london, london, london

this is the last of u.k. for me. 

once something has happened in my life it's sometimes hard to imagine that it ever did. 

the grand finale to this grandest of trips was london. 

it really was the icing, cherry, hot fudge, and chocolate syrup to the most delectable of desserts. 

just when i didn't think i could be any more enamored by a trip london had to be our exit city. 

when we first arrived i was in post country side coming into massive city shock. 

overwhelmed may be a good word. 

after we returned the car and i got situated into city mo again i was in awe. 

sometimes i watch t.v. or movies and i see these huge cities and all their landmarks and i think wow- it can't possibly be that lovely in real life. 

london is. 

i love me some will and kate (oh and baby george too.... oh baby george!).

one of the highlights of my birthday in 2011 was watching their wedding.

(they were indeed married on my birthday.... thank you royals.) 

my priorities for london were all the sites i saw on their car ride from westminister abbey to buckingham palace. 

there could be no possible way that whole car ride could be as epic as it was on t.v. 

it is.

oh london. 

thank you. 

where we stayed- nottingham hill. 

that morning we went for a run in hyde park. 

went right by kensington palace but i didn't get to see baby george...

we then took to the streets. 

our first stop

big ben

from the bridge by big ben i had this view of the eye

then there was this

and big ben became my favorite clock 

it really is as grand as it looks in every picture/movie ever. 

intricacy like i couldn't believe done in the most beautiful way.

after we checked out big ben and the houses of parliament

we (maggie, hannah, and i) went to westminister abbey.

my mom wanted to tour it and the tower of london but i knew that would take the majority of the day.

if i'm ever in a city for one day i skip the tours and i try to see at least the outside of as much as possible.

so maggie, hannah, and i went out on our own. 

westminister abbey-

every single inch was beautiful.

if i ever get the chance to go back i'll go see the inside. 

i kept having flashbacks of kate and will's wedding...

pictures don't really do it justice

after westminister abbey we went to buckingham palace.

i got us lost for awhile- we did get to see some awesome stuff while lost though. 

after a round about walk we finally arrived.

just in time for the changing of the guard.

there were so many people around i thought they were waiting for the royals.

we didn't stay for the whole changing of the guard but it was really something. 

bands, cavalry, soldiers- all in their finest attire, march from blocks away.

then they all perform for awhile- 

i was not expecting all i saw. 

i've seen the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier- so that's what i had in mind. 

it was completely the opposite- completely. 

one of the many entourages that entered the castle gates.

we walked all around before we figured out how to get to this spot. 

they had the whole area blocked off in crazy fashion. 

it really seemed impossible that i could be seeing the buckingham palace

crappy picture what the tree lined street to buckingham palace

that's the palace at the end

admiralty arch this is at the end of that long tree lined street opposite the palace

then there was trafalgar square

i've never seen a finer open square

after a walkabout and some tourist shopping we headed to the tower of london

and took some time looking at and walking over the tower of london bridge

this was one of the only things that was different than i imagined it. 

not quite as epic as i had in my mind- but still incredible. 

it's always incredible to see things first hand.

then this happened.... 

and perhaps this.... 

then naturally this had to happen....

i had to see kings cross station- and platform 9 3/4... 

my little sisters were extra kind in humoring my crazy harry potter desire. 

hannah took pics for us-

we waited in a line for an unbelievable amount of time

was it worth it? 

yes. 

after our harry potter preview

we stopped by this lovely wellington arch

then since wimbledon was in town we rode the train on up to the grounds

we were going to meet our parents there

but we had no way to communicate with them

so we took some pics of the outside

and went on our merry way. 

(come to find out kate and will were in attendance this very day..... blast my luck! so close, yet so far away)

my parents did go in- 

they didn't see the royals

but they said it was incredible. 

my dad is a die hard tennis fan so this was a check off the old bucket list for him. 

now i am working on convincing them to come to the u.s. open..... please, please, please!?!

i had to take this pic. 

their subways are way, way, way nicer than nyc- they had couch like seats

but they are slower in my opinion- so i guess you win some you lose some. 

then there was this combination of signs

i got a bit sentimental over them. 

these were by far the two signs i saw the most of while driving in the u.k. 

if i don't know how to do a roundabout now (backwards) then i'll never know.

i bet i went through about 500 on our trip- but seriously

sometimes they had like 4 roundabouts in a row

people that live in the u.k. are a lot more generous and kind when it comes to driving. 

they aren't so aggressive and they mind the rules. 

when i wasn't driving on one lane roads it really was quite a pleasure to interact with other drivers. 

instead of honking at you they flash their brights- which is kind of nice. 

they also only pass on the right hand side- there was rarely an occasion when they passed on the wrong side.

they were rather forgiving with all my initial bad driving too-

i much prefer driving on their side of the road. 

that evening we ate at maggie jones 

our last supper

at a place that shared our favorite gals name

it was the finest meal we had all trip. 

a lovely feast to end the loveliest of trips.

candle lit and all

i had the vegetable pot pie- mercy...

my dad had the lamb- mercy, mercy me.... 

every morsel of our food was delicious. 

london really was everything i had hoped for and more. 

it did not disappoint. 

i am glad we got to see everything we did. 

i hope to go back some day but if i don't get the chance i feel like i saw the things i was dying to see. 

london was a fine place to end this dream trip. 

the next day we woke up early to catch our flight. 

when we got to canada

we went through customs about 3 times- 

and then found our our flight was cancelled do to potential hurricane weather.

it was crazy to see how people reacted in such situations. 

the airlines treated us very well. 

gave us a nice place to stay (that had a water slide.... wish i had known that that night instead of the next day)

vouchers for food that night.

continental breakfast the next day.

shuttle to and from our hotel-

i mean accommodations like that don't make you too depressed about cancelled flights. 

i was depressed because i missed my teeny lady- but i would rather get to her safely one day later than not at all. 

we had already experienced so much on our trip we were bound to have a flight cancelled. 

it was the completer to our complete trip. 

what can i say about 10 days- 

thus far the most jammed packed, adventure filled, diverse, stressful, crazy, exciting 10 days of my 27 years. 

what do you say about a week and a half you never want to forget, but already feel like it couldn't be real.

words don't work for 10 days like that.  

it was a dream.
dad, mom, maggie, and hannah- thanks for having me along.
i'll never forget it.
a dream i'll ever be grateful i had the chance to be apart of.