Chapter Thirty-six

*36*

It was a bright beautiful morning. I was still in bed, wrapped up in my cosy blanket when Coco jumped on me and licked my face.

"Coco,not now. I'm trying to sleep"I said with my eyes closed and ignored her doggy kisses

"Wakey wakey sleep head!"Aunt said, carried Ann in her hands

"Good morning Aunt!"I said with a yawn, stretching my hands in air

"Morning dear, how was your night?"She asked

"It was good"I said, getting out of bed

I stretched my hand beneath my bed and got my bunny slippers. Coco waggled her tail in excitement and barked cheerfully. Her bark startled Ann and she began to cry.

"Jocelyn,go and freshen up. Carlos will be here in a few minutes"She said

Oh no! I totally forgot about my tour!

"Okay Aunt,I almost forgot"I replied

Aunt Nicolette left and I went to the bathroom with a towel hung over my shoulder. I brushed my teeth and had a quick shower. I got out of the bathroom and straight to the wardrobe. 

Now,I had another problem. I didn't really know what to wear. I stood there for awhile with a bathrobe on,with my hand on my chin and tried to figure out which outfit will suit me best for the tour. After a lot of thinking,I finally came up with a decision. I picked a white long sleeve which had a turtle neck and the blue jean trousers Aunt had bought for me. She surprisingly knew my body size. I looked really nice in my outfit and took some pictures. I was right in the middle of one and Aunt photobumped it.

"Aunt!"I said, facing her

"Sorry,I didn't mean to photobump but Carlos is here. He's waiting for you in the living room"Aunt said

"Oh,okay! I'll be out in a minute"I said

I took another picture when she left. I made sure I had everything ready for my tour. My camera was fully charged and ready for picture taking. I left my room and went to the living room. Carlos was sitting in the arm chair and was surprised to see me. He acted a bit nervous. I guess he was stunned by my outfit.

"Wow! You look amazing!"Carlos complimented

"Thanks!"I replied with a grin

"You guys should be better getting on so that you both will be home on time"Aunt said

"Yes, you're right"He said

"Shall we?"He asked, opening the door

I nodded and walked out the door.

"Bye Aunt"I waved

"Bye you two. Have fun"She said

"We will!"He said, closing the door

We entered the elevator and stopped at the lobby. We left the building and went to the bus stop.

"So...where are we going?"I asked

"It's a surprise"He said

The bus pulled over and we boarded the bus. We didn't take our usual route. I was fascinated with what I saw as we drove passed them. I held up my camera and took pictures from the windows. The bus stopped at the next bus stop and we got off. People stood behind the barriers and looked really excited. It was as if they were waiting for someone to perform.

"Where are we?"I asked 

"We are at Buckingham Palace,Home of the Royals"Carlos said, pointing at the palace

We stood behind the barriers as well.

"The Royals? As in the Queen's...?"I asked curiously

"Mm-hmm!"He nodded

"Wow! I have always heard of the Buckingham Palace but never been up close"I said, excited to see a real palace in person

"Well you have now"He said

"The Buckingham Palace, originally called was built in 1705 for Duke Buckingham. It became the London residence of the Royal family in 1837 since Queen Victoria's accession..."

"...It is one of the scene of London's most popular display of pomp and circumstances. It is the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. It's located here,the City of Westminster. It's often the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It's had been The Duke's private ownership for 150 years"He explained

"150 years? Wow! That's a really long time ago"I said

I took a picture of the palace and the people at the barriers of on the other side.

"According to my History teacher,it used to be a large town house"I said

"Yes,it used to be before King George III acquired it as a private residence for Queen Charlotte"He added

"Wow!"I said, fascinated by the facts

"Amazing, isn't it?"He said with a smile

"Yeah,it is. But what's up with the people standing here?"I asked

"They are here to watch the guards being changed"He said

"Changing of the guards? What's so special about that?"I asked,a bit confused to know they were excited

"You'll just have to watch and see"He said

Right at the entrance of the palace,a group of soldiers marched towards the exit of the palace. They were accompanied by music and dressed in the traditional red tunics and bearskin hats. This really got the people more excited than they were and cheered really loudly.

"Is this how the guards are being changed?"I asked, surprised to see the marching guards

"Yes. It's a formal ceremony to replace the guards protecting the palace. Not what you expected, right?"He said

"Yeah!"I said cheerfully

"And who are they?"I said, pointing at the group of soldiers joining in

"They are part of the ceremony as well"He said

"But where did they come from?"I asked

"They are from Wellington barracks. From St. James' Palace"He said

"It's amazing. I thought this would be boring but I never imagined it to be this fun"I said cheerfully

"Yeah, it's was always fun"He said

"Do they march all day?"I asked

"No,not really. At exactly 11am,the new guards take their position"He said

The Big Ben chimed and the guards took their position. The people left the barriers and went their separate ways.

"This is only the beginning. C'mon,we've still have a lot of places to go"He said, taking me by hand

When his hand touched mine,I felt a little nervous. Like I had sudden butterflies in my stomach, wanting to burst open. I was completely lost in thoughts that I don't realize I was still staring at Carlos.

"Hello! Earth to Jocelyn?"He said, waving his hands at my face

"Huh?"I said, snapping out 

"Shall we go?"He said

I nodded and he led the way. We left the palace and continued with the tour. We passed a lot of buildings and restaurants too. We rode the bus for a short distance and went on foot. The sweet smell coming out of the restaurants made my tummy grumble. I didn't really have a decent breakfast this morning but that won't stop me from enjoying my tour. 

"Have you ever wondered why London has a big clock named 'Big Ben'?"He asked

"No,not really"I said,a taking a picture of an Italian restaurant

"Well,it got its name from the Elizabeth's Tower. One of the tallest tower in the Palace of Westminster"He said, hiding his hands in his trousers pockets

"How old is it?"I asked

"I don't really know. It was built after the Palace of Westminster was destroyed"He said

"The Palace of Westminster is destroyed!?"I said

"No silly!.."He chuckled

"...the old building was. Big Ben is just an additional clock tower. It was Charles Barry who thought of the idea"He said

"Wow! He really knows his stuff!"I said, complimenting the unique structure

"We owe some of it to Augustus Pugin"He said

"I thought you said..."I said

Before I could finish my sentence,he quickly pulled by the hand without any warning and took me inside a restaurant. He surveyed the entrance and sat down on the table nearest to the door. I was a bit scared. Who was he running from? Is he a thief? 

"Why are we here?"I asked, anxious to know he pulled me here

"Because I'm... starving"He said, staring at the menu on the table

"Wait! Let me get this straight,you dragged me here because you were hungry?"I said, raising my voice at him

"Pipe down! You're in a restaurant"He said softly

It almost sounded like a whisper. The restaurant's interior design was amazing. The waiters were dressed in a traditional Italian outfit, not to traditional though with a little bit of modernity in it. The tables had mini candles in a glass bowl and were lit. The section of the wall had pictures of famous people. I couldn't get close it though but I guessed the wooden caption had something like'WALL OF FAME' on it. 

"Hey, what's those pictures on the wall for?"I asked, tapping him on the wrist

"Which pictures?"He asked

"Those pictures"I said, pointing at it

"You mean these pictures?"He said, following the direction my finger was pointing

I nodded.

"Those are pictures of important people"He said

"Important?"I asked

"You know, when you win a food challenge here, you're picture gets taken and is hung on the wall like the rest"He said

I picked up the menu and saw the list Italian dishes. There is the Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Marsala,Creamy Lemon Chicken Piccata;a lot of dishes with chicken in it. Oh! There is also Pasta basked with sausage,Tuscan Shrimp,Pasta and meatballs,Meat Lasagna,Skillet Neapolitan Margherita Pizza, Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Bread and so on. There were a lot of options to choose from. I couldn't decide whether to order the Chicken Parmesan or Meat Lasagna. I was still trying to make a choice,I heard someone breathing heavily behind me. Carlos saw the person and hid his face with the menu and avoided eye contact with the stranger. I turned my head around and saw it was a girl. Judging from her physique,I could tell she's college. And probably could be in her early twenties.

"Hey Cousin Carlos!"She said loudly

"Hi Quinn"Carlos said,not excited to see her

I guess he's hiding spot isn't worth it anymore.

"How are you? It's a been awhile since we last saw each other. After your dad's party,you suddenly vanished... into air"She said

"I'm good and you?"He replied

"Same as always; alone, single and ready to mingle"She said

"And you must be Carlos' girlfriend. Jasmine,I so purpose?"She said, referring to me

"No, I'm..."I said

"She's not. She my neighbour's niece"He said, cutting me off

"Oh! Well, don't just sit there, introduce us"She said, giving him a thump

"Okay"He said, groaning inwardly

"Jocelyn...this is my cousin, Quinn. Quinn,this is my friend, Jocelyn. She came here to visit her aunt. Isn't that right, Jocelyn?"He said

"Yes, you're right"I said with a nod

"So..."She said, sitting down on one of the chairs in our table

"...what brings you here? This isn't your usual place"

"Actually, I'm taking Jocelyn on tour so that see could see the City of London and it's amazing sites"Carlos said

"Ooh! That's so nice of you. Can I tag along? Pretty please?"She said beggingly

"You see...I had planned the day for the two of us only and I don't think there's room for an extra person"He said, trying to convince her not to tag along

"Pretty please! I promise not to talk,you won't even hear a peep"She said really quickly

"Quinn,you can't..."He said

Seeing the expression on her face made me had pity for her.

"Quinn,you can join us"I said with warmth smile

"Wait!? What!?"Carlos said, surprised with my decision

"Really?"Quinn said, wiping off the tears that leaked from her face with her palms

"Yes. Like my aunt always says,'The more,the merrier"I said

" Yay!"She shouted

The others began to stare at us. It was quite embarrassing. Now,I understand why Carlos ran in here–to avoid his crazy cousin.

"Have you ordered anything yet?"Quin said, collecting Carlos'menu

"No,we were about to"Carlos said

"Umm...Waiter?"She called

"Good day,may I take your order?"The waiter said when he came to our table

"I'll have the spaghetti bolognese"Carlos said

"And what about you, Miss?"The waiter asked, referring to me

"I'll have the chicken parmesan"I said, looking from the menu

"Okay,and you?"He said, referring to Quinn

"I'll have the...meat lasagna"She said

"Okay,is there anything yet else?"The waiter asked

"No"Carlos replied

"Umm...Lewis, sorry if I'm bothering you or anything but I've a question to ask. What's in the chicken parmesan?"I said, taking advantage of his name tag on his shirt

"The chicken parmesan...."Lewis began

"Oh! I know what's in it. It contains crispy breaded chicken,tomato sauce, melted mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Hmm, just saying it makes my taste buds tingle"Quinn said

"Yeah. I guess someone has been doing her homework"Lewis said sarcastically

"Do you mind changing my order? I think I'll have the chicken parmesan instead"Quinn said

"Sure"Lewis said

He crossed out Quinn's previous order and wrote down the new one.

"Anything else?"Lewis asked

"Yes, what's in the meat lasagna?"I asked

"It contains..."Lewis said

"Layers of tender lasagna made with meaty sauce and has a cheese filling with melted cheese"Quinn said, interrupting Lewis again

"Thank you, again"Lewis said, barely moving his jaws

"And the creamy tortellini?"I asked

"Spinach and kale"She said before Lewis could say anything

"I'll go and get you food"He said

"Umm...Lewis?"Quinn called

"Yes"Lewis said, already annoyed by her voice

"On second thought,I'll stick with my previous order"She said

This made Lewis angry and he went straight to the kitchen without saying a word. Few minutes later,he came back with our food.

"Here you are;one spaghetti bolognese for the gentleman,..."Lewis said, placing the food in front Carlos

"...one chicken parmesan for the lady..."He said, referring to me

"...and one meat lasagna for the other lady who won't keep her mouth shut"Lewis said, referring to Quinn

"What did you say?"Quinn asked

She didn't hear the last part.

"Bon appetit!"Lewis said and left

"Mmm...smells good!"Quinn said

"And taste better when you keep quiet"Carlos said, picking up his cutlery