A group of Stanford students wanted to attend the Queen's Jubilee Boat Pageant on the River Thames this Sunday, and we heard that the best place to view the boats was across from the London Eye. We woke up very early in the morning to catch the 5:10 Oxford Tube to London (I stayed awake so that I wouldn't sleep through it) and went straight to the best spot. Since there were eight of us, we decided to take shifts to keep our spot reserved. Thuy and I went to grab breakfast (and warm tea) so that we could stay out there the longest. Unfortunately, it was such an ugly day! It was freezing and rainy and I couldn't believe that we had gone for that. But it got better - we met some really nice people that always go to the important events, and we met a lady from Marin County, California (close to Stanford) who had traveled to London for the 50th jubilee, this 60th, and will be there for the 70th, but she also went for Princess Diana's funeral and Prince William and Duchess Catherine's wedding! Since I hadn't slept, I took a short nap under a pancho on the ground (I'm small so my friends all stood around me so that no one would mess with little, sleeping Ari). Eventually, it was time for the Royal Family to be dropped off at their first boat, which we could see from the many big screens set up throughout the crowds. She is so adorable! I hope she lives for a very long time. I also saw Prince Harry and Prince William, but my favorite was Duchess Catherine - she's soo pretty! And they had her wearing this red dress that was beautiful, but she must have been freezing her toosh off... About an hour later, the boats started passing our area, and they had flags from all of the Commonwealth, including the territories that England owns. Some boats with Canada's flag passed by, and there were Canadians in the crowd because they were hooting and hollering for Canada - I said that we probably won't be able to cheer for the U.Ss because I don't think they like us very much, and my friends laughed. Finally, the huge boat with the Royal Family passed, and we got to see them all waving! I tried to take pictures, but it was pretty far away. Nevertheless, it was an amazing experience to see the Queen celebrating her 60 years of reign, and I still can't believe that I was there for the boat pageant.
Next post will be about: Faro, Portugal! Cheers!
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