Sure to Remember THIS Fifth of November--Day 66

"Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot..."

Happy Bonfire Night!


The beginning of the day was not too exciting. I did some necessary studying for my British Politics final on Tuesday (basically writing two essays), and all I can say now is that I am pretty sick of writing. I'm looking forward to less writing next term because I've been doing quite a lot of it this term. However, I was really happy to get it done because it meant that I could enjoy the rest of my afternoon and evening, which is always a good thing. :)


But, oh my gosh! What a night. It was easily one of my top five highlights of the trip. The coach picked us all up outside the flats at 6:15, and dressed to the nines, we made our way down to Westminster Pier. We had to wait for about an hour before boarding the dinner cruise ship, but it was so worth it! The boat was basically a set of three columns of tables and a dance floor with a viewing deck on top and big Plexiglas picture windows. We ate our appetizers, the first of our grand four-course meal, almost immediately upon arrival. Mine was roasted eggplant and summer squash with goat cheese and a garnish of arugula (which the Brits call "rocket") and walnuts. It was very delicious. It was a cold appetizer, and I think I would have preferred it warm, but it was still good all the same. Along with the appetizer, we ate delicious bread rolls and butter while being serenaded by our entertainer for the evening. He was quite the character and very likable. He pulled a few girls from our group (including Haley at one point!) onto the dance floor with him during a couple of his numbers. He sang mostly standards, but those are the good ones, so we didn't mind.

Haley was such a good sport...I would have been mortified!

The music stopped for a couple of hours while we ate the rest of our meal. The second course was a lovely butternut squash soup seasoned with curry spices and cinnamon or ginger (it was a little hard to tell). We went upstairs briefly after our soup to try to get a good view of our surroundings, but we were moored along a dock surrounded by mainly apartment buildings and such, so we took a quick look around and went back inside (spurred by the chilly air, the wind, and the light misting of rain).


Along our route, we saw many small groups of fireworks, which were really beautiful. We also got to see a lot of buildings lit up for the night, including the London Eye and the tower that houses Big Ben (Big Ben is the bell, not the tower). We also passed the O2 (AKA The Millennium Dome), where a lot of London's highest-profile concerts and shows take place.

The O2.

The London Eye (again).

I apologize for the poor quality of these photographs. I'm also a little disappointed with this picture because you can't see the intricate designs on the face of the clock, which is most of the reason why the picture is beautiful in the first place.

Our main course arrived shortly after we came back inside. I had roasted lamb with barley in a red wine and red currant sauce. The lamb was cooked perfectly; it was tender but not undercooked. We all ate our mains with a side of fresh vegetables, which were also cooked well and delicious (mini potatoes, pea pods, zucchini, carrots, and green beans). I was beginning to feel full and wasn't sure I could fit dessert in. However, I found room, which was a good thing because dessert was lava cakes with cream and a spoonful of mixed berries. It was absolutely fantastic. After dessert, the waiters and waitresses came around with tea and coffee. I can never say no to tea with cream and sugar, so I ended my meal in the most delightful manner possible.


Shortly after dessert and tea, our entertainer came back to sing more songs, this time from mostly from musicals. Mary Hall, an elderly British woman who has been organizing a lot of our activities, encouraged me and my friends to get on the dance floor, but we felt like it was the wrong song. We were so excited when the entertainer sang "Sway" and then even more excited when he announced that he was going to sing "a drinking song" and then proceeded to sing "That's Amore." Of course, the whole boat got into the song, and we were all singing along because it is such a fantastic song. It appeals to the Italian in me, which Sarah agreed with. It's funny because three other girls in our group are Italian, too (Sarah, Elizabeth, and Amanda), and two of them have French Canadian in them as well--Sarah and Amanda (so we are just a bunch of Fritaladians). Finally, Sarah said that enough was enough, and I headed to the dance floor with her, Haley, and Amanda. Well, that was the end of sitting down. We danced for almost an hour. The other Augie students slowly trickled in after us as the entertainer sang songs by ABBA and more. However, we really got the party going when he sat down. Then, the DJ started playing American dance music and turned on multicolored lights. That was all we American students needed to really start tearing up the dance floor. Needless to say, we jumped and swayed our hearts out. But we were far outshone by one of our professor's kids, Marcus.


Amanda told us about him a few weeks ago, saying he was a "hipster" because of his long hair and good fashion sense. Marcus is nine years old. I was expecting a surly kid who would sit at the table with his parents the whole night and not talk to anyone. Well, next thing I knew, he was dancing with a few of the girls in our group. It was the cutest darn thing I have ever seen. He was dressed in a dress shirt and vest and little dress pants. He has the most adorable face ever, and he has a British accent, to boot. We all wanted to take him home with us like a little puppy. When the American music started playing, he just got lost in his own little world and started breaking out the most amazing dance moves I have ever seen in a kid so young. We were all amazed and loved him even more after that. He seemed to love the attention as he shuffled and jumped and did the robot. We were all clapping and cheering for him as he did his thing. The funniest part was watching him after the music ended because he looked so tired. However, he was such a nice kid that he let a few girls take their pictures with him, even though he was about to pass out. I'm sure he was up past his bedtime.


We got off the boat close to 11 PM, and we were afraid that the Tube had already closed and that we would have to take a cab to get back. We got a coach there, but as always, we had to find our way back home. However, we did not realize that the Tube is open later on weekends, which is such a good idea on TFL's (Transport for London's) part. So, we got on a train and headed home, tired but completely satisfied with the incredible night we had.


Luckily, tomorrow is a low-key day. I have a couple of homework-type things to finish up and my parents to Skype, but other than that, I can just chill and start to organize my schedule for the week. I might go to the Tate Modern art gallery (it has contemporary art) with Elizabeth and Lauren, but other than that, I don't have much going on. Hopefully, my friends will start to post their pictures of last night soon so I can share them with you. I assure you, they are much more interesting than any of the pictures I took (aside from the picture of Haley; that was pretty special).