London Part Two

We went to the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. They were only doing them on odd days in March so we knew the crowds would be bigger. We thought we were getting there early enough but at first it didn't seem so. We went to the Victoria statue in the circle outside of the gates. That gave us a view of the approaching bands and troops. Then they all go behind a gate. The people crushed against the fence may have seen some things but they really wouldn't have a good view. It is a 45 minute ceremony so people started getting bored and left. That opened up the steps right in front of the statue and a perfect view of the gate.

It was diplomatic introduction day so this is the carriage carrying the Venezualan ambassador.

Great view right?

We toured the Royal Mews after the changing of the guard. This is where they have all the carriages and horses. This is the coronation carriage that has been used for hundreds of years. They have to take a wall down to get it out.

We took a boat ride since it was a warmer day and got a great picture of the London Eye. We never made it into there but I'm sure it gives great views of the city.

Of course no trip to London would be complete without a trip to Harrods. I got some cookies for my mom and chocolate for me. Whitney went to the Laduree store and got macarons.

We went to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was huge inside (no pictures allowed). We climbed up to the top of the inside of the dome. That is not for the unhealthy (257 spiral stairs up). 

Other places we visited were the National Gallery (loved the huge Monet Water Lillies), Courtald Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Kensington Palace, Victoria & Albert Museum, Selfridge's and lots of rides on the tube.

We also tried lots of different foods while there. Among my favorites was baconaise (bacon flavored mayonaise for fries), prawn salad sandwiches, and these prawn cocktail flavored chips.

London - Part One

We spent a week in London in March for spring break. There was so much to see and do that a week isn't enough time.

The weather overall was pretty good. It only rained twice. A lot of the places we visited you couldn't take photos inside so I didn't get as many pictures as I normally take.

We started our first day of touring at the British Museum. It is free to visit (what a bonus for locals).

The Rosetta Stone

They have a huge ancient Egypt collection

Actual pieces from the Parthenon in Greece

My favorite part of this museum was the Asyrian collection but I didn't take any photos. I hadn't really seen pieces from that time period and it was a great collection.

The second day we went to the Tower of London.

They were setting up for the Game of Thrones premiere so had to avoid the tents

What a great tour guide (they hate being called that)

Collection of armor

This was for a child or a dwarf - stories vary on that

We also saw the crown jewels right when they opened but no photos. 

The Tower Bridge

After that we went to the Globe Theater which isn't Shakespeare's original one (that burned down) but a recreation. It had a great museum inside.

I'll have more later.