It is now well into my "summer" here in London and I am loving all the time I have to enjoy.
After going over both my essays one last time, I finally turned them in on May 3rd--a day early. It was a great relief to finally be done with them! On the 10th, I took my fictional writing exam, which was quite easy. So my Westminster school year is officially over!
Now that I have all this lovely time to spend however I wish, I've been enjoying the company of friends and flatmates. I have been to the cinema and long walks around my area here--still discovering things right outside my own front door.
I was here for the Royal Wedding. Now, I'm not completely enthralled with the Royal family, but it was definitely a wonderful experience to be here for such a historical event! I went to Green Park (by Buckingham Palace) with Callum to watch the ceremony, which was being projected on huge screens there live. Afterwards, I thought I would try to wiggle closer to the palace and catch the processional at the end, but by then the streets were blocked off to prevent over-crowding so I wasn't able to get very close and didn't see anyone in person. But I could still hear everything and watch the planes fly by overhead and be a part of the crowd. It was a great experience!
The next week, Emily Lambrix came to visit me from Ireland!! It was lovely to see her again and catch up. I also got to play tour guide, which was awesome. I love that I know London enough now that I can do that. We crammed lots of places and things into her 5 day stay, including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St. Paul's, the Globe, Tower of London, to name a few. We also saw Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre, which was amazing. And we attended an evening church service at Westminster Abbey. (It was the only way we could get in without paying a tour fee. You weren't allowed to take pictures because it was a service, but it was enough to just sit and listen to the choir sing as we looked around.) We also met up with Niki Green, Lydia Anderson, Allison Eaton, and Carrie Frame from the London Spring Term for lunch. I introduced Callum to them and we had a very nice meal at the pub across the street from my flat. Lots of hugging and laughing occurred, and it was a lot of fun. :)
Last Friday was my flatmate Jess's birthday. So Callum, Reena, and I joined Jess's boyfriend Owen, mutual friends from halls, and her friends from her hometown going out to her favorite cocktail bar and a club. It was actually really fun. I had been to cocktail bars before, but not a club yet--they aren't really my thing. But being with such a great group of people made it really fun. And Jess seemed to have a great 21st birthday, which was the most important part of course!
I still have a decent amount of time left in London, which I really like. I have lots of things planned. Niki Green will be staying with me in a week. Callum and I are going to Cambridge for a day. It is also Callum's birthday June 1st so we're going back to Norwich to celebrate. I'm currently trying to work out a day trip to Canterbury with my friend Beauty, Niki, and Callum. And there are still a few places I'd like to see, like the London Zoo, now that it is warmer! :)
I've posted a hodgepodge of pictures recently--read the captions, they explain when and where. :)
