For our first full day of sight seeing, Dad wanted to some of the must see things in London, the first of which was the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace.
We walked through St. James Park to get to the palace and since it was reflectively early on a sunny day, there were people everywhere.
A London "Bobby" after Sir Robert Peel, who was critical in passing the Metropolitan Police Act which enabled London to have a salaried protective force. Their dress was very different from the signature red coats and bear skin hats of the military so they were nicknamed after Robert Peel.
Part of the procession, which in total takes about an hour. Each guarded post is switched out for a New Guard and the Old Guard takes his place in the procession so that once it has made the full round they end are in their barracks and can change and rest after their shift.
Changing of Old Guards for the New Guards outside of Buckingham Palace.
Next we headed towards Big Ben and Parliament, but since we walked through the park we came across a few extra friendly swans.They have been fed by humans so much that they have no fear when it comes to taking food or going after an empty hand.
We also saw a black swan, which was beautiful, and a lot less interested in us than the white swan.
And of course, we had to take some touristy photos, you can't leave London without a photo in a red phone booth. Truthfully, they are getting difficult to find since phone booths are being taken off the street permanently or being replaced with modern booths.
We finally made it to Parliament and Big Ben, but Parliament was in session so we couldn't go inside.
Instead we headed across the street to Westminster Abbey and took the tour inside. Photos weren't allowed but some of the people buried here are Edward the Confessor, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Mary I, Mary Queen of Scots, Chaucer, Lord Byron, Lewis Carroll, and countless other poets and play-writes. The Coronation Chair is also inside, but it was being restores so we were only able to see it through a glass window while it was being worked on.
The abbey holds 3,000 tombs and the final resting place of 29 kings and queens, along with almost endless memorials to politicians, poets, and warriors. Previous to King Henry III this abbey, while beautiful, was nothing special, however when King Henry insisted that all of the monks living here profess their loyalty to the Church of England, it became the place for all future coronations and marriages of the Royal family. Most monks of the time were so loyal to their faith that they would rather be tortured and killed than convert to a religion that they did not believe in, which is why it is so amazing that every monk within this abbey converted.
After the Abbey we headed towards Trafalgar square to fit in one last site for the day, The National Gallery.
Again, photos weren't allowed inside, but we spent a good chunk of time here because the audio guides were so good. Admission was free, so 3.50 was extremely reasonable for a piece by piece guide through a collection that was so large it is difficult to know what you are looking at. While walking through the rooms, we began to appreciate the leather couches for seating more than the art so we finished up the highlights tour and headed for dinner.
I took Dad to the small restaurant I had found the last time I went to Spitalfeild's Market. He had wanted to try bangers and mash, and I had been craving apple crumble in warm custard.
Dessert was amazing again, and I got laughed at by the women at the table next to us for taking a picture of my custard. I guess they don't realize it isn't a common dessert in the US.
By the time we finished our dinner, dessert, and coffee it at 10:00pm, so we made our way back to the Gloucester Road tube stop, and went our separate ways for the night.
No comments:
Post a Comment