My Kinda Party

Don't worry everyone! I am still alive and well!

I have not posted in over a week because there has been absolutely no time! I'm actually writing this during breakfast before we continue galavanting through Henley. So a quick update:

We left Dublin on Monday after a rather subdued last night on the town. London welcomed us with open arms, and rather excitedly I think. We began our 48 hour stay with walking around the Tower area at dusk. London has some class at night, let me tell you.

When I was here a few weeks ago I had an amazing time, but it was in a completely different section. It is so big that everytime you visit, it could potentially feel like a whole other city. The next day we packed full to the brim. Started with exploring Borough market (which was so incredible, that I'm going to have a separate post on it) and eating everything in sight. Then we caught a show at the Globe. No big deal, just saw Julius Cesar in the theatre it was written for. 

We did have to stand for the entirety of the show but it was definitely worth it. Afterwards we explored downtown a bit more and then got indian take out and fish and chips to watch the USA v Belgium game. Regardless of the ending we had a great time in the bar below our hostel watching with all the visiting Americans.

The next day it was on to Henley! We had been looking forward to this part of the trip probably more than any other. For those of you who don't row, Henley is a regatta with a ton of tradition, the fastest boats in the world, and definitely the fanciest. Not many US crews qualify or can afford to come across the pond, so it's not very often we get a chance to attend this regatta. There is a dress code, champagne around every corner, old money flaunting it, and an official drink of the regatta; Pimms. It's nothing like race days back home. There's even a tea break! Riots would ensue from coaches if we had two breaks between races in the States.

So Mandy and I dressed the part to enter the Stewards enclosure, which is a coveted opportunity and very difficult to get a badge. We lucked out that a friend in DC is a member and offered us tickets, but he couldn't make it over at the last minute which was really unfortunate... Don't worry we represented well! 

Hemlines have to be below the knee and hats are strongly encouraged. The men wear their rowing blazers if they have one and cannot take them off no matter the weather. Since cell phone use wasn't allowed inside the enclosure I don't have many pictures. But Mandy's camera was allowed so you will see those pictures on Facebook next week.

We spent the day watching races, drinking Pimms, and trying to keep our hats on from the wind. A friend from JMU was there too and we all three walked to the start line to watch a part of the race coaches don't often get to see. 

It felt really odd wearing dresses and being at a regatta. Even more so for me when I ended up "working" at the Croker tent for a bit. Even though I am at Henley on holiday I couldn't resist getting some work in. I love my job what can I say? 

So the day concluded with a great dinner with some amazing new and old friends.

Now we are back to London to visit our friend, Phil, who we rowed with at JMU and is now living/working there. Living the dream.