Friday 13th May
Despite the connotations of the date, has been a warm and exciting day. We made an early start, catching the tube to Westminster. (Thanks Viv and Dave for the Oyster cards – worked a treat)
First thing we saw when we exited from Westminster station was Big Ben. One of those things you read about and see pictures of, and suddenly there it is.
(Cue ear worm: ‘ Bobbies on bicycles two by two, Westminster Abbey, the tower of Big Ben – the rosey cheeks of the little children…. gotcha didn’t I)
The next few hours were spent walking around, just looking at buildings and statues. So much to see and do, so little time – think this is just a taster for the future. (OK I lied just a little – we did fit in some dress shops and department stores, knew you wouldn’t believe me anyway.)
London would not be complete without one mention of Churchill, or better yet a pic of his smiling face,
All these years, I have heard stories of the smiling Bobbies (damn autocorrect tried to change it to Boobies) and how they patrolled without guns.
Well things have changed, not in the smiles, but in the guns. We talked to both slightly armed and heavily armed varieties – all smiled happily and chatted and offered helpful directions.
In our walk, we came across the Household Cavalry barracks. These are the members of the Queen’s Life Guard, and supply the mounted guard for many ceremonies. We were lucky enough to arrive just as they did a change of guard at the barracks. They also have two manificent horses posted on guard at the front of the barracks.
Our wanderings then took us to Trafalgar Square, seeing so many streets, like Pall Mall, that are so familiar. A really strange feeling seeing them all. Not sure if it is from reading books, watching TV or playing Monopoly. Well Baker St is surely from reading (or was it the music (no ear worm this time)
Finally found our way to Buckingham Palace. The crowd directly in front of the palace was huge, so we made the fortuitous decision to stay on the other side of the road. We ended up with an absolute front row position for the arrival of the horses and the marching band. We missed the actual changeover, but the part we did see was spectacular.
By the end of this, my poor old body had had enough of this walking lark, so we bought a ticket for the hop-on, hop-off bus.
Spent the afternoon riding around London getting a history lesson from the audio guide.
Meanwhile, back at Small Paws, Munro has found and a new friend, and Billy is still playing cute.
