I'll be the Queen and You'll be the King

It is hard to believe that my week here in the UK is almost over. Tomorrow morning (at the butt crack of dawn, mind you) I head off to Rome! In some ways I am so not ready, but in others I am just bursting out of the seams to just get there already.

But anyways, sorry about the delay in updating. I guess that this will probably be the first in many delays. I'm still not exactly sure what the Internet situation will be in Rome, but I am praying for wireless or at least broadband. So, with that, I will just get on with it...

Friday morning I woke up somewhat late and then sat and watched the memorial service for Diana with Stacey. It is kind of neat to say that I was here for the 10th anniversary, but I am not going to lie - the service was kind of boring. After watching everyone arrive and then laughing at all of the ridiculous hats Stace and I decided that we couldn't handle the over the top singing of the choir - so that was the end of that!

In the afternoon we ventured to Canterbury. No, I have never read Canterbury Tales, but I was still able to appreciate the beauty that has been preserved in this old town. It was so neat to walk to cobblestone streets and imagine what it would have been like hundreds of years ago. The area is now defiantly commercialized, and all the shops and stores have moved in there, but the old world charm has somehow been preserved.
When we were walking around the area there was a little puppet show going on called Punch and Judy. Stacey said that it is a very traditional show that has been around forever. She remembers sitting on the beach and watching it. I checked it out on wikipedia and found out that the show can be traced back to the 16th century - so seeing it in Canterbury was appropriate.

That night Stacey, her cousin Lisa, and I went out for dinner and a drink. We went to this cute place called Pizza Express and had amazing pizza. My pizza had artichoke on it, and Lisa tried it for the first time! I don't know how anyone could be in their 30s and not have tried artichoke - after all, I reckon it is one of the best vegetables out there! After eating dinner and having the most wonderful vanilla ice cream for dessert we walked around the corner to this little bar. Lisa and I were standing at the bar waiting for our drinks and Stacey went to grab a seat. She asked a waitress who was carrying all of these glasses if a table was taken and the girl dropped everything everywhere. Stace says that it is just like her to have her klutziness rub off on someone else like that. Glass and ice was everywhere - thank goodness no one got hurt.

Yesterday Kurt, Stace, Astin, and I went to Leeds Castle. Oh my goodness. Gorgeous is just about the only way to describe it. I said that I want to live there if for no other reason than the beautiful grounds. There were ponds with ducks and swans (black and white!), gardens with every color rose you could imagine. It was incredible. And the actual castle was just to die for. The rooms were magnificent, and impeccably decorated. Oh to be a queen and live in a castle...