God Save the Queen

In Southampton, England watching the Royal Wedding was interesting in that, there I was, forced to participate in a spectacle that months ago I swore I would avoid at all costs, participating as a result of sheer proximity to the event and being in a country so attached to this day that it would have been absurd to turn a blind eye. And you know what? I enjoyed something that I never thought I would. It was great seeing a crowd of hundreds gathered in the local square celebrating, eating, and making merriment. We “went for a wander” (English expression) through the town and shopping centers, pausing for internet at a café that serves authentic “porridge.” Our timing couldn’t have been better; we arrived at the party to watch the ceremony on the big screen a bit before the first royal kiss on the balcony. Then the queen decided they were on the balcony long enough and the whole wedding party turned around and went back inside. So we went out, passing through the British balloons, the tables of groups full of food and drink, and went for a picnic in the park J Shannon’s roommate, Jessica, lived in England before moving to Colorado, so she taught us about all the delicious English snack-a-roos, particularly the honeycomb chocolate bars…which if Shannon doesn’t eat all of them on her flight home, then the family will get to enjoy a sampling.

As you can see from the pictures, the celebration was present everywhere in England, even in the large shopping malls!