Why is Henley (as it’s called for short) my favorite event of the summer? Because it’s the only one in which I feel that my presence as an American living in the UK is legitimized. That’s because my university’s crew teams almost always qualify to row at Henley, and for once I have a personal connection to an English event.

This year was no exception. The Brown men’s crew team alone sent the Varsity, the Junior Varsity, and Varsity Four to Henley, and I didn’t hesitate to head out to the river to see them race. On Saturday, I traveled by train to Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire to cheer for my team and have a lovely summer day.

Saturday was the semi-finals of the regatta, and one of the Brown men’s teams was racing in the afternoon. The race (or the part of it I saw, anyway) only lasted for a minute or so. Brown beat the Australian national team, and I had the rest of the day to celebrate.

As with my first and second trips to the Henley Royal Regatta, I spent the day in the Stewards’ Enclosure. My enclosure badge came thanks to a friend from college that is a member of the Leander Club, which runs it. The Stewards’ is one of the best venues from which to watch the races, as it is located right on the finish line.

It is also a great venue for people watching. Why? It attracts a wide variety of rowing alums, many of whom sport the outrageously colorful blazers that signify which university they rowed for and which boat they rowed in.

From aqua with white stripes to blue with purple stripes to navy with white piping, every color of the rainbow was overrepresented in the myriad of Henley blazers, bow ties, vests, and vintage style-hats visible in the enclosure. Every year they are out in full force, and every year I am thoroughly entertained by grown men (and some women) wearing such crazy clothing.

But the day wasn’t just about the rowing and the resulting blazers. The weather was beautiful despite predictions of rain, and I spent most of my time at the large open-air Folly Bar drinking Pimm’s with friends and trying to track down others despite the ban on mobile phone use in the enclosure.

Overall it was a great event, not least because I felt at home there with my university so well represented. At the end of the day, I hopped on the train to travel back to London with a good friend from college, both of us glad to have experienced the Henley Royal Regatta and our team’s victory.

I met my group at Paddington station on Thursday afternoon and we took the train to Henley. The hotel was a quick taxi ride from the station there, and we arrived right at Champagne o’clock.

We gathered on a comfy leather sofa in one of the hotel’s reception rooms and each enjoyed a glass of their signature bubbly. As we sipped, the sommelier told us about the origins of the grapes and guided us through a Champagne tasting. There were lemon and lime on the nose, and hints of pear and green apple. Overall it was easy to drink.

After the drinks we moved into the restaurant for afternoon tea in Henley. Out marched the tiered trays of sandwiches, cakes, pastries, and scones. They were followed by plates of banana bread and lemon cake, bowls of fresh fruit, and of course, pots of tea.

The spread was both well-presented and delicious, and the volume and variety were impressive. I ate until I reached food coma, and then I ate some more.

After we had done our best to finish everything on the table at afternoon tea, we were given a tour of the hotel. The building was originally a brewery, and many of the original furnishings were kept intact when it was converted. This was true of the reception desk, the pretty outdoor terrace, and the stained glass windows.

The suite we viewed was spread over two floors. I loved that the top floor had a bathtub in the living room, as well as one on the balcony. The views over the rooftops and onto the river made it a perfect place to watch the annual Henley Regatta in July.

Back in the dining room, we were treated to a gin tasting by Martin Miller’s Gin. After being given a quick history of gin, which was invented in The Netherlands, we smelled samples of all of the ingredients used to flavor the spirit. From juniper to cucumber to cardamom, they were all there.

The gin itself was sweeter than most other kinds of gin, and had a nice natural flavor to it. After tasting it neat, we sampled some gin & tonics, Westbourne Punches, martinis, brambles, aviations, and Detroits, and we each got a chance to make a cocktail.

At the end of the afternoon, we took the train back to London. The gin reps had generously given us some samples for the road, and we sipped gin & tonics as we discussed how much we had enjoyed our afternoon tea in Henley-on-Thames. It definitely rivaled the ones I have been to recently in London, and made me eager to go to tea in more cities throughout England and the UK on my upcoming travels.

The regatta, which takes place over several days in the picturesque town of Henley-on-Thames, features the top rowers from the UK and around the world competing against one another from morning until evening. Fans line the banks of the river to cheer on their universities, clubs, and countries as they vie for the winning titles.

Saturday was my second visit to the regatta. Like last time, a friend that is a member of the Leander Club in Henley invited me to spend the day in the exclusive Henley Royal Regatta Stewards’ Enclosure. The large space was situated right on the finish line, providing spectators with great views of the races.

It was also full of rowing alumni, all of whom were sporting their signature Henley blazers. Each club, university, or organization that sent rowers to the regatta had its own unique colors and style, ranging from garish orange and white stripes to navy blue with white trim.

I arrived on the train from London in the morning and spent several hours watching the races with some friends from Brown. We had hoped to see our women’s team compete, but they had been knocked out the previous day by the Great Britain Under-23′s.

This being an English event, there was a proper lunch break at 12:30. My friends and I made our way to one of the parking lots, where we attended a picnic that another friend’s family put on.

It was a classic British picnic, complete with an amazing amount of beautifully-prepared salads, meats, breads, and even mackerel pate. The plates were porcelain, the cutlery metal, and the booze Champagne. The Americans may have won the war for independence, but the Brits certainly won the battle for best picnic.

After lunch I walked around with a friend of mine in a failed attempt to find Patron’s floating tequila bar and an afternoon tea hosted by the Hotel du Vin. We found neither, and ended up with sore feet and sunburns. We did get to see how the areas outside of the Henley Royal Regatta Stewards’ Enclosure looked, though.

Far from the spacious grounds of the Stewards’, the rest of Henley consisted of a tiny riverbank crammed with people and picnic blankets. The paths were so crowded that it took over 45 minutes to walk less than a mile. But the atmosphere was convivial, and there were vendors selling everything from pork to Pimm’s. While I might have enjoyed it in other circumstances, I was happy to get back to the Stewards’ for some breathing room.

And for some more Champagne. My university alumni group met back in the parking lot for some more food and drinks during the official tea break (yes, they really do have official tea breaks in the UK. I love it). By the time we finished at 6pm, my feet were too sore and my skin too sunburned to spend any more time in the elements.

I headed back to the train station and traveled home to Paddington station. After a good night’s sleep, I woke up early to get ready for an American friend’s Fourth of July BBQ in London.

The theme of the day was burgers and flip cup, and it felt like a much more fitting way to celebrate American Independence Day than in the Henley Royal Regatta Stewards’ Enclosure. Still, there was Pimm’s there, and the crowd was more international than American.

Maybe from now on I will make my annual July 4th celebration an official hybrid expat weekend. Like my country, I can take the best of all of the cultural traditions that make up my world and add them to the festivities. Henley Royal Regatta and Star Spangled Banner, anyone?

Being overseas, this year my 4th of July was a bit different. In fact, it was the polar opposite of most American 4th of Julys. The lake was replaced by a river, the grill by a seafood restaurant with white tablecloths. The cheap American beer gave way to Pimm’s and champagne, and the fireworks were canceled due to a stabbing the year before (no joke). Bathing suits were banned, as were skirts that hit above or at the knee. As for anthems, there were plenty sung, but they were of the university variety and happened far from the confines of the upper-classier-than-thou Stewards Enclosure that I had been invited into.

Yes, this was Henley, or the Henley Royal Regatta, an annual rowing race that takes place each summer in the quaint English town of Henley-on-Thames. I originally wanted to go for—you guessed it—the people watching, but ended up getting scouted for a modeling compet— wait, no wrong event.

I did fancy some people watching, though. But then I found out that Brown was sending four boats to the regatta this year, and I suddenly became a lot more interested in the races. Well, a few of them anyway.

After a train from London to Henley, my boyfriend and I followed the masses to the river, where we serendipitously ran into the Brown freshman boat pulling away from the dock. We stood with other alums and a few parents to clap for them as they rowed away to start their race.

Moving on, we found the entrance to the Stewards Enclosure, our base for the day. The strict dress code required women to have skirts below the knee, with an emphasis on below. Having tried on three dresses that morning and asked my boyfriend to study exactly where they hit on my leg, I was confident that my knees were 80% covered. Pulling down my dress as far as I could, I edged past the entrance dragons and into the enclosure.

Once inside, I was struck by a whirlwind of color. Namely, blazers. There were orange blazers, blue blazers, yellow and purple striped blazers, blazers with trim, blazers with piping, and blazers covered in metal pins that showed the importance of the person beneath them. I later found out that these were rowing-related blazers and that the wearers had all rowed at Henley at one time or another. Each one denoted a certian school or club, and there was a hierarchy to them, as one would expect from anything English.

After a bit of blazer watching, we met our friends and cheered for the Brown freshmen, who won their race. It being 11am and this being an outdoor summer event in Britian, we were a tad embarrassed to still be sober. In an effort to remedy the situation, we walked to the nearest drinks enclosure for a pitcher of Pimm’s. Unfortunately, we discovered upon trying to leave the area that alcohol is not permitted outside of designated areas. That pretty much meant that if one chose to drink, one chose to not watch the rowing. There was something very strange about that.

We finished our Pimm’s and walked around some more, then met back up with the rest of our group at a tailgate. Like the rest of this 4th of July, the tailgates were as far from the American version as could be. Proper tents were propped up everywhere, chairs surrounded tables covered with tablecloths, and real silverware was used in lieu of plastic cultery. Our friend’s mother had prepared an amazing spread for lunch, and dessert was strawberries and cream. It was very civilized.

After lunch we headed back to watch more races and drink more Pimm’s. In the afternoon there was a tea break, which even applied to the rowers (although I’m not sure any of them really partook). We had every intention of having some tea, but the Pimm’s kept getting in the way.

Sometime around five o’clock my boyfriend and one of our friends decided to take a nap in the deck chairs that lined the river. Not tired, I ventured outside of the enclosure with a friend to one of the Oxford college tents, where there was beer and the remnants of a BBQ. It felt a little bit more like American 4th of July, but there were still too many stripey blazers and funny accents about.

Heading back to the enclosure, I found my sleeping beauties and woke them up to find food. Two hours and several more Pimm’s later, we finally managed to get a group together to eat. Unfortunately, thousands of other racegoers had the same idea. We ended up at a kebab place where we stood at the counter eating our shwarma and feeling very un-American.

Our energy flagging, my boyfriend and I headed back to the train station after dinner. On the way home I couldn’t help but feel a bit like I had cheated on my country by spending Independence Day at a ridiculously traditional British event. But my American friend in London was throwing a 4th of July party that evening, so we decided to redeem ourselves by spending what was left of our country’s Independence Day at an event specifically dedicated to the occasion. It wasn’t BBQ and fireworks, but it wasn’t lobster and Pimm’s either. It was perfect for an expat celebration on the 4th.