The pope, the queen, and yom kippur all in one weekend

So Saturday Laura and I went for our run and there were huge amounts of people and security...we knew the pope was coming to london but we didn't know he was coming down the street from us.  We asked a security guard for details and he looked at us like we had ten heads.  Ends up the pope was coming right to hyde park to give mass.  Oy.  Guess none of those poeple were fasting....

I attempted to fast... I made it till 330 but we were at portabello rd. You can't go there and not eat. It was amazing and you all would love it.  Antiques, collectibles, junk, food, etc..... We got paella...and nutella strawberry crepes... it was phenom but i wish i was at jills eating a toasted sesame bagel with egg salad and some noodle kugel mmmmmmmmmm... i could really go for that right now. Sophs boyfriend dan is here for the weekend, from madrid...everyone was happy to see him here : )

On my run I took the time to think about yom kippur...my own kind of temple/sermon.  Kinda felt guilty about not being at a temple and not planning to really fast.  But I do believe that if we observe the holiday in our own way and somewhat acknowledge it than it is almost just as good.  Yom Kippur is the holiday to acknowledge our mistakes of the past and an opportunity to move on from them. We cannot take back the past but we can make an effort to change the future... on Yom Kippur we can take the chance to realize we can make the future better for ourselves and those around us.  The idea of fasting on  Yom Kippur is to clear our minds as we go through these deep thoughts of the past and future....With this in mind on my run I realized that me thinking about how hungry I am and how much I want food was not helping me or making this holiday any more meaningful. What makes it meaningful is me simply thinking about it... going out running and making a healthy future for myself... talking to my family and hoping for a healthy future for them... and going out and experiencing this chance of a lifetime I have here in london.  It has been a long year and I know we are all ready for a new happy and healthy one.

( Sorry for the rant )

Sunday we took a tour of Buckingham Palace...I loved it...think i can move in? The tour took about an hour, we went on the video headset tour.. we went through the state rooms and the garden.  I would show you guys pics but for some reason this website is messed up and i can't get anymore to load... its in the works.

Today was classes..nothing out of the ordinary...then me alex and laura went to a body conditioning class at the gym.. i can't move.  My butt and legs are dead.

I had such a cultured weekend...