8.4.09 London.

i fulfilled my dream of standing in a london phone booth.

Wow I never thought I’d be blogging my last blog of this trip. It has flown by and most memories are just a blur and seem to have happened much longer ago than 5 weeks. We ended today with a visit to the Queen – too bad she wasn’t there. Buckingham Palace was…pretty much like every other palace/house we’ve been to. I never saw the view of Buckingham palace you see in the movies, nor did I see any of those guards that I know I would have made laugh. That said, I was a bit disappointed but I can’t deny the beauty of the palace. It actually used to be a home until one of the king’s decided he wanted to turn it into a palace and extended it with over 200 rooms. It is one of the only working palaces in the world and many important events have occurred there. Fun fact: one of the rooms we visited is a music room and greeting room for guests and is the same room where Prince William and Harry were both Christened with water brought in from Judea. Also, every gift the Queen has ever been given has a home somewhere in the palace or grounds; even a full-sized palm tree has a place in the Royal Botanical gardens.

back of buckingham palace.

garden and lawn of the palace.

the light pole at buckingham with a crown on top.

The rain came again today after yesterday being a perfectly sunny day where I actually felt warmth on my skin. On our way back from the palace, it took us quite some time to find an underground station. We finally found the Victoria line but there were all these police cars and ambulances surrounding the entrance and it was closed. Come to find out, there was a person under the train. It kind of made me feel sick knowing that someone had just died right below me. We got on another line that was open and they announced over the intercom so flippantly. They said “The Victoria line is closed due to a person under the train,” and they said it over, and over just making it even more creepy. Ashlee and I decided to come back to the flat because I am shopped out, while the others went shopping. We packed and cleaned our flats, which was an unpleasant task.

It is weird to think that this trip is over and we’ll be back in the US of A. Strange to think about but I am SO excited. I have loved Europe and this experience and will never forget what I’ve learned, seen, and who I’ve gotten to know. Cheers Europe…