth I, Mary's rival. (Ooooh!) |
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| The Cloisters. |
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| Self in the courtyard - not that you can tell with the sun in the background. |
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| Courtyard of the Cloisters. |
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| Toward the gardens of the monastery! How gorgeous is this!
Last stop on the Abbey tour was a special installation to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation back in 1953. There were panels of pictures of her being crowned and the celebrations in the streets. And then ended with a current portrait of her, which was beautiful. It was pretty cool to see the progression of her reign. In addition, her coronation was hosted in the Abbey!
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I then decided to take a walk up to Harrods since my mom asked me to pick something up for a friend of hers. Before I began walking, I thought I should probably ask the guard if I was heading in the right direction and he kept insisting that it was too far to walk and that I should just take the tube. I literally had to ask him four times before the other guard on duty jumped in to give me directions. I told the man that it's a beautiful day, I don't mind the walk, blah blah blah and he was acting like Harrods was on the other side of planet Earth.
The walk included a stroll by St. James's Park up past Buckingham Palace, up along Hyde Park and then down Knightsbridge St. (A couple of miles... no biggie! It was my exercise for the day! - I clocked it and walked about a total of 6.5 miles today. Not bad!)
Here's for the most amazing part of the day. Before I tell you, please understand that as an American, I NEVER thought I'd get this excited about this... like ever. But, I SAW THE QUEEN TODAY. Like for real. In person. There she was in her motorcade rockin' and rollin' out of the castle. I don't even think I'd be as excited if I saw our own President! It's funny, while it was happening I was like "Eh, there's the Queen, that's cool." But after the fact, I was like a giddy little school-girl about it (and clearly, still am!). It was just kinda cool that through a series of unexpected detours throughout my day, I serendipitously ran into the Queen. Whaaaaaat?!?
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| Just walking along past the castle, minding my own business... |
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| AND BOOM - THE QUEEN'S MOTORCADE. Clearly, I couldn't snap the picture quickly enough, but she passed RIGHT by me. Like I could see her cute little face! Totally awesome!
I continued my adventure and made my way to Harrods which is beginning to decorate for Christmas and they really know how to do it up right! Finally, I went across the street back to Zia Theresa for a late lunch (actually the first thing I've really eaten all day!) for delicious pizza before I made my way back home.
 
Once home, I kicked backed and relaxed while watching The Help on Netflix (which is unbelievably brilliant for a book to film adaptation!). If you haven't seen it, SEE IT. But bring your kleenex. I don't know what's happening to me, but I cried through the whole thing.
Maybe it's exhaustion, I mean, I did walk ALL DAY!
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