1) Trooping the Colours. It's the Queen's "official" birthday today (apparently, there can also be a difference between the official and real birthdays, too). Every year, the Horse Guard and other military groups have a parade, and the troops are presented for inspection in front of Wellington Barracks (I think that's where we were), where the Queen arrives in a horse-drawn carriage from Buckingham Palace. So, I went, along with thousands and thousands of Englishers. Watched the military bands, soldiers, horses, artillery....and then the Queen showed up. Got a pretty good picture on one of her passes by in the carriage, too - there was only one or two folks between me and the barricade, and she passed within a hundred yards. So, this lasted for about an hour and a half or so, and then I wandered away.
The Royal Horse Guard. I was surprised that maybe about 1/3 of them were female - higher than I expected in an elite military group. Comparable U.S. institutions are around 10%, at least from what I've heard. Or maybe that was intentional - they picked closer ratios for the parade. Ich weiss nicht.
Here comes the Queen! (P.S. If you click on any of these pics, they open in a new window much larger, so if you wanted to zoom up for this or the royals to actually see better....ja.)
An ever-faithful policeman, with more trooping activity in the background.
2) St. James' Park. This is one of the royal parks, and borders Buckingham Palace. Wandered a bit - lots of lush greenery, black and white swans and other birds skittering about....sat on the grass and did some writing.
More green....I like the parks here a lot.
3) Buckingham Palace/Trooping the Colours, Part Two. On to Buckingham. The Queen returns there for some more troop review, and the royal family steps out onto the balcony. The RAF does a flyover as she joins them and waves at the adoring masses.
The Horse Guard and artillery enter the Buckingham Palace grounds.
Being inspected by the Queen.
More of the Horse Guard.
The military band.
The royal fam - when I zoomed in, I could make out William, Harry, Charles, Camilla, and Andrew (I think).
Afterwards, stopped at a true British pub for a mid-day break - the Albert.
What's with this dang tourist American, taking pictures in our pub? Hey, I was discreet....
4) Westminster Cathedral. This is the largest Roman Catholic cathedral in England and Wales - and absolutely gorgeous. It was just one of those places that moves you when you walk into it, too, and makes you want to stay and reflect for hours, if allowed. I prayed and lit a candle while I was there, and simply sat and thought for a while in one of the side chapels, which are actually open to the main nave.
One of the few pics I could take - there was a Mass going on, and (understandably) they ask for no photography during services. Wish I had pictures....but glad I was there at the time I was.
5) Westminster Abbey, Part One. No more visitors/parishioners going in, but I got to see the outside. It's beautiful. And again, exciting my historical self. : ) Tomorrow, I'm going to try to go to service there.
Beautiful, ja?
From the side.
On the grass - collapsed here with my journal later. Peaceful place.
Above one of the doors.
Right across the street from Parliament. In fact, the House of Commons' official church is on the grounds - apparently, there have been several small churches that have been part of the Abbey over the centuries.
Ol' Oliver Cromwell - your government didn't last too long, sir. Can you tell there's no love lost between us? Okay, so, yes, Shannon is weird - she gets in feuds with centuries-dead historical figures.
This just reminded me of the whole ancient "two swords" ideology. The left spire is Parliament; the right, the Abbey - so close to one another, in some dance of unity and opposition both. When I saw the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, I noted that they actually had two swords on display, with ancient inscriptions - the "sword of spiritual justice" and the "sword of temporal justice." Interesting. Yeah, so I'm also a political philosophy junkie (thanks, Doc). Hmmm, if I could design my major....how about historical political philosophy? Perhaps with a special emphasis in how it appears in monarchies and in literature? That's not a specialized field at all....hehe.
6) Jewel Tower (and more Houses of Parliament/Palace of Westminster and Big Ben. I officially got locked in a 700 year old tower during my visit to London. So, I go here about 45 minutes before they close. It's a rather small tower, with three levels and two small rooms to each floor, and a spiral staircase connecting it all. It stands across the street from the Houses of Parliament and used to be part of the Palace of Westminster, built during the 1300s (the Houses now occupy part of its remains). So, there was a rather fascinating display on the history of Parliament on one floor, and then I went to the top. I sat in one of the windows, carved out of the stone. It was rather comfortable and lovely, looking out at the Houses, knees drawn up....and I dozed off for a moment or two. Apparently, I was a little too quiet, it turns out. When I awake, I look at my watch, and realize it's a few minutes until closing. Big Ben can testify on my behalf that it wasn't quite closing yet - he went off about five minutes later. So, I go down the stairs, and note the silence. I laugh to myself. Wouldn't it be funny if I got stuck inside somehow and had to spend the night? Yeah, like that would happen....surely, they check the rooms before that. Apparently, I was a little too quiet up on my window perch, though. Noting the darkness, too. I'm sure it was a wee bit lighter earlier....oh, and there's no one downstairs anymore. And the door is closed. I push. Doesn't budge. Try to move the latch. Also doesn't budge. Those 14th century architects knew their business. I reckon that if battering rams didn't take this place down, I probably won't either. I really am locked in. On my own. Nowhere to go. No one to call. This doesn't immediately strike me as problematic. Rather humorous, actually. And an adventure. I stand there for a few minutes, contemplating the door. And then I see the woman who had been manning the little admissions counter walk by. She reaches for the door, and I step back obligingly. She opens the door and jumps, looking at me in shock and confusion. I gave her quite a start. She said that had never occurred on her watch before. That's okay - didn't bother me. She said heard a noise, but almost didn't come back because she reckoned it was their resident ghost. So, my "locked in" adventure lasted all of, say, 10 minutes tops, but still.... : )
The Tower I almost got to sleep in....
These stones are 700 years old....
"Renewed shall be blade that was broken...." Okay, okay, sorry. ; ) Crazy - this thing is over 1,200 years old.
That's really how old the door is. That's King James' insignia near the handle.
After that, I went back to Westminster Abbey, where I laid in the grass with my journal and wrote for a bit. Then it started to rain, and I realized how worn out I was. So I chilled at the hostel for an hour.
Then it was time for some nighttime meanderings. I've been adding the general Piccadilly/Soho/Leicester disclaimer on each post, but really, I think I've stayed pretty much around Piccadilly Circus, actually. Not tonight. I hit Soho, Leicester, and Chinatown as well, wandering for several hours. No real purpose - just enjoying it all. Picked up some falafel at a Lebanese place and sat on a stone wall in Leicester Square....window-shopped....listened to a million accents and languages....tried not to get run over by vehicles (I'm getting better about that whole left-side-of-the-road thing)....yep. Then I headed over across the Thames to get a peek at Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament at night. The Jubilee Bridge is pretty sweet-looking, too.
Leicester Square.
Chinatown.
One of the two Golden Jubilee Bridges, designed for pedestrians, spanning the sides of the main bridge.
A famous view.
Oh, and I think I ran into Liam Neeson tonight. Almost literally. I was walking along the Thames tonight and nearly ran into a fellow as he turned away from a store window, talking to a woman. Hey....it's Ra's al-Ghul! is pretty much what ran through my head. They walked away, and I stood there for a moment, confused, until I realized that, well, it is plausible that I could run into him in London.
Anyhooo....cheers!
Adding to the feel-like-a-Londoner list: I can now name a lot of the Tube lines by their names, not just color. Brown=Bakerloo. Bright yellow=Circle. Green=District. Dark blue=Piccadilly. Light blue=Victoria. Black=Northern. And so on and so forth....
Random tidbit: I've been to a decent number of big cities. Last I heard, L.A. has the most pollution in the U.S., and I thought N.Y.C. was one of the dirtiest I'd seen. But it's a new experience for me to wake up every day, blow my nose, and have only black soot come out. Sorry....TMI.
Random Q&A: Ever notice a tendency to walk on the right side of the sidewalk, just because we drive on the right side of the road? (At least I do it.) I wondered if Londoners walked on the left. The verdict? If it's an organized thing (i.e. there's a divider, and they give you direction), then they will direct you to the left. However, for free-walking....it's pretty much divided. I think the tendency is to walk on the left, but it's only a slight tendency. Walk down the middle and inconvenience everyone, and you're probably good. ; )
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