The other parks and the battle of the bands

On monday, amy and I decided to take advantage of the Brit holiday Mayday (even though it was the 5th) and the holiday of cinco de mayo and head to the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham palace. I dont know if going on a holiday made any difference about the crowds... but it was insane. We hung around for a while waiting for it to happen. Then two different marching bands marched into the square and then into the palace gates with a whole bunch of guards and while random guards did random walks around the area just infront of the palace (getting their excersize for the day we think) the bands proceeded to have a british form of battle of the bands. One band was set up in concert formation with stands while the other in marching formations and they each took their turns playing while the guards marched around. And it was good. I had a blast, except for being behind a million people and then a huge iron fence. and it was hot. but thier was a couple of huge guards with huge gold axes that at a couple of points they swung around. When it was done, we walked down "the mall" by buckingham palace through green park to hyde park (dipped our feet in the princess di memorial fountain) and ventured around into Kensington gardens, which isnt gardens sadly but just a park. And kensington palace is just a brick big house... not really spectacular. just like buckingham palace was another big white building.... more royal looking i think. We then were really hungry (it was like 2) and we walked into the area of Kensington to find a grocery store so we could buy stuff for a picnic. We found a whole foods, which was quite an experience (the first international location of whole foods in fact and my first trip to any whole foods). We bought organic everything, including the south african chardonnay. and sourdough rolls and roast beef and turkey and avacado hummos and chips and razzberries and had a fantastic picnic. We then ventured off to find the peter pan statue and found it, which was a miracle. and then went back to the di fountain to sit and dip our feet in again, while we tried to figure out how we were going to get home. We got home and had a second picnic (this time in my room while we watched house). It was an awesome day. As amy said, "we are americans in england drinking south african wine on a mexican holiday!" quite a statement.

Saturday in the Park (again without Chicago)

So this saturday (or last saturday, however you want to think about it) I ventured to Regents Park, which is just north of where i live. I got a pret sandwich and bought a new Kathy Reichs book and walked to Regents. I sat for a while amoung a million other people who were out on a beautiful Saturday and ate and read. I then walked allllll around the park. I saw a heron (a grey one i think) and lots of people. It was beautiful. The queens roses are still not in bloom. I guess i will have to get back there sometime in june before i leave. There is this pond in the park that's shore that all these little white flowers on the ground... almost looking like sand. its the Brits form of the beach i guess. pretty cool looking. And there was this gorgeous tulip garden behind a chain and this wedding party was getting thier pictures taken in it. The bride was lying on the ground, her head in her grooms lap with her dress a pretty spread about and the tulips everywhere. the best idea for wedding photos.

4 fire alarms and haircuts!

last night, we had 4 fire alarms- at 4 am, 720, 740, 820. ridiculous. out of control. the first one was someone playing tennis in thier room. brilliant. and then the others were a malfunctioning alarm. booooo

me and amy went to get haircuts today. mine was just adding layers, but amy's was really dramatic.

Saturday in the Park (if ony chicago was singing while i was in the park)

So yesterday, it was amazing out, like 70 degrees and sunny, so amy and i ventured to Green Park to picnic (just some pret sandwiches) and lay on the grass (she studied, or "revised" as they call it here and i slept). After a while, she needed the library and that left me to explore the park. I had a great chat with dad, while I walked and then found Hyde Park, which has an amazing lake called the serpentine. I literally walked in the park for like 4 hours, didnt find either of the palaces or their gardens in the parks. that just tells you how big the parks are: i wandered for four hours and didnt find the gigantic palaces. I did find the princess di memorial fountain, which i know nothing about except i was not expecting a odd river like sculpture, which i think was on the ground in the shape of the letter d. but prolly not. It was cool, everyone had thier feet in the water that was running in the d shape. everyone was in the park yesterday. and whats really cool is the horse tracks in the park. next to the pedestrian walks is dirt paths just for horse and riders. so cool. and there are crosswalk lights in the shape of the horse, for when they cross the street. everyone was in the park today, in blue paddle boats on the lake. it was amazing. and the flowers that i did find were soooo pretty. i finally got home to discover that i was realllly sunburned. but its turning into a pretty sweet tan.

St. Georges Day

So last wednesday, amy and i went to trafalgar square for the St. George's Day celebrations. It was really odd. We went after dinner because there were supposed to be live performances which turned out to be a weird guy in a mask, playing the tuba. And then a tuxedo-ed tap dancer. And lots of people dressed as knights or maidens. It was supposed to be a london food festival, but neither amy or I wanted any of it, so we ventured to Leister square for some good ole ben and jerrys (i of course had sorbet.) and then we sat on the grass and enjoyed the sunshine and yummy deserts.... and then saw the mexican restaurant.... and enjoyed happy hour (just one margarita, no biggie). also this is pretty funny, earlier amy had walked smack dab into a trashcan while reading me the newspaper... and then on the way home, i remarked how i was parting the crowds like moses, (because of the holiday and all) and then tripped. well the two of us laughed for a while and then reasoned that moses was not happy with my declaration.

note to me: add marg. pics when printing.

Passover in London

So I went to Chabad services for passover which was held in the Hillel House. It was a mix of israelis in london and mostly american study abroad kids. It was in english and hebrew and was way different then any seder I have been to. I was really happy to have somewhere to go to tho. I went with Lauren and Shira. It didnt start until 930pm. And we didnt get food until 1120. But it was really interesting. Chabads are orthodox but are extremely welcoming... thats their point. they listen to all opinons and accept all opinions. for real. no condesention. and the rabbi told interesting stories... lots on the 4 children and why we welcome them all. and the story of rabbi hillel. that was really interesting. and they used lettuce instead of bitter herbs and potatoes instead of parsley and the haroset was horrrrrrrrible. and this was the worst.... no matzah ball soup. so sad. but all in all. i really was happy that i went to the seder. the rabbi was all ortho and wore the whole outfit and he was realllly fat and had this gorgous wife.... must be arranged i think. it was a good time... but it was only really half the seder because we ate in the middle... before elijah and all and we left after eating at midnight.... most people did. yep. happy passover!!

Brighton and the Pavillion

Saturday, Butler took us on a day trip to Brighton and the Royal Pavillion. brighton is a city by the ocean and is basically a boardwalk town. there was this great pier that streched onto the ocean that had a mini amusment park or fair on it. It was sooo cool. We saw the Pavillion which was a royal palace of George the IV. He literally bought a farmhouse and overtime as he got money built this amazing palace... and then became king. its a palace of asian decoration.... stunning on the inside... too bad they wouldnt let us take pics.... maybe i can get some from the website. We walked in town and on the pier and had a good day. Crazy traffic on the way back into London.

London Marathon

On April 13th, Amy and I went to the London Marathon to cheer on random people... It was a late night the night before for both of us and we were realllly tired. We walked down to the Big Ben to watch the runners. People were mostly there because they knew people in the race... but there were this group of people who obviously didnt and were yelling the names on the jerseys.... but some of the names were sponsers.... so it was really funny. (and elvis ran the race too.) Amy and I then went to China town and had a nice lunch.

DAY 16 (Last Day!) April 7, 2008- back to London!

One little note: we saw these tour groups with blue and orange backpacks everywhere (even when we got back in london).
We checked out of the hotel and found the bus to the airport... took a nice flight back and got back in time for dinner at Ramsay! It was a great trip. The trip of a life time.
The swiss alps!!