Day 9: June 14, 2014

The day started out with me waking up after only getting a few hours of sleep. I stayed up till sunrise (4:30 am) hanging out with Sydney. I got ready and rode the tube down to Green Park to watch the Trooping of Colour parade, which also coincided with the Queen's birthday. The queen inspected her troops and we were all given a chance to see her and the rest of the royal family. Here are some pictures from the event:

This is me waiting in the park. It was very pact. It seemed like a special event, so I decided to wear makeup. A rare thing for me.

I wanted to get a good image of the crowns places on top of the flag poles.

The troops were there for inspection so several officers were coming around to personally inspect every soldier. Most of the times the officers coerced chin strap and cap placements. Occasionally an officer would straighten a soldier's uniform. This lasted a good two hours or so just waiting on the Queen.

This is the band.

The cartage went by quickly, but this is Princess Katherine in her pink hat and Prince Harry sitting across from her with Camilla to her left. 

This is the Queen's granddaughter.

This is more of the band.

This is the Queen.

 

After the parade the family gathered on the balcony of Buckingham Palace and jets flew over them. I didn't stay for that. It was England's first loony day since my arrival and I was cold and beginning to get wet. After getting on the tube back to Nido, I fell asleep and woke up at 6 pm. I went over to the hostel that Rachelle is staying at and stayed the night with her. We talked, watched Game of Thrones, and played Scrabble with some other people in her group. It was a really wonderful kind of relaxing day from the constant running around and sight seeing.