Rowan and Kristina's Excellent Royal Wedding Adventure

Several months ago, just after the royal family announced the wedding date of Prince William to Kate Middleton, I was over at my friend Lori's house indulging in a few glasses of wine.  She then told me that she had just booked a hotel for her and her daughter in London for the Royal Wedding...my first reaction was "why in the world would you do that"?  I mean, the crowds, the chaos, the CROWDS!  She then suggested that Rowan and I come with them.  After a quick mental list of pros and cons, I decided that it was an opportunity we couldn't miss to make some wonderful memories.  I accepted, and that is how it started!

Kate and Will were not the only ones making important preparations, WE had to decide what to wear, and what the girls would wear, and most importantly we had to think "strategy".

After a longer than anticipated train ride we arrived in London on Thursday evening and took a taxi to our hotel.  We had our first taste of the royal wedding chaos driving by all the people camped out in tents on the sidewalk!  Some had been there for days just to catch a glimpse of the couple during the processional. It sort of reminded me of the news footage from Justin Bieber events where the die hard fans camp out just to catch a glimpse of the cutie.  But Bieber-Fever had nothing on Will and Kate!

Friday morning, the day of the wedding, we set out with our master plan in place.  To simply head over to the processional route and keeping walking until we found somewhere to stand.  We had decided we would do no camping out, and no dragging the girls out to stand around for 8 hours in a crowd of people where the only means of entertainment would be to see who looses their marbles first. 

We never got to the processional route - the police had decided to block off all roads leading to the processional route because of the huge numbers of people already in there, something that no one was expecting.  After several tries to get up to the route it was obvious we were not going to get to see the processional. What now?  

So, perhaps despite better judgement (!), we decided to do the UNTHINKABLE!  We headed to Trafalgar Square.  It was that, or going back to the hotel and watching it in HD, but we had come to London to experience the wedding!  It is hard to explain how we felt walking there, more like floating in amongst the huge crowd of people.  At one point, I imagined it was like a pilgrimage, everyone carrying on in order to get to this a monumental destination. 




Pilgrimage to Trafalgar Square

 When we arrived, Lori and I looked at each other and said "Oh my God", tightened our grip on the girls and plunged into the sea of people.  We slowly inched our way forward.  Then... I saw her - Kate Middleton!  There she was in all her glory! On the big screen 1 km right in front of me! What a moment :) 

I put Rowan up on my shoulders, and bless her, she waved her "Will and Kate" flag and wooted and shouted with the crowds!  She then described to me Kate's dress and  what was happening in the ceremony. Although we couldn't see much ourselves, it was wonderful to feel the excitement and hear the church bells at Westminster Abbey!  At least for awhile, until I realized Rowan was not as light as she once was and then I just couldn't shake the image of my vertebrae seizing one by one down my spine.  Adding insult to injury, I was starting to hate that f*&!# in' flag as it continually swat me in the face.

Remember the planning of what to wear?  It may start out like "what to wear in case I end up on television", but next time I shall think about what is most practical with a 7 year old sitting on my shoulders, death grip around my throat, mussing my hair, and with each smack of a flag removing bits of my makeup. 

In summary, my blistered worn feet and exhausted daughter were worth every second of this experience!  We will both remember this event forever, and remember that we survived Trafalgar Square on the day of the Royal Wedding!

View of crowds at Buckingham palace from the London Eye

Up 'Yer Kilt!

We have reached our final stop in our 10 day Scotland adventure - the lovely Edinburgh! Apart from being the most beautiful city I've ever been to, Edinburgh oozes with culture and history. We arrived last night and decided to grab a quick bite at a local pub. It was Friday night and let's just say people were bringing in the weekend with a vengence! Rowan and Walker couldn't hear a word I said if I was not shouting across the table, and they watched with facination as the volume got louder and louder and more "festive"!

The next morning over breakfast, I heard a familiar sound...a CANADIAN! We met a young man from Fredericton, New Brunswick who was very friendly and gave us his take on what to see in Edinburgh. The castle was a must, however, he claimed he almost went crazy-mad at being surrounded by so many tourists at the castle. So, we got started right away!

One of the most unique things about Edinburgh Castle is its location. It is perched up on a massive stony mound overlooking the "Royal Mile" of downtown. When you are standing street level it looks rather imposing, as did the dozens of tourist coaches driving up into the car park.

Despite the crowds (which shouldn't put anyone off as this is a must-see), the castle and its history are amazing. The highlight for me were the crown jewels - the crown, the sword and the sceptre all from the 14th century and are priced at "priceless". They were hidden in 1707 (I believe) and rediscovered in 1818.

We then walked down the Royal Mile (the mile-long street that goes from Edinburgh castle to Palace of Holyroodhouse) taking in bagpipers, human knight statues, and lots and lots of tourist shops! When we ask our children what their favorite part of the day was, they both say "The man who swallowed the sword and then ball of fire!" Scottish buskers really take it to a whole different level. This guy not only did those tricks, he also had this very tall and burly man stand on him on a bed of nails which were pointing down into the performer. It was all fun until he abruptly ordered the man to get off and then had to pry (yes, I said pry) the bed of nails off and out of himself. The most puzzling was that there wasn't any blood, so the nails did not go in deep enough. But for a moment I thought to myself "Oh dear, this is going to be awkward explaining this to the children". But it was all good and his spirits lifted once people started tossing money in his hat!

Next stop was Mary King's Close, the hub of Edinburgh back in the 1600's but was buried underneath the new city buildings. Now, it is an underground city which still has streets, houses, and buildings. A little spooky but well worth it!

I think my favourite site in Edinburgh was the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of Queen Elizabeth whilst in Scotland. Apart from having free parking and way less tourists pushing about I think it was my favorite because of the link to Mary Queen of Scots, for it was here that she gave birth King James the 1st and also where her husband murdered her italian assistant in a jealous rage by stabbing him some ridiculous number of times. Alot of attractions now have a seperate audio tour for children, this one included. I wondered what the children's description was of that gruesome event and hoped they didn't notice the, what I hope was a staged, bloodstained oak floor...

Rowan and Walker in a guard hut at Holyroodhouse.

Scotland is definitely one of my favorite places I've been to thus far. I adored the rustic and barren beauty of the islands, the culture and history, the scotch, and of course being able to share such a wonderful trip with my husband and children! Sadly for me this is the end of my Scotland blog entries until I manage to go again...