God Save the Queen! (Monday)

Today we woke up around 7 :30/8 am and knew we had to get to Buckingham palace by 11 in case it was the day for changing of the guards. We took the tube to ? station and found out that EVERYONE was on their way to work! The first tube stop was PACKED! People were piled in, sitting and standing. Some standing by the door had to duck their heads as the doors closed (they’re curved upwards). We changed stations a few times and walked quite a bit. We then walked by St. James Palace (back side I think). Paul enjoyed watching the guard march. We then walked to Buckingham Palace via Pall Mall (a thoroughfare lined with historic estates such as Clarence House Terrace and such). We took pictures of the Queen Victoria statue/fountain and tons of Buckingham Palace and its architecture. There were plenty of tourists, too, but not packed. We walked around statue a bit. Oh, and the guard changes TOMORROW (drat).

Then we took Palace Road alongside St. James Park. Saw where the Guard Museum was (didn’t go in). We then walked towards Big Ben and Parliament buildings. We then crossed the road to tour Westminster Abbey. Or so we thought. We were first compelled to take a detour around a little Norman looking tower (jewel tour) and realized it was a little gift shop and could also be toured for 5 pounds. We paid and got to go up spiral stone staircase to two levels: first level (2 rooms) was about parliament and such. The second floor was a different display (we can’t remember right now—history overload. The pictures will remind us).

Anyway, after this little tour, we walked to the entrance of Westminster. The one entrance is St. Margaret’s church and a white tent and the presence of bobbies (police) told me something was going on. Sure enough, at the abbey gift shop (remember being there, Rachel?) I asked if the abbey was opened for tours and the young chap at the counter said no. When I asked if it was always closed Mondays or if there was a special event, he answered that it was Commonwealth Day. So no tour of the abbey *yet*. As we shopped, some guy asked if the queen could be coming there and the lad told him that she would at 3:05 attend a service at the abbey. Huzzah! We thought we’d tour the area then come back to the abbey around 2 or so to see if we could see the queen.

Next, we walked down a road by the war cabinet rooms. The Red Lion pub popped up around a corner and since I’ve seen picture of it, I thought we’d stop in. Think again! It was jam packed with bankers, what looked like members of parliament and other yuppie Londoners. PACKED!!! We went next door and I had shepherds pie and Paul had a big slab of pork. Our next stop: Trafalgar Square.

At Trafalgar square, we were not immediately assaulted by pigeons as I expected. We observed the fountain and statuary, and then walked up the steps toward the National Portrait Gallery. Once there, an older Pakistani man struck up a conversation about the pigeons, which now all converge on a small plaza above the Trafalgar plaza. He asked where we were from and as soon as we said Minnesota, he exclaimed “Largest mall!” then he asked Paul if he worked at the mall. LOL. Small talk aside, we then watched a lady sing opera, walked through the pigeons, and decided to peek in the National Gallery. It’s free after all. It was OK, but overwhelming. As it didn’t have Pre-Raphaelite art, we kept it to a very quick tour.

We then walked (by this time I had HUGE blisters on both feet) to the London Eye. That was fun! It was a 30 minute flight and yes, you really get a great 360 degree view of London. It’s amazing. We then made our way back to see the Queen. We walked back to the abbey and found a good spot to settle in. As we waited, a fellow American asked Paul “what’s going on here?” Paul looked at me like he didn’t speak “American” (by now he’s quite adapted to London life), so I explained, “Supposedly the queen will show up here.” The guy asked if the abbey was open for tours, so I gave him the rest of the news. When he asked what Commonwealth day was about, I had to confess my ignorance. Some chummy fellow next to us, though, explained that this is the one day when all the dignitaries from the commonwealth countries (like Australia) came together. Ah! About 20 minutes later, the queen’s motorcycle brigade pulled up to stop traffic, and the car zoomed by (not right in front of us, but we saw it clearly). Then she got out of the car and went in the church. I am not lying though when I say Paul saw the Queen—he got a picture of her backside as she entered. (if I have time to post any pictures from today, it will be this one!) The Queen is in the dress (of course).





In short, we did not get to see the changing of the guard. We did not get to tour Westminster Abbey. We did not get to eat at the Red Lion. But we saw the Queen's backside. It was all worth it! We will go back there tomorrow to make up the rest!

We then headed back to the hotel after a quick stop at Marks and Spencers for supper food. Now here I sit blogging in anticipation of getting Internet access so we can post this and call home to talk to McKenna.

I will post tomorrow before we lose our access; however, posts after that may be limited . We may go to the café downstairs and pay $6 for one hour every couple of days (so that may give me enough time to write and post). ‘Til then…we’re off for more adventures in London! We’re loving it!