Goodbye 2008, Hello 2012

I trudged out into what was a stereotypical London day, a cold and rainy morning, to Trafalgar Square, to watch London's part in the closing ceremonies of the Olympics from the big screen TV that had been in the square throughout this year's games.

I kept feeling guilty that I hadn't gone to watch any of the games from Trafalgar Square and I was even more gutted that I'd completely spaced out and had missed the opening ceremonies completely, so rain or not, I was determined to be a little part of history and watch London's big moment from London's very centre...with, I thought, a bunch of other Londoners. There was a huge party in front of Buckingham Palace and though the tickets were free, there were a limited number of them and I didn't discover the party until too late, so oh well. Trafalgar Square seemed like a perfect alternative :D

But, as I arrived an hour early to Trafalgar Square, thinking there would be gobs of people, I arrived to a nearly empty square and met the friend I'd planned to meet up with...slowly, both the sun and the people came out and it turned out that my plans to beat the crowds weren't all for naught. We had a fantastic view, but I literally didn't move for nearly 4 hours. Though my friend got bored and bailed after awhile, I forced myself to stay for the entire thing, not wanting to miss out on this little bit of history.

I even have photos for once:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28376720@N06/sets/72157607452033040/

And as I stood there, I found myself very hopeful that I'll still be here in lovely London in 2012, to watch the real thing.

I ended the day, sunburned, oddly enough, and content that I was making the most of my London adventure :D