Wedding Bells in London

London Loves Will and Kate:  I landed (6:10 am) with more than enough time to get to the royal nuptials.  I dropped my backpack at the hostel and headed to London's ceremonial precincts.  Security was tight  (bag searches and 5000 officers on duty), traffic diverted, streets without cars.  The city and its people were decked out in red, white, and blue.  I ended up at Trafalgar Square, where the big screen was set up and ready to deliver the day's details in all their visual glory.  It was fun being in a crowd of Brits and internationals, amidst the flags and Ts and masks and hats, wedged into my 2 square feet of space, where I stood for 3 hours with my eyes fixed on the screen.  Cheers followed every appearance of not only Will and Kate, but also Prince Harry (who seems to be very popular here) and the Queen.  Trafalgar Square was the place, two summers ago, where I had watched the Beijing Olympics: on the same screen.  Even earlier, I had there watched the British promote their bid to host the 2012 Olympics.  It was also at Trafalgar that I watched the Kurds on one occasion and the Tamils on another, stage protests against their ruling governments abroad.  And it was at Trafalgar that I stumbled upon one of my favorite art exhibits.  The art was outside and human -- human beings as sculptures who mounted an otherwise empty plinth and did whatever they wanted (juried of course).  That plinth is now occupied by a ship in a bottle (worth about one glance).  I could have gone any number of places to spectate the day's spectacle, but I had a history with Trafalgar and now another memory to add to the list.

After the royal newlyweds were deposited by coach at Buckingham Palace, media coverage turned to the parties that were happening all over London, including at Trafalgar.  All day long,every storefront/restaurant/bar screen in London was playing up the monarchy.  As for me, by this time I needed a nap.


Travel Tidbits:  (1) Something Americans will never get used to:  paying more (even for just coffee) at a cafe for the privilege of "eating in";  (2) The best (part of 'best' means affordable) little meal you can get is a bag of Macadamia nuts and cranberries at Tesco for only 1.5L. (3) Ribena black currant is a real thirst-quencher and so English.  By the way neither cranberries (from North America) nor macadamia nuts (from Australia) were available here 30 years ago.

 Geographically yours,

D.J.Z