I have to rewind before I can get to today though. Yesterday was an absolutely incredible one in London. The day started off nice and early with Gary picking us up from our hotel. The journey started as we parked on Barton Street (BB, Aunt Kait, and my mom LOVED that) in order to get into Westminster Abbey. It is incredibly beautiful. On top of getting a standard tour, Gary gave us all of the details about how everything went during the Royal Wedding, as he was in attendance! It was so fun getting to hear all of his personal anecdotes about conversations he or his friends have had with the royal family. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures within the actual building so my words can only describe so much, but it was incredibly beautiful, from the stained glass windows to the choral pews to the little side chapels to the graves of the Unknown Soldier and Bloody Mary, it was absolutely incredible. Fun fact, outside of the abbey there is a school, one of the seven public schools in England, if I'm remembering correctly. Their food smelled amazing (I was hungry per usual) but they were also all in attendance on a Saturday. How awful.
Next stop was Windsor Castle. Gary drove us the 45 minutes it took to get there and left us to an audio tour of the castle, which worked perfectly. The views of the surrounding area were spectacular, especially of Eton College. Within the Castle we got to see St. George's Chapel, which was absolutely stunning. My favorite parts were the ceiling and the intricate design on the organ's pipes. After the Chapel we went into the actual Castle itself. We saw the most amazing doll house I have ever seen in my entire life, complete with electricity and plumbing. We then saw some of the most beautiful paintings and rooms ever. The splendor was unbelievable. My favorite room was the room where the current Queen Elizabeth's state portrait is hanging.
After the Castle we went to a shop and restaurant started by Prince Charles (I think!) The food was absolutely delicious and one of the things we bought in the shop was something called Kracklecorn. My mom and I polished off a whole bag by ourselves when we got back to the hotel later and rested while playing Candy Crush. What can I say, we are both addicted! (to Candy Crush of course)
Our last outing before our break was to Harrod's. I think it was my personal version of hell. It was a Saturday afternoon and the place was full to the brim. I will say that all of the food court was fascinating, and I am really happy I went for the experience. I also got to see a 116,850 pound Rolex. Didn't know that was possible. However, as my aunt pointed out, I would never want to be caught in there during a fire.
We then had our break and headed to dinner shortly after at a place called Como Lario. Don't worry Uncle Rich, I'm pretty sure one of us put it on Trover :). Gary picked us up when we were finished and took us to our final sight-seeing experience in London. We were lucky enough to experience the closing of the Tower of London, a tradition of over 700 years called the Ceremony of the Keys. It is true that it was frigid with the wind blowing off of the Thames, but it was incredible to get to witness something like that first hand. Also, that exact thing has happened every single night at the same time (except for during one of the World Wars when bombs were being dropped on the Tower). Pretty cool stuff.
Afterwards we said our final good bye to Gary from the hotel and turned in for the night. The next morning we got to sleep in!! I was finally a little bit of a person at breakfast since we didn't have it until just before 11 am. Then I got to take my classic tourist picture in a telephone booth in London; it felt like I was in the Parent Trap. Next was St. Pancras Station to catch the train to Paris. Fun fact, part of the first Harry Potter movie was shot in St. Pancras. The scene where Hagrid gives Harry his ticked and then just disappears. It's a classic one! Anyway, we boarded the train and arrived in Paris 2 short hours later.
We are lucky enough to be staying in the apartment of my uncle's friend, and it is beautiful. Windows overlook the Luxembourg Gardens and we even got to walk to dinner! Although my sense of time is clearly off because I thought we could make it back in 15 minutes while BB said it would take at least half an hour and most likely more. I didn't tell her when we got back, but I stopped the timer I had set when we arrived 'home' and it was over a 45 minute walk back.... Sorry BB! The place we went for dinner is one that my mom, Aunt Kait and BB went to 15 years ago when they were on a similar girls' trip called L'llot Vache (I think that's how it is spelled). The food was amazing.
That's about all I have in me for now as it is almost 2 am and I have to be up in 6 hours (we are going on a biking tour in the morning!) But I'd say that it was a Mother's Day well spent!
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