Today we saw the royal family!!! We got up early and left our flat by 8:45. There was a big group of us. It was me, Emily, Kelsey, Anna, Mary, Emily, Leah, Haley, Anna Marie, Lauren, Erika, Emily, Victoria, and Lindsay. We all met at the Great Portland Street Station and road the Tube to Buckingham Palace. The Great Portland Street Station wasn't very busy at all. Even though it was early Saturday morning, we expected it to be busier. Well...as we got closer to Buckingham Palace, each stop got busier and busier.
We left the tube station and walked toward Buckingham Palace. We ended up getting there around 9:15 or 9:30 even though we were aiming for 9:00. All of the front row spots at the gates lining the Mall were filled but we were able to get good spots right behind. As we were waiting for 11:00 to roll around, Emily, Haley, Lauren, and I decided we were hungry so we were going to cross the street to get something to eat from the food cart. Well, as soon as we crossed, they closed the gates and wouldn't let anyone back over. It was 10:30 so we were hoping we could get back in time. We didn't. They wouldn't open the gates back up until after the Queen had gone down the Mall the first time so we decided to get goods spots on that side of the street. I was behind a little family of a mom, dad, and daughter. They were British and they were watching BBC live on their phone so we could tell exactly when they Queen would start coming down. They were so nice. The mom let me take her place and stand next to the gate when the Queen started coming.
Then all the excitement began. First there were sooooo many soldiers and bands and horses. Then there was the carriage with Harry, Camilla, and Kate. Following was William, Anne, and Charles on horses and the Queen and Prince Philip in a carriage. As soon as it was over, they opened the gates back up and we were able to get to the other side where everyone else was. We knew it would be about 2 hours until the Royal family would make their way back to the Palace so we decided to finally go get something to eat. Emily, Haley, and I ran to get a snack and hurried back. Lauren refused to go because she was afraid we would get stuck again. We made it back with plenty of time to spare. As we were standing there, Raul and Jose walked up. We talked to them for a few minutes and then all of a sudden, the excitement started again! First we saw the carriage with Harry, Camilla, and Kate. As it was passing, Emily screamed out Harry's name and he waved at her. Needless to say, Emily and Leah were now crying harder than ever. Then the Queen's carriage went by again but this time we got a full view of her because she was sitting on this side of the street.
We all got ready to run to Buckingham Palace to see the Royal family come out to the balcony to wave. We had a small delay because once again, they would't open the gates but we finally made it. We all had to split up into little groups because we literally ran toward the palace. Mary, Emily, and I weaved in and out around people to get as close to the front as we could. We got pretty close and we could see the Royal family really well. After all of that was over, we met back up with the entire group and walked to a pub for lunch. It was my first pub experience so of course I got fish and chips. It was delicious. Then we went to Spitalfields market for the special jewelry market but we were all pretty disappointed with it so we headed home. We went crazy uploading and sharing pictures when we got back. It was all we could talk about. Kelsey had the best pictures of all and we kept joking that they were People Magazine worthy.
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