Diamonds are Forever

June 3

Before I came to London

 I would hear of

Queen Elizabeth the 2nd

and tend to think of

The Parent Trap...

(once again)

"We met on the QE2. 

 It's an ocean liner that sails from London to New York."

However,
Queen Elizabeth the Second
is so, so
oh so so so
much more than that.
She has been the reigning Queen now for
60 years.
Woah baby!
And to celebrate
the Brits threw her one smashing party.
It lasted the whole weekend.
Talk about a loved woman!
And now I can honestly say,
I love her too.
:)

Thank you for inviting us to your big party!

Here's Lauren and I with our own
Diamond Jubilee Flags
:)

Today after church
a group of us went down to the
Thames River
(pronounced Tems)
and parked it right in front 
of the Tate Modern
to see the river-boat parade.
And man oh man was it packed
with people
and
British pride.

Look, you can even see Amanda and Bronwyn
in front of this lady with the lovely hat.

To help us endure 

climbing through the masses of

enthusiastic,

fantastic,

love-the-Queen-tastic

people

the Centre provided us with food to make 

our own sack lunches.

That didn't last too long.

Not just the food..

(I mean, there were Snickers bars in there!)

but also the bags.

Jaden and I had a hard time coping at first.

...

then we realized we were in London

at the 

Queen's Diamond Jubilee,

and we couldn't help but smile

and take a picture

to remember this moment forever!

Other moments to remember...

We wanted to actually see

the Royal Family 

and the beautiful Thames

in all its glory.

But where to go?

There really were people

everywhere.

Ey yo Tarzan?

People were in the trees...

really anything that could hold you 

up into the London sky

was taken...

Except for 

our own secret weapon...

our huge muscles.

Oh yes,

we took turns holding each other up.

Probably one of my 

funniest

and 

favorite 

memories in London.

 

Right when we were ready

and heading back to the Centre for the night 

we had to stop because on the next boat

was

...

the Queen!

And just how did we know it was her?

I think it was all of the adorable kids screaming.

"God Save the Queen!"

at the top of their lungs
 that tipped us off.

:)

I absolutely love 

how much 

the people love 

her Majesty, the Queen.

Getting to back to the Tube was 

crazy.

The rain was pouring down.

Everywhere,

 dancing and singing.

I was so completely soaked, 

I didn't bother putting my hood on,

and I danced 

and I sang 

right along with them.

Happy Diamond Jubilee and Happy Sunday to Everyone!

At Wem-buh-lee

June 2

Do I love soccer?

Nay,

do I love football?

Yes.

Oh how I love football.

My first team ever

was back in Washington.

We were called

 the Breezers.

Do I have a Pochahantas hairtie in my side ponytail?

Once again,

yes.

I loved playing soccer.

I still love playing soccer.

But now I can say

I love football too.

I love football in England.

and most especially

 the

England

National

Team.

Thanks to my buddy Romm,

I got to dance like a fool

out of pure excitedness

because he let me have one of his extra tickets

here...

...Wembley Stadium.

Or as I like to say in my raps

to make it rhyme with things...

Wem-buh-lee.

(This was taken after I stopped

dancing to "like a G6"

in the middle of the street.)

Here I am with the kind man himself

in the

19th row

just before the game.

I felt like a little kid at Disneyland.

I have been dreaming of going to

Wembley

ever since I can remember.

And probably since even before I can remember.

Thanks again Romm,

you're the best!

It all started with

"God Save the Queen."

Attached to everyone's seat was a

piece of red or white paper.

We were asked to hold them up

when the national anthem started to play.

And when we all did

it made the England flag.

I have to admit I felt some British pride.

Just a tid bit :)

Here's the England vs. Belgium lineup before the game.

And it wasn't too long until

my main man

David Wilbeck scored.

And that's the way the score stayed for the rest of the game

:)

Cheers to England!

I was happy with that.

Oh yes indeedy I was.

But...

one thing I've learned about London

is to expect the unexpected.

Everything here is unreal.

Like seeing David Beckham

and my personal favorite moment of the night

...

seeing my main squeeze

Wayne Rooney

play the second half.

Here he is reppin the 2-0!

Listening to the crowds cheer

"Rooney, Rooney, Rooney!"

was so much fun!

Except I didn't just listen,

I cheered,

loudly.

And I was so excited,

I'm pretty sure even Rooney himself

may have been able to hear me!

At least I hope so.

:)

It was such an amazing night.

I can't wait until I get to come back

only 1 week from today

to see some more of my favorite

playahs...

...also known as...

J Beibs, Usher, Jessie J and Coldplay.

Thank you Wembley!

Peeta enjoys runs through Hyde Park, Double-decker buses and a nice cup of Fro-Yo

June 1

Seriously, 

where did May go?

June is a big month for me too.

I come home,

I start my internship,

and I get to work on wedding plans

...

no no not me, I didn't meet a British man :)

they're for my big brother and his adorable wife-to-be, Casey.

I started out the day with a 

run through Hyde Park

flyin' solo.

First song to kick it all off?

"What Makes You Beautiful."

Oh One Direction, 

MaCall and I think you are beautiful.

I have come to love Hyde Park.

This part is my favorite.

Plus, remember the picture of the 

awkward hugging bears statue,

the ones I named Polly and Rufus?

They live just right around the corner.

  I had to stop here for a minute

and just walk around.

I love the fountains, the people there, and the view of the pond.

All the while thinking of Wordsworth's words,

"Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty." 

I've had a lot of moments like that here

where I've just had to stop and look around, 

reminding myself of where I am.

Kinda like a remix of "Stop in the name of love,"

but more like

"Stop in the name of London, before it's June 14th."

Today I also went to Greenwich!
That was one of the things on my list to do.
We took a boat there and everything!
This is Amanda
and I think she is soooo sweet.
Plus she's going to the Summertime Ball with
MaCall, Lauren and I.
:)

And see these shoes...
and these feet...
they have walked
and walked,
and walked
everywhere.
(with much swagger nonetheless)

First stop?

Food.

That's been a fun experience here.
We try to never go to the same place twice.
And this place...
well I don't think we'll ever see
 one like this again.

The Big Red.
Yummiest Margarita pizza
and
in a double-decker bus. 
I highly enjoyed myself.

And then...
...cue movie trailer soundtrack...
we stepped on the Prime Meridian 

 That's where the line of longitude is defined as
zero.
We couldn't stop laughing while we took this
for some reason.
I guess that line is just a good joke teller.


And here's the Jader-bug and I!
She calls me Kesley.

We've decided we can give each other 
nick-names
since we're just that tight.
We're top bunk buddies and
she wakes me up in the morning
since I am without an alarm clock.
I just love her.

 When we got back to London,
there was only one thing on our mind...
homework,
working out,
frozen yogurt!

Never,
I mean never
has frozen yogurt ever been so full
of such deliciousness!
Strawberries, kiwis, mangoes and blueberries?
Yes, please.


And what better way to end the night
than with
Peter Pan.

I would have written 
"Peeta"
because that way it sounds more British...
but
 now that Hunger Games are
swooping the nation
that's not the first thought.
No, no.
Peeta equals British Peter.
Peeta equals Katniss Baker Boy.

 Today was so much fun.
I really have learned that 
nothing
is ever 
a waste of time.
We can choose how we remember our time.
And I plan on remembering it
all
with a smile.

 

Wouldn't it be nice to sing in the rain?

 May 31

Covent Garden,

I'd have to agree.

I think Britain is sweet.

:)

All of my journeys have helped me to see that

about you, Britain.

You literally taste sweet too.

I know,

I have eaten

almost every kind of ice cream 

and treat

you have to offer.

And even your non-sweet treats

make me so so happy.

Like this delicious  grilled lamb sandwich 

from the market.

Or even the kinds of special treats

around every corner in Covent Garden

that aren't meant for eating...

Like street performers.

This string quartet was my favorite.

They danced,

I smiled,

and together we shared a beautiful, 

happy moment.

Not so much with 

"Footloose Felicity"

though.

She kinda scared us.

There's Kristen and I...

...and there's Footloose Felicity in the back.

And the sweetest treat of all?

Being able to see and be in Covent Garden

with people that I love so much.

This is Madeleine.

It's been her dream to come here for so long now.

Every time she would start to sing,

"Wouldn't it be lovely,"

like Audrey Hepburn,

I would think back to the Beach Boys

(and Fifty First Dates)

and sing,

"Wouldn't it be nice."

All in all, I do say, it turned into being

 quite the swell mash-up.

Covent Garden was full of treats

and so was Hatchard's.

That place is the oldest book store in London,

dating way back to 1797.

Woah baby.

I wanted to get something there but  
I just didn't know what...

until I saw a certain pink book on the shelf.

Spoiler Alert: I bought such stated book :)

"The Little Princess"

is it's name.

I've never read the book,

but my Dad and I would watch the movie together

all the time when I was little.

He'd then kiss me on the forehead and say,

"You know,  

you're my little princess."

I am so grateful for my Dad.
I can't wait to read this book
on the flight home
right before I get to see my Dad again.

 It will be hard to leave London,
but there really is
no place like home.


Tonight we decided to go see
Singin' in the Rain.

That's one thing I really love about London.

It's so nifty to be sitting in the Centre one minute
with no plans for the night
and the next be in downtown London
in balcony seats for a show.
 
Singin' in the Rain...
one of the best performances 
I have ever seen.
It was just so fun!I cried at the end from 
laughing and
smiling so much.
And when I left,
it wasn't raining,
but boy oh boy did I dance and sing
the whole way home.
I was happy,
I am happy...
And I want everyone to be happy too.

Harry Potter Time- Making the real world more magical

May 30

ba bum, ba ba bum, ba da da

That is the best attempt I can make

at the Harry Potter theme song.

And I know it pretty well

not only because I love Harry Potter

but because it has been my roommate Cami's ring tone

 just about as long as I can remember.

Today I felt like a little kid at Disneyland.

I tell you, if someone were to ever say to me,

"Kelsey, you just won the Superbowl, what's next?"

I would reply,

"I'm going back to see the HP studio!"

Yep,

I stand by my statement.

It was that awesome!

It took us a little while to get there.

The magic all started right when we got off the train.

First double-decker bus experience in London,

and it's decked out in Harry Potter excited-ness...

I am more than okay with that.

Here's Jaden, me, Kayley and Amanda in front of it.

 

It's too bad the actual Knight Bus couldn't come 

and pick us up.

But no worries,

we saw that one later.

Here are our tickets.

Mine has Doby on it.
My favorite line of his would have to be,

"Doby never meant to kill.

Doby only meant to maim or seriously injure."

The Warner Bros Studio Tour,

The Making of Harry Potter,

was incredible.
It was created to
"make the magical world more real,
and the real world more magical."
And oh boy oberto,
it certainly did just that
and maybe even a little more.
:)

Let me just start by saying that these aren't replicas.

No no.

They are the real deal.

The real Great Hall,

the real Yule Ball attire,

the real Gryffindor Boy's Dormitory

and even,

the real Doby himself!

His parting words:

"Such a beautiful place to be with friends..."

I say with no shame
that I cried when he died.

I stood where they all stood.

Well, I danced where they stood.

I was too happy and excited to just stand there.

Other dance worthy moments...

Goin up to see Mr. Dumbledore.

Triwizard cup, anyone?
Oh! And the egg that tells Harry about
the creepy mermaids in the lake.

"Magic is Might"

Oh Puddle.

Always trying to knock us muggles down.

And here's the scary one who started it all...

Voldemort.

 "And his name is Voldemort, so you might as well use it.

He's going to try and kill you either way."

Power to you McGonagall.

Sorry McGonagall,

but the Knight Bus got to me first.

:)

I love the Knight Bus.
Of course, we had to toast to it with some yummy Butter Beer.
Here I am with Tiffany, Amanda, Jaden, 
Kayley, Whitney and Kayley.
I simply love them. 

Another epic picture of us all?

Ello Potter Cottage.

Note the invisible wands 

in action

in each of our hands.

And this here is where our catchy phrase,

"Rain or shine, it's Potter time!"

came to life.
We booked it through the pouring rain
to stand here,
 at the house on Privet Drive.

Of course, if we had just waited

30 more seconds,

the rain would have stopped.

And yet of course, we couldn't wait.

It was just too hard to resist!

Kinda like asking that little shrimpy guy in Nemo

to stop cleaning the tank.

"Not gon' happen."

But we did wait a minute,

and we got this...

one of my very favorite pictures of the day.

Twins at Hogwarts Bridge

with this lovely bird Amanda.

Teaching the little murderous chess piece

about prayer? 

Nooo,

just imitating him.
:)

And of course, 

never can forget

Diagon Alley.

and the most emotional part of it all,

(yes, I do believe we all cried)

the Hogwarts Castle model

used in all the spanning castle shots.

Just imagine coming out of Diagon Alley,

walking around the corner

and seeing

this.

Soundtrack music included.

And to finish it all off,

this was the quote that sent us back

into the real world.

(Although now,

I'm pretty positive Hogwarts does exist,

somewhere.)

.....
"The stories we love best

do live in us forever,

so whether you come back by

page or by the big screen,

Hogwarts will always be there 

to welcome you home."

-J.K. Rowling