We woke early, 4:30 am, and promptly left the hotel. (Side note: as I got ready, I opened instagram to check on the Taylor Swift concert, since I knew it would be midway through and I could sneak a peak at what the surprise songs were (my typical morning-after-a-show routine.) Well, imagine my surprise, when I saw that she was in the process of going live. Without hesitation, I tapped the circle and was able to witness, live, the announcement of the Speak Now TV release date. I couldn’t believe it. What freakin luck!)

As Kathy and I made our way down the stairs, we were met with absolute darkness and isolation. All the lights in the lobby were out and the doors were locked. We had practiced our coronation route the night prior but hadn’t taken into account not being able to leave the hotel. “Hello?” We called out to no one, hoping that someone would answer. After a few moments, someone did come into view and released us from our creepy, unexpected imprisonment. We were off! Since we had done the dry run the night before, we knew exactly where to go. As we navigated the park, we began to notice that we were completely alone. Confused, we continued our trek until we reached the viewing area. We were the 2nd people to arrive! Now, you may be wondering, why on earth were we were up so early? Well, we were told that it was going to be a madhouse and people would be queuing up starting at 5 am to get into the parks. So, not wanting to miss our opportunity, we set our alarms for the crack of dawn and headed to the park. Since we arrived so early, we were able to get fantastic seats. We set out our blanket, got comfy, and made friends with the one other individual as eager as us to get there for when the sun came up.

At one point, a reporter from a Finnish news broadcasting group approached (due to our festive gear) and asked if he could conduct an interview with us. I declined, but Kathy enthusiastically volunteered as tribute. When asked how she felt about Charles, Kathy replied, “I like him! As an American, we don’t have a king, for obvious reasons.” For. Obvious. Reasons. LOL! I wondered if they would use that footage. (Update: Kathy is a new Finnish celebrity, as bits of her interview WERE used in the evening news. Unfortunately absent from the report were her remarks of America not having a king. For obvious reasons. I wonder if it’ll make it onto their blooper reel.)

By this time the park began to fill with crowds of enthusiastic spectators and the predicted rain set in. Throughout the morning, it would alternate between a fine mist and an outright downpour. It was chilly too! We made the decision that we would remain in the park until the procession ended and the ceremony began, and then, we would watch the coronation itself, dry and warm, from our hotel. That way, like a red carpet pre show, we could see everyone arrive and see what they were wearing. We figured the ceremony would be like a long version of church and we could miss 15 minutes while we walked back. When we arrived back at our hotel, much to our surprise and delight, the lobby had been converted into a Coronation watch room, complete with finger sandwiches, scones, desserts, and sparkling wine! It was an incredible day. The pageantry of it all, the collective pride, and the fact that I got to share it with my best friend, made this truly a day I would never forget.