Weddings and Wanderlust

It’s been almost 2 weeks since my family and I were among the estimated 1 million people on the processional route in London during the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and we – that is, my daughters and I – are still talking about it.  I was not much older than Miss P, my oldest daughter when Prince William’s parents married and I still have vivid memories of the wedding.

My cousin and best friend was captivated by the royal romance and was determined that I would be as well.  We set the alarm to wake us at 2:45 am and from my living room in California, watched the wedding of the century that was taking place half a world away. While most other girls watching the wedding, my cousin included, might have been dreaming of marrying a prince and having a fairytale wedding of their own, I was dreaming of travel. I wanted to see St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace for myself.

It would be more than 15 years after I watched Charles and Diana marry before I’d get to England, several years after the marriage ended and Diana’s death.  And though my affection for England has long been replaced by an obsessive love of France, England will always be my first love and holds a special place in my heart for bestowing on me an incurable case of wanderlust.