The Great Kate Wait

Despite my love of Kate Middleton, I wasn't planning on going to the hospital for the new royal baby's birth.

"Wasn't planning on" are the key words here.

Believe it or not, two of my study abroad friends are just as obsessed with all things royal as I am. We had spent a little time checking out the scene outside the Lindo Wing in the weeks leading up to Princess Charlotte's birth--staying for a couple hours here and there.

We met super-fan Terry (who had been camped outside the hospital every night for about three weeks) and even celebrated his 80th birthday with him. Will and Kate sent him a lovely cake and some pastries for breakfast. They were wrapped in pink ribbon--perhaps the first hint at a princess..?

On May 2, I rolled over and checked my phone (while half-asleep) at about 7:00 AM. There was a notification from Kensington Palace's Twitter, "HRH The Duchess of Cambridge was admitted at 06.00hrs. to St Mary's hospital, Paddington, London." 

I don't think I've ever felt that awake at 7AM before. I told myself to calm down, it would probably be another twelve hours before anything exciting happened. So I rolled over and went back to sleep.

At 10, I woke up to a frantic call from one of my friends, "She already had the baby! Didn't you check your notifications?? It's a girl and she was born at 8:30. Why are you still in bed!? We need to go!"

Hour 1:

Un-showered and still coffee-less I arrived at the hospital and found my friends (who were also un-showered and coffee-less). There was a decent crowd--reporters had been waiting there for more than two weeks, but not many members of the public had arrived yet. We were somehow let onto the side of the barricade meant only for the media (I'll never understand how we pull this stuff off), so even as the crowd grew, we were free to walk around and breathe. 

Hour 2:

Pizza Express (a local chain) delivered some "baby" pizzas. They weren't giving them out to everyone, but for some reason the delivery boy came over and asked if we wanted some...for free. 

Luckily that was lunch taken care of, since none of us had thought to bring food (and at that point the crowd had grown so large there was no way out). 

Hour 3: 

I was interviewed by a German news station (still trying to find it online). They asked me to scroll through Twitter (where all the updates on Kate and the baby were being posted) and then asked a few questions about why I was in London and why I was happy about a new princess. 

Hour 4: 

Interviewed by a different German channel (still trying to find that one too). 

Kate's hairdresser also arrived, fueling speculation that they would head home later the same day.

Hour 5: 

Back on the crowded, public side of the barricade was a photographer's ladder that had been unoccupied all day. Every other photographer was perched uncomfortably on top of theirs. We took the opportunity to get a better view, knowing we would probably be kicked off. 

Three friends and I somehow found a way to share it--talk about a bonding experience. 

And guess what? The photographer never came back.

Hour 6: 

Prince William left the hospital to pick up Prince George. They returned in less time than anyone was expecting. When they got out of the car, we witnessed the wave seen round the world.

(Obviously not my picture)

Hour 7:

It was announced the whole family would be leaving the hospital later in the evening, which caused a flurry of activity in the crowd--reporters addressing audiences at home live, photographers adjusting their cameras and more members of the public arriving. 

After all the time that had passed since our arrival, we were relieved to say the least. 

Hour 8:

Kate, Will and Charlotte emerged onto the steps of the Lindo Wing--half an hour earlier than expected. At that point, the Princess was less than ten hours old.

Mum & Dad's Adventures in London

Wow, what a busy couple of weeks! Scary that May is already upon is.

In April, I took a trip to Glasgow (more on that later), saw Prince Harry at the London Marathon, wrote a few papers and planned a trip to Paris.

However, the highlight of the month was having my parents come visit. It was so much fun to see them and show them around the city that's so dear to me.

We managed to fit a lot into a week...


The first full day was spent at Kew Gardens, just outside the city. It's one of my favorite spots and was recently placed at number 2 on a list of the world's top 10 gardens (second only to Versailles).

 

It's also home to Kew Palace, a relatively-modest former royal retreat (bottom right). 

Another highlight was the Sky Garden--yet another one of my favorite escapes. It makes up the 35-38th floors of the Walkie Talkie Building, making it the highest public garden in London. It's also home to a cafe, bar and restaurant. However, it's not a popular tourist attraction, simply because not many people know about it. 

It offers free (have to book tickets online at least 3 days in advance) 360 degree views of the city. You look down on the Thames, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Parliament, and the two most common viewpoints--St. Paul's and the London Eye. While most opt for the half hour turn round the Eye or climbing up the spiral staircase in St. Paul's, the Sky Garden offers better views. 

Oh, and it's about $30 cheaper. 

As a family of museum/history geeks, we hit both the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert. Both incredible places where you could easily spend an entire week!

British Museum

V&A

As the week progressed, the weather got warmer and warmer, which meant more time outside!

We walked from the neighborhood where I live past Buckingham Palace,

through St. James's Park, 

to Horse Guards Parade.

On the warmest day of the week (it was 80, yes 80, degrees), we hit the Tower of London--an attraction I hadn't been to yet.  

We ended the day with a late lunch in the shadow of Tower Bridge, where several yummy food trucks live. 

While everything was absolutely amazing, we all had the same favorite at the end of the week--Hampton Court Palace. Just over an hour outside the city is this magnificent palace, famous for being one of Henry VIII's homes. 

 

The most fascinating part was the vast kitchen. Mum even got a chance to add 16th century cooking to her resume.

What truly took my breath away was the gardens. Even now, I'm struggling to think of a way to describe them. 

The pictures will have to speak for themselves, though they don't even begin to capture the grandeur and life of the grounds. 

We managed to fit in the normal (but absolutely necessary) tourist stuff too.

While I don't think a week has ever gone as quickly as this one did, we certainly capitalized on every moment. It was, without question, my favorite week I've spent in London.

Switzerland Part 4

Finally! The last stop on the Switzerland trip (a month late): Bern.

Fortunately we saved the best for last, as Bern was easily my favorite Swiss city. It's full of narrow cobblestone streets, chiming clocks, grey stone facades and a turquoise river that snakes its way around the edge.

 

Our timing was perfect, as we arrived on the first day of Carnival. Who knew the Swiss could throw an amazing party? 

Everyone was out and about in the confetti-lined streets in the most elaborate costumes I've ever seen. And I mean everyone.

It seemed like the older the person, the better the costume. We actually ended up going back to our hostel and throwing together cat costumes because anyone who didn't make some attempt looked silly.

There were about twenty bandstands set up throughout the city center. Incredible marching bands played at each one. After four or five songs, they'd pack up and move down the road to the next one.

Then there was the food. Oh, the food. It had already been a week of fondue, crepes and pastry, but the street food at Carnival put it all to shame. My favorites were the churros (the best I've had since Spain) and the chocolate covered fruit MADE TO ORDER. Is my sweet tooth showing?

The next day was exciting in a very different way. I visited the Bern Historical/Einstein Museum. The exterior was amazing...

...but didn't even begin to compare to what I found inside.

Rooms and rooms and rooms, four floors worth, of amazing artifacts I didn't even know I cared about. Even as a museum geek, I didn't think I could spend five hours learning about Bern's history (I was wrong).

The museum did the the most incredible job of telling a story; It was so much more than cases of artifacts with a label next to them.

One of the highlights for me was being able to handle a 500 year old book.

The Einstein exhibit was also amazing. It brought you through his life in the context of world history. Visitors wander through almost eighty years, including a 1930's movie theater and typical American house from the 1950's.

However, my favorite snippets had to be...

...the fact that Einstein sucked at linguistics and that his wife was a better mathematician.

After a month of (unnecessarily stressful) reflection, I can safely say this is the BEST museum I have ever been to. Sorry Smithsonian, Prado and British Museum! 

Unlike with the museum, it didn't take long for me to decide that Bern is comfortably in my top three all-time favorite cities.