Free time Friday

Emily said, "Paparazzi!"

For our first Friday off, Emily and I decided to take advantage of a free morning and go to the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. The gates of Buckingham Palace and the grounds around the Victoria Memorial were absolutely swamped!! We tried to make our way to a certain pole that Britt said was a prime viewing area, but were stopped by a policeman when we were about to cross a gate. The marching in started shortly after, and our stopped positioning ended up giving us an excellent view!

Sunny weather, blue skies, Friday morning = heavy crowds

Between the old guard coming in and the new guard coming out, we made our way through the crowd to a spot lining the street. As we waited, the guard band entertained the crowd with marching tunes, "Dancing Queen", and a Lion King song. The entire ceremony was a really neat experience. The amount of tradition that stems from the changing is extraordinary!

My favorite!

After the ceremony, Emily and I decided to walk around looking for a place to eat. Our search led us around St. Jame's park, which was a nice stroll due to the beautiful weather. We finally ended up at a pizza place in Knightsbridge. It looks fancy, but the price was right!

Emily at our swanky lunch pick, Pizza in the Park

After lunch, we hopped on the Tube and went to Notting Hill to wander around Portobello Market. The gorgeous Notting Hill area is more residential than our area of London. There are a lot of little independent shops and restaurants lining the streets. I have heard that Notting Hill is comparable to Greenwich Village in NYC, and I think that is a pretty accurate description.

The world famous Portobello Market

We spent the remainder of the afternoon walking around the market. No item was left out: the spread of goods included everything from antique tiles to the latest Nikes. Foodies could get their pick of food items such as olives, fruits and vegetables, and whole fish fresh off the boat. My family and friends would all agree that I could wander through stores and just look at things for hours, so I was in heaven! It was a successful afternoon... we both headed back to Bedford Place with some great finds.

Lovely buildings in the surrounding Notting Hill area

Pizza coming out of a cute car... what is not to like?

Emily chatting with a pharmacist in Notting Hill.. she had been looking for a pharmacy for days so she could check it out and compare/contrast with her pharmaceutical experiences in the United States

Tonight we are taking it easy and preparing for our journey to Bath ("Baaaaathhhh"). Our train leaves bright and early tomorrow morning, so a good night's sleep is a must. We think about our classmates often, scattered around Europe in their various cities. Europe better watch out, because LL '09 is on the loose!