I need to give a shout-out to Angie. I’m so glad we became friends, because she’s always up for the crazy things that I want to do. Like getting up at 5 am on a workday to watch a royal wedding.

We tried to go to Big Ben, the local British ex-pat hangout, for a royal wedding breakfast and viewing party but it was actually over-booked. Turns out there are more royal-watchers in Charlotte than we expected. Plus, the director of our symphony also conducted the royal wedding orchestra at Westminster Abbey, so all of his colleagues and other symphony friends were headed there. I’m sure it was a madhouse! We opted instead for coffee (we needed something more strongly caffeinated than tea at that hour) and scones while we watched all the festivities in crystal-clear HD. The best seat in the house. And we got to share commentary on the dresses and hats, watch Oliver and Dixie wrestle and try our best not to wake Angie’s husband, who thought we were nuts. Okay, we are.

Next, Oliver and I headed to work, since we didn’t get to partake of a bank holiday. Instead, my coworkers and I spent all day watching the wedding re-broadcasts online and enjoying another spread of English delicacies — tea, more scones, petits fours, quiche. I even made sticky toffee pudding, which we can add to the OMG list. The recipe I used was pretty simple, and the result is just beyond words.

As I’ve watched and rewatched all of the wedding events, I’ve been thinking how weird it is to know while history is happening that you’ll be remembering and recounting how you spent those moments for years to come. All in all, I think I did the occasion justice.

Oh, I’m sort of embarrassed to share with you that I was quoted in the London Sunday Times last week. After I posted my blog entry about the royal wedding television listings, a reporter from the UK contacted me. He asked whether Americans would be celebrating the wedding and how much of that television schedule I planned to watch (not much, it turned out). I had only a small mention, but it was neat to be included in such an event … though I never expected to be in the paper for something as silly as my obsession with royalty!

So, have any of you been celebrating the royal wedding today?