Day 38: Happy Day

Friday, June 1

I woke up today thinking, "Today, I am going to have a fantastic day!"  And so I did.  :)


It started with a tour of Kensington Palace.  I have probably mentioned that I live just a short walk away from this Palace in Hyde Park but I've had never toured it before today (probably because it's not free).  Amanda and I bought tickets to go in and loved every minute we spent there.  


On a seemingly random but related note, I absolutely love the movie The Young Victoria (Grandma- This is the one I have told you to watch that I keep borrowing.  You will love it!).  It's the story of how Queen Victoria and Prince Albert fell in love.  Seeing this movie sparking an interest in me to learn more about Victoria and her life.  So you can imagine my excitement when I saw the room she was born in, her wedding dress, as well as an exhibit about her life!  I cried (NOT an exaggeration) when I read what she wrote about her love for Albert and what she wrote when he died.  They were an amazing couple that I would like to be like one day.  At the gift shop I bought a huge biography about Victoria so that I can study her life and learn about her even more.  If you haven't seen the movie GO WATCH IT! :)

Victoria's wedding dress- she was only five feet tall!

What Victoria wrote when Albert died... this made me cry.

We also saw an exhibit of five of Princess Diana's gowns.  They were so beautiful but what struck me was that she wasn't a small woman.  I expect all beautiful and classy women to be very skinny but her dresses showed that she had a very nice figure.  It's a confidence booster to those of us who are normal, don't you think?  The gown really were stunning... the pictures can't do it justice.  

The tour also included access to the old Kings and Queens apartments as well as an exhibit on Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.  Victoria was the first monarch to celebrate 60 years on the throne.  The current Queen's Diamond jubilee starts tomorrow and she will be the second monarch to reach this milestone!  

(Writing postcards to Victoria)

Seeing this public side was wonderful but I wish we could peek into the private side of the palace where Diana lived and where William and Kate will be living soon... oh well. :)

(Toilet signs)

(Will and Kate pillows)

(Me with the future residents!)

A large group decided to go to Greenwhich (pronounced gren-itch) in the afternoon but after researching it, I had no desire to go out there.  At first I wasn't quite sure what to do.  I decided to continue to pursue my interests through the day and spontaneously went to Wimbledon!  

Wimbledon is a borough on the outskirts of London where one of the largest tennis tournaments is held each year.  It is the only large tournament held on grass.  I took a tour through all of the main courts, press rooms, and toured the museum there.  It was absolutely wonderful!  I don't even watch professional tennis that often and yet it was still very exciting.  

I saw court 18 where the American, John Isner, played the longest match in the history of tennis in 2010.  Because there are no tie-breakers at Wimbledon, the match lasted over three days for a total of 11 hours and 5 minutes!  As you can see in this picture, the grass is very short.  During the tournament, it is kept to 5 mm.  Each September, it is removed and new glass is replanted.  As the tour guide continually said, "We take our grass very seriously."

This is the press room where each player comes after each match.  They are generally interviewed for 10 minutes except for Roger Federer who does his interviews in four different languages which takes about 20 minutes.  On each wall, the clocks are Rolex clocks who is the largest supporter of the tournament.

We concluded our tour at Centre Court!  It's the largest and most well taken care of court here where the finals are played.  No one plays on this court except for the two weeks out of the year.  There is a security guard there 24/7 and they bring out dogs at night- this is specifically to keep urban foxes (which are plentiful) off of the grass.  That's what a big deal it is!  You can see the royal box in the picture... this is where invited guests sit.  Those invited guests have their flight, accommodations, and food paid for and they get these seats worth thousands of dollars all for free!  Last year, the Serbian president sat here along with Will and Kate.  This year, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf have been invited.  I call that a sweet deal!

The retractable roof over Centre Court.

I sat in a seat at Centre Court... no big deal!

After the tour concluded, I went to the museum they had there.  I didn't spend much time in the museum but enjoyed seeing the signed clothing of famous players.  These are the outfits of Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.  Cool right?

These are the woman's singles (plate) and men's singles trophies (cup).

I made a couple of great purchases while I was there including this shirt and 2012 Wimbledon tennis balls.  I don't think I'll ever play with them because they are so precious to me. :)

After returning from a wonderful tour, Whitney and I went to Nandos again for dinner.  I think they need one in the United States because it is so delicious and the customer service is lovely!  This time I got a chicken burger (basically a delicious sandwich). 

To end the night, a few of us did the quick walk to Hyde Park to watch the newest musical in London: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe!  I wasn't sure what to expect with this.  I wondered how the music would be, how they would do the animals, how the acting would be, etc. I can say that it was one of the most enjoyable performances I have been to!  We bought student tickets for 25 pounds and were given seats that were worth 60 pounds- a great deal.  The theatre has been build temporarily in Hyde Park in a large tent.  The stage is circular and moves around.  There are scenes projected onto the tent above the stage, it snows, and the animals are similar to Lion King animals but less obvious.  Asland was especially impressive as it was three actors inside a large animal.  The witch was scary and all of the actors were so talented.  Each detail was taken was so well taken care of and I continually thought of the Gospel parallels in the performance.  Until June 4, kids get into the show free and so it was fun to watch it with them as a majority of the audience.  They all squealed at the scary parts and laughed at the funny parts.  It was a wonderful way to finish the night and then walk home through the park.

(The tent in the park)

(The stage inside the tent)

(Myself, Kayley, Lauren Fine, and Whitney)

One sad moment of the night was when we saw Jimmer and Whitney's wedding pictures on Facebook.  That's it... he's no longer single.  We took a moment of silence to mourn his bachelorhood.  I thought he'd change his mind and marry me someday but I guess that's a fantasy I'll just have to give up on!  We couldn't stay sad for long because we know we'll all find men better than Jimmer one day (Katherine already has... woot)!

Despite Jimmer... I was so glad that I chose to have a great day. :)