A Fabulous End to Spring Break

Thursday:
Thursday morning Michael left and Bridget and I just bummed around and sat in bed uploading pictures to facebook and blogging for the rest of the day. Then we ordered pizza with Lanette for a late dinner and came back to our room and watched "Bend It Like Beckham" (which I did NOT fall asleep for!!). It was quite a lazy day!

Friday:
Friday morning Lanette, Bridget and I got up early and went to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. However, we got there a bit later than we should have and it was PACKED. Being short I couldn’t see too much, but I did manage to get a few pics!

The band!

It was really cool because a band of guards was playing music and they played songs like: “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” “I Got Rhythm,” “The Sound of Music” and more! We just stood there and danced and had fun (we couldn’t see too much anyway!) After that we headed back to school for lunch and Bridget and I were going to head back out to Oxford Street so I could get my cartilage pierced but I decided to wait.

We were making plans to go to Harrods (the HUGE and EXPENSIVE department store the Queen shops at) later in the afternoon and were just hanging around the room while Bridget talked to her mom. I had an idea!

“Spring Awakening” the FABULOUS show that I saw earlier in the semester is moving to London’s west end to a bigger theatre and last Saturday was the final performance at the Hammersmith Lyric (which is a much smaller theatre and really feels like a more intimate performance). I wanted Bridget to see it at the Lyric and we had been talking about going but had forgotten to book tickets. When I looked online they said they were all sold out, so while she was skyping I went into the hallway and called and ordered tickets for us that night!

So Bridget and I headed to Harrods first and were amazed as we walked through this 7 story building! It was gorgeous…and expensive and we felt poorer than poor. We walked in amazement past Gucci and Jimmy Choo, and a million other really really really expensive brands. We headed into the formal wear section to look at dresses just because and we looked around at bridesmaid’s dresses and what not. We would have looked at wedding dresses too (just for the hell of it, I swear!) but you seriously like have to have a ring on your finger and an appointment to even get close to looking at them…they are hardcore serious about this!

So we went through the toys section and there was a display with “snow.” Now of course I was curious! So we went over and it is literally this powder in a box that grows into snow…and in 2 weeks turns back into powder if you leave it alone…it was cold like snow and you could shape it like snow…and it was crazy! The guy put some of the powder in our hands and then poured water on top and it just grew…it was sooo cool! (I know, I’m like a little kid!) I totally wanted to buy some because it wasn’t that expensive, but Bridget said I got enough snow at home and couldn’t buy any…

After looking through toys we went into the nursery section and looked at the gorgeous wooden cribs and everything else. The clothes were a bit ridiculous, I mean c’mon on…dressing your baby in expensive Gucci clothing that they are going to throw up on or outgrow in a short time doesn’t make sense to me, but whatever…that’s just me!

When we were done with the baby section we headed toward Pet Kingdom, which takes up quite a rather large section of the floor it is on. We went in and Bridget got a cheap (yes, they have a few cheap things in the store…just not many!) toy for her dog. While she was waiting to pay, a woman came in and asked very nonchalantly where she could find the horse accessories. Bridget just looked at me and said “HORSE?!!?!??” over and over again for about 10 minutes as she paid and we made our way out of the store. Of course I am laughing hysterically at her during this entire time and people are looking at us like we are crazy…well we are...but that is besides the point! When she could finally form a more coherent sentence than, “HORSE?!!?!??” Bridget explained that she could not understand who would go to a department store to buy horse toys. I guess she has a point…

We were pretty much done with Harrods at this point and had some time before we had to get back on the tube for our show so we decided to go to Starbucks before we headed to the theatre. We just sat and drank our coffee and tea and talked for a while. It was a great conversation with my best friend! When we left Starbucks it was dark and we looked up and saw Harrods completely lit up! It was sooo pretty!

Harrods all lit up!

We got to the Lyric theatre and went to get our tickets. We were in row A of the dress circle almost right in the middle! They were fantastic seats for just calling a few hours earlier!

During intermission Bridget just said “OMG! I LOVE IT! Thanks for making me see this! I can’t put it into words…it is just…beautiful!” I couldn’t agree more, it was my second time seeing the musical but I was even stuck for words. It was just so powerful and moving and AMAZING and I loved every second as much as I did the first time around. In fact, Bridget loved it so much (as do I obviously) that we are going to go see it on the west end in the Novello Theatre (the same place we saw “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” earlier in the semester)! I looked for tickets and we decided that we are going to sit on the stage interspersed with the characters for this show! How cool, right?!

So anyway, after “Spring Awakening” was over we made our way to Piccadilly Circus for drinks and appetizers at T.G.I. Friday’s. Since it is an American chain you can get some drinks that the English pubs and restaurants don’t know about, such as Long Island Iced Teas, one of my favorite drinks! You can also get the Jack Daniels Sesame Chicken Strips for an appetizer and they are AMAZING!!!!! After we finished eating (and they were about to close!) we headed back to school and went to bed because we had to get up early for our trip to Canterbury the next day.

Saturday:
Saturday we got up early and headed to the Victoria Coach Station to board the National Express bus to Canterbury. The coach station was cool because they had gates set up like an airport and you boarded in much the same way. So off we were! And 2 hours later we were in Canterbury. After breakfast at Burger King (I know, I know…but it was Bridget’s turn to pick! LOL) we headed toward the Canterbury Cathedral. It was GORGEOUS and MAGNFICENT! I cannot even explain in words how beautiful it was, and my pictures (which were legal to take this time!) do not come close to doing it justice. So we walked through and looked around in absolute awe and as custom lit candles for our grandmas. Then we went down into the crypt and up into the cloisters and the chapter house. It was all gorgeous and we were certainly unaware of time or anything else while we were in there.

Canterbury Cathedral!

After the cathedral we went across the street into a pottery shop. The shop had been there for over 45 years and the pieces were beautiful! We could see the guy in the back on his wheel and it was just awesome! Bridget and I both got presents for our moms in there and then just kept walking around the town (which was really cute). We got to Tower House and then Westgate Gardens and just walked along the river for a ways. We headed toward the Greyfriar’s Garden where Bridget attempted to climb a tree and get her foot stuck…(it is days when something like that happens that I appreciate being short!) and then we went into the Canterbury Tales exhibit. It was a fun, but definitely silly exhibit. Geoffrey Chaucer (the author of “The Canterbury Tales”) was the narrator and we moved through rooms as some of the main stories were told (The Wife of Bath, the Pardoner, The Miller, etc.). The scenery was kind of comical and the figures were scary wax statues. Certain rooms which were supposed to be stables and barns actually smelt like such and it was kinda funny.

After the exhibit we made our way to the Canterbury Castle. It was NOT what we were expecting! It was literally just 4 walls left standing there, but it was still cool to see and to read/learn about how it was used as a prison, etc.!

When we were done looking at the Castle we made our way back into the center of town and headed into Waterstones bookstore where we went to Costa Coffee and sat and read for a while. It was really relaxing and I would most recommend “He’s Just Not That Into You” to any woman on the face of this planet! Absolutely fantastic and true and helpful!

The rest of the day was spent shopping and just walking around before we got back on the bus. We had a fantastic dinner at ASK and then came back to Regent’s to be bums!

Sunday:
Sunday we headed out to Trafalgar Square to see the St. Patrick’s Day Festival and Parade. It ended up being not what we expected and kinda lame.

Sign at the Festival in Trafalgar!

We had hoped there would be vendors and such but when we got there it was just a stage in the front of the square where the Irish Society was performing music and then a bar on each side of the square. Everyone was drinking beer and just sitting there. It was not what we had in mind so we didn’t stay long. Okay…well we came and saw, and didn’t sit in our room all day and it was a BEAUTIFUL sunny, warm day (no sweatshirt needed!) and well worth the excursion.

The stage!

The bar...there was one on both sides...way too early for that!

We made our way out of the square to see the parade that was going by. It was….very quiet. Most parades I have been to have been loud with lots of cheering and excitement…this was…not! But it was still cool to see the Irish Dancers and what not. It was nice to get out and do something different regardless of the fact that it was different than our expectations.

Part of the parade!

We walked back to school and hung out and what not before getting dinner, working out, watching Grey’s Anatomy and preparing to go back to school on Monday after a fantastic Spring Break!