The Date is Set for a National Celebration!

Prince William and Kate Middleton have announced that they will marry on Friday, April 29, at Westminster Abbey.

Prime Minister David Cameron said it would be "a happy and momentous occasion". It will be marked by a public holiday across the UK.

Westminster Abbey was the site of the weddings of the Queen and Queen Mother and the venue for Princess Diana's funeral in 1997.

The prince's private secretary, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, said the couple chose the Abbey for its "staggering beauty", 1,000-year royal history and its feeling of intimacy despite its size.

I'm so excited and my best friend and I are already making plans to be together to watch the wedding -- just like we did when William's parents married!

Here Comes the Sun

One of the biggest surprises about England was the fact that in the summer the sun rises around 5 AM and doesn't set until 9:30 PM! When I first awoke to the sun in my face, I checked my watch and thought I'd forgotten to change the time. There was no way it could be that early! But it was a good thing because it helped me get motivated to get up and go out no matter how tired I felt.

By Wednesday May 20th I was starting to enjoy the breakfast that came with my room. I ate enough most days to be able to skip lunch altogether. I was still uneasy being without my iPhone but the Internet access in the hotel lobby got me through. I tried not to be too hard on myself when it came to jet lag and being tired, so Wednesday morning I went back up to my room for a little nap before setting out on the town.
Despite drizzle and threatening clouds, I took the tube down to Trafalgar Square to go to the National Portrait Gallery. After much research, I knew this to be the place to see all the famous Tudor portraits in person and I was so excited! When I saw the building that said "The British National Gallery" and no other museums nearby, I figured I was in the right place. (It corresponded with my handy-dandy laminated walking map of London!) After walking through room after room of the gallery and finding only Henry VIII's portrait of Christina of Denmark, I began to think something was fishy. Then I overheard some other lost tourist be directed to the National PORTRAIT Gallery - just around the corner!
Sure enough, it was around the outside to the left and it held everything I was looking for! There was an entire Tudor wing and I was in heaven! Of course I couldn't take any photos inside of the museum. Granted, most of the portraits are reproductions, but I was still in awe seeing them in person. It was, however, a cool mistake that I did go to the other gallery, as I got to see the portrait of Christina of Denmark, ordered by Henry to see if he wanted to marry her or Anne of Cleves. And it was NOT a reproduction. It was the original painted by Master Holbein himself!

My feet, my achilles tendon and my formerly broken ankle were beginning to ache but I knew I wasn't too far from Westminster Abbey and Parliament so I pressed on. I also knew I was near the former palace at Whitehall (and York Place before that) but as hard as I looked, I found only the Household Cavalry. (The is the regiment to which Prince Harry belongs.)



Despite my Whitehall setback, I continued walking and eventually stumbled upon Westminster. The area was packed with demonstrators, police and press. I made my way around them and took a ton of photos. Familiar view of the Abbey...

And my preferred view on the side with the rose window...

Those are the only photos I will post though because, sadly, I was having some sort of issues taking a level shot. Vertigo or something. Gave new meaning to "flying buttresses."
I'd walked about 5 miles from my last tube stop and was starting to think I would have to go back to the hotel to rest because of the intense pain in my feet and ankles but after sitting a while in the park on the Thames, I decided to ignore the pain and walk across the river to the London Eye. What can I say - it was calling to me! Look at the pic!
Owned and operated by British Airways, you can ride in a capsule on this huge ferris wheel and see the entire city. Even better (and just my style) you can take a Champagne flight and see the sights! It was pricey -- but fun. I rode in a capsule with eight people on holiday from Scotland and we watched the sun begin to set on London. A little drinking, a lot of photos and thirty minutes seemed to fly by! (pun intended)

Complete exhaustion came over me when I disembarked and I still had to walk to the nearest tube station. I caught the tube at Waterloo on the south bank of the Thames and went back to grab dinner and go to bed.