London's like a wack to the head with a shovel, only it tastes better!

Well, I can honestly say that I've had one of the greatest days I've had so far in London, and it's only week one. The great thing about London is, even though it's fairly big, it's small. I know that doesn't make sense, but let me explain. London is connected by a huge series of trains and cabs and buses and a number of other things that make getting from Point A to Point B quite easy even if they do happen to be across town. This was the case today.
Today happens to be Saturday, June 14th. It is the Queen's "Birthday" or her coronation day anyway, which is celebrated as her birthday. I believe her real birthday is in March and I don't think London weather in March is anything to write home about so I think it's wonderful to allow London a public celebration that lets them actually see their reigning monarch. It's both kitschy and dignified, a great combination of foreign tourists with cameras that would make even the most seasoned paparazzi weep and foreign dignitaries, nobles, members of parliament, and several hundred soldiers, royal guardsmen, and artillery troops. It's a perfect way to encapsulate the spirit of London in an afternoon. After all, London has history thousands of years old, the remains of an old Roman temple have been found right downtown, but there's also the giant gherkin (now owned by an international bank) and the new buildings going up for the Olympics to be held in London in the future.
The ceremony was about three hours long, with four different bands entering the parade grounds around 10:00am coming from Buckingham palace. Then, several companies of guards arrived in their red uniforms, bearskin hats, and high powered assault rifles (again the traditional and the modern). Then the artillery and royal guardsmen moved into place. After that, two carriages arrived. I don't know who was in the first one but I have a picture of Prince William and Camilla in the second one:


Finally, the queen arrived. I was quite lucky. I was about ten feet away from the artillery, a hundred yards away from the parade ground, and on the front row behind the barricade, so I got to see everything. If anyone ever decides they want to do this, arrive around 9 in the morning and stay for the whole thing. You may not be able to see right away, but eventually you'll get pictures like this:
So, after that was done and the Queen rode back to Buckingham Palace, my friends and I made a mad dash for the yard in front of Buckingham where the Queen was supposed to come out on the balcony and wave at the crowd while the Royal Air Force did a fly over. It looked something like this:
Why yes, those are the princes William and Harry at her side...
see.

So, after this was done, my friends and I went back to King's Road where, for the next two weeks, the Chelsea street fair is going on. It seems to have little events here and there because this afternoon it was a great market with a ton of restaurants and individual vendors selling food. I had a mint and lamb pie and then ice cream for desert. But, I think the highlight was being entertained by a cross-dressing nun...Let me explain. My friends and I are sitting near the fence that separates the small park from a small circular drive. Suddenly, up the circular drives comes a nun with a piano. No, seriously, the nun was driving a baby grand piano up the drive. Apparently the nun, dressed in a full habit, had made a fake wooden grand piano, fixed it to a platform that was then placed upon a motorized scooter (the kind you sit down in) and then an electric keyboard was placed in the body of the baby grand piano body. So, the electric keyboard would play the occasional, random sound effects, snippets from songs or the occasional choral rendition of "Hallelujah". However, as the nun rolled closer, we realized that she was a he, and a he with an amazing five o'clock shadow none the less. When he rolled over to us he proceeded to hop off the scooter and dance around for a while, hiking his habit up to his knees and I must say, he had nice legs for a nun...and a man for that matter.
After dinner and a show, we went to the London Zoo. I recommend it because it's quite beautiful, is in, or close to, Regent's Park (which is also beautiful) and because it's a great way to spend the afternoon. They also have a student discount where students get in at the child's price. Remember that one, folks. We saw some very cute baby animals, including a baby warthog and a baby monkey. And, as always, I took pictures. I'll go on and close this blog with a few cute, funny, animal pictures. If you don't say "awww" at least once then I'll give you your money back...And if you're still contemplating that last sentence then I may have to have a giggle at your expense. Safe travels.
~P.