Jubilee Weekend

Where: London, England

When: June 2 - 5, 2012

60 years ago, a 25-year old girl named Elizabeth ascended the throne to become the most famous monarch in the world. Queen Elizabeth II is only the 2nd monarch in British history to do this, giving her the second longest reign of all time (her great great grandmother Queen Victoria was the first in the late 1800s). 

Because the Queen is the head of state, I had the fortunate benefit of getting a 4-day national holiday to celebrate. Over the weekend, England became one big party, with evidence of the celebration around every corner.

For starters, you couldn't turn anywhere without seeing Union Jacks. Flags hanging from windows, banners across streets, even a Jeep Wrangler with a Union Jack cover. There were street parties planned and Jubilee specials at every restaurant. The entire country was in the full swing of celebration. 

On Sunday, Nic, Patricia, Jad, Jo and I decided to head down to the river to watch the Jubilee river pageant. 1,000 boats would be floating down the Thames with the Queen at the head of the brigade. We packed wine and cheese to keep the party going throughout the day, and met up for some brunch before heading to the river. There was one unfortunate thing...it was was pouring rain and somewhere in the mid-50s. 

So after brunch, we decided to stop at Jad's for a quick bathroom break. While there, we flipped on the TV to see how the queen's was doing on her progress down the river. However, she hadn't even arrived at the river yet. So we decided that one glass of wine while we watched some TV coverage of her embarking the barge wouldn't hurt and we could head down to the river later. 

As we sat and mocked the BBC announcers for their ridiculous commentary and remarked on the wardrobe of the entire royal family, the rain kept coming down harder and harder. After about an hour, we decided it wouldn't hurt to break out some of our cheese and snacks.

And eventually, we all realised that no one was going down to the river. Instead, we wrapped ourselves in blankets, opened up some more wine, and settled into the day's coverage. So this ended up being the closest we got to the river pageant. But I think we were all ok with that, especially after hearing there were a million people by the river - we would not have seen a thing.

The weather did not improve over the rest of the weekend. On Tuesday, I had planned to picnic in the park. The queen would be riding through the streets in her carriage, and by being in the park, we'd be in the thick of things. Unfortunately, the rain was not cooperative, and my picnic was moved indoors, causing me to host my very first flat party. I did, however, learn that my flat can happily accommodate 8 people for a luncheon.

After many mimosas (or "buck fizz" as it's called here) and much eating, we decided to make a run down to Hyde Park to watch a flyover by the Red Arrows (UK equivalent of the Blue Angels). Brollies (umbrellas) in tow, mini Union Jacks waving, we wheeled my cooler full of champagne down to Hyde Park. All over the park, there were huge screens showing the queen and her progress. Tons of people, all sporting their finest British rain gear, gathered to watch her. 

The big finale was waiting for the queen to step out onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace to wave at the crowds. While waiting, the crowd busted out singing "God Save Our Queen". It was really crazy. I just drank my champagne and observed.

Eventually the Arrows flew over, sporting some red, white, and blue smoke streaks. Everyone went wild. 

It was quite the mix of British and Americans. Here is my crew of English friends, enjoying their mimosas.

And my crew of Americans, embracing a scene that is completely foreign.

Definitely a unique experience and definitely not something we have an equivalent to in the US. Really glad I stayed in town for this!