Let's go back ....
London, 2002. A young mid-western girl arrives in London to begin a semester abroad. Naturally, she is nervous. She has never truly been away from her parents, her sister, her brother or her life in St. Louis. From the nervousness of being away from family, she created a new one - with six flatmates on Wellington Road. She meets mates for life from Chicago, Albany, Portland, Trinidad and Jamaica. This eventually becomes a fork in the road of her life – as her eyes are opened to a world formerly unknown. She is changed, forever.
I don't quite remember that girl. That girl, so afraid. She was so long ago.
That trip gave me the hunger for life elsewhere. And, it has been rich. Erik has a similar story. His time in Maastricht was where he too developed a flavor for travel and adventure. This is why we are where we are today …. away, for a month.
To say that I remember all things London would be an outright lie. I simply remembered the walk to campus from the Baker Street Tube station and the walk to our flat from St. John's Wood. Yes, that's it. Sad, I know. But, I wasn't too hard on myself .... it has been, after all, close to a decade since walking in those London shoes. The experience of going back after so long was more like an alternate reality. DejaVu-esque, really. I wanted to say again and again “I feel like I've been here before...”
Perhaps the familiarity stemmed from the fact that we were hearing and reading English again. Erik said it best - “it's like being dunked back into the pool before we go out into the unknown jungle again...” we had been in Amsterdam for so long and although everyone spoke English, it was difficult at times when it came to reading a menu etc. So, London was our dipping pool of familiarity.
Perhaps the familiarity stemmed from the fact that we were hearing and reading English again. Erik said it best - “it's like being dunked back into the pool before we go out into the unknown jungle again...” we had been in Amsterdam for so long and although everyone spoke English, it was difficult at times when it came to reading a menu etc. So, London was our dipping pool of familiarity.
Our first stop was Baker Street. The Sherlock Holmes statue was there to our left, just where I'd left it. A ten minute walk through lovely Regent's Park and we were at Regent's College. I enjoyed sharing stories from my time in London with Erik. While he knows how I feel about this part of my life and how treasured my London flatmates are to me, it was especially neat to point at something and say “this is where …..” and “oh yes, and here's where ….” - that was quite fun. Regent's was renovated in 2004. Outside, it is identical to my memory. Inside, however, it is brand new. Erik and I signed in as visitors and explored the campus together. It was wonderful.
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| Regent's Park (this was my walk from the flat each day to class) |
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| Me, Regent's College - Entrance |
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| renovated. same food. |
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| the quad |
Erik wanted Fish&Chips for lunch ... we stopped for the famous dish close to the Baker Street Tube.
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Strongbow. Although I don't nearly enjoy it as much as I did the last time around, it had to be my first drink in London. I had only a few goals for our trip to London. One was to revisit where I called home. The flat. Embassy Courts, Wellington Road – St. John's Wood. Erik and I couldn't go in, we just stood outside. I imagined my 21 year old self, walking from the tube, probably excited to hang out with my flatmates for the evening. We had great times here. A Halloween party, Thanksgiving with 24 attending (at least), multiple flat parties (including a toga party – huge hit) and many many nights with just the six of us girls or 12 of us total (the boys flat was across the hall) hanging out, enjoying our time together. It was a blast and a blessing to be away from those confining dorms. So, we stood outside and I shared stories of the flat with Erik. It's great that he has met Moon and Deena (and soon Katie Munn … eventually Saara and Sasha of course). We didn't stay long – we were really only staring at a building, but it was great to be back.    The London Eye. As a student, I could not justify spending the costly amount to ride the giant Ferris Wheel. A poor decision on my part. It took me almost ten years to get back to London. Now, I never deny myself something for money (as long as it is justifiable, of course). But, perhaps I was meant to do this with my love. We were one of 10 or so in the giant pod that took us up and around the wheel – allowing us to see a bird's eye view of the city – a wonderful 360 degree look at it all. I am happy to check that off the bucket list!            Yes, we were there - THE ROYAL WEDDING! Nobody believes us, but we were not in London for the Royal Wedding. We are just that lucky. We happened to book our trip long before Prince William and Kate set their wedding date. In fact, I wasn't even aware of the fact that we would be in London during this historical event until we were in Amsterdam … watching BBC news and a Royal Wedding countdown came on … that is when it all came together. WOW. Erik and I had no idea where we would watch, where we would go. We had heard that there would be a huge watch party at Hyde Park – very close to Buckingham Palace. We had no idea how huge it would be. Realizing people have been camping out for days in anticipation of the event, we never thought we would get close. And, we didn't. We were two of over 300,000 in the crowd. Droves of people, dressed for the celebration, waving their British flags in celebration. It was admirable how the crowd silenced itself when it came time for the ceremony. The only thing we could hear were the speakers capturing the moments in Westminster Abbey. It was magical. Only when they said their vows did the crowd erupt in pride and honor. It was something I cannot possibly forget although it will always be a “pinch me” moment for me.  300,000 gathered to watch the wedding on the big screens   Just some of the 300,000 wedding watchers in Hyde Park  me and my prince, in the crowd  Erik took this photo - what a great shot!    my favorite drink - royal wedding style  gorgeous!  my breakfast.   These "It Should Have Been Me" brides were being interviewed by the BBC. They now have their sights set on Harry.  "The People's Princess" and her husband, out "with the people" A few random sights in London:       Abbey Road    Perfect song ... a friend shared this with me and she thought it perfect for our trip, our story - shout out to Michelle Henricks for this one! Cheers, Kate & Erik 4/30/2011 PS. HAPPY QUEENS DAY, AMSTERDAM! |
That was a trip down memory lane! I can not believe we both went to Regents. Like you, I did not ride the London Eye, still wish I would have. Glad to see Camden Market has not changed. What an experience!
ReplyDeletePrincess Kate and Prince Erik,
ReplyDeleteAlthough I was unable to attend the Royal wedding of your friends in London you both can rest assure that I will be in attendance at your wedding in STL!!So glad you guys had a great time in London!!