Trooping of the Color, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and a Washing Machine

yesterday was the most interesting day i think i've had yet. it all began in the morning when a third of our group went to the Pall Mall to see the queen and regiments of her army in the "Trooping of the Color." all the men and women were dressed in their best- red and gold and black. it was really cool to see them all parade past and hear 5 different marching tunes played by each regiment's own band. most of the songs were actually American marching tunes. then the calvary rode past. whole rows of black horses, lead by two gigantic draft horses with huge bass drums strapped to their backs. the fuzzy feathers on their legs were so cute! then the real fun began. i was focused on taking pictures of the calvary when all of a sudden a carriage passed holding 4 members of the royal family.....including Prince William. you better believe we all started screaming like little girls. it was so exciting....and so sudden! i barely had time to snap an unfocused picture of the handsom prince! the queen herself raised less of a hullabaloo when she passed. and then it was all over...in less than 30 secs they were all gone!

after the excitement of the morning a few of us went shopping but i didn't last long. Oxford St is a madhouse- you can't even walk because there are 10000 people all around. and everyone's yelling and smelly. so i went back to the flats and tried to do laundry, tried being the operative word there. i discovered one washing machine actually half dries the clothes in it while the one next to it leaves them sitting in a puddle of water 6 inches deep. it was a disaster...especially because i forgot to turn the dryer on before i took a 2 hour nap. all in all, it took 6 hours to do laundry!

later, after i woke up, we went to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith down in Leicester Square at the Odeon theatre. that was an experience. we took the Tube there and then asked at 2 different theatres where the movie was playing. they directed us "across the square." we finally found the place and paid 11.50£ for tickets. most expensive movie of my life! but it was well worth it. the movie is awesome. go see it! but i wouldn't suggest seeing it here unless you know you can get home. it took us almost an hour to get home from the square. all the Tubes were closed for the night, none of the night buses went to our flat, and we couldn't find a cab that wasn't occupied. we walked for at least 30 mins but we didn't know where we were headed...we were lucky we picked the right direction....before finding a hotel in which to ask for directions. shortly afterwards we found a bus to flag down and ask for further directions and then finally a cab drove by with its light on. we practically sprinted towards it and threw ourselves in. finally, we made it home...tired, frightened, and a little smarter about how to get around London. so be careful out there....London's a big town and a bit unfriendly but try to enjoy the next week, y'all!