The Guards at Buckingham Palace change every other day with a big parade and ceremony with horses and trumpets, the whole nine yards. Its odd to think they do that 4 times a week the entire year through but tradition is tradition. It was cool to see the march and all the guards decked out in regalia and in some cases armor, but the crowd was a little too big.
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| Pretty sure they trade those for guns when they get inside |
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| Don't mess |
From Buckingham Palace its only a three minute walk to Westminster Abbey, the place where every British king or queen since the time of William the Conqueror has been coronated. Its a beautiful gothic church built by St. Edward the Confessor, one of the rulers of England before the Norman conquest, so the place is old, however the facades that are seen today are additions to the old church from subsequent monarchs, as are the large towers at the end. One of the biggest draws to Westminster Abbey is the celebrity of the people buried there. I walked past the tombs of Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Charles Darwin, Chaucer, Lewis Carroll, Edward the Confessor, Henry III, Henry VI, William and Mary, Queen Anne and countless other nobles. Standing so near these people is quite an experience, especially for any history buff, the figures from textbooks and worldwide household names (globally known before even the telephone was invented) are suddenly right there in front of you, brought down to earth. Subtract the overwhelming number of Asian tourists and it was actually a pretty personal experience. Even if you aren't excited by the names on the coffins the architecture and grandeur of the place are enough. The Pope just gave mass there today as part of a four day long tour of the UK.
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| Pope Tour Venue 2010 |
Today we went on a tour of Buckingham Palace. As the residence and offices of the Queen it is only open for public visitors a few weeks in the summer, and this tour was added on rather hastily and was probably one of the last of the season. The whole walkthrough was a rather strictly regimented audio tour and only covered a small, albeit grand portion of the palace. It was like walking through a combination fancy hotel and museum without the labels. We were only allowed to walk through the State Rooms and each had its own color scheme (Green Drawing Room, Blue Silk Room, etc.) and we also saw the ballroom, a dining room and the throne room. Every inch of the place was covered with gilded carvings and moldings, the ceilings particularly were really impressive. One room was all white walls with gold accents, as in gold lamps, chairs, candlesticks, you name it, it was gold. The monarchy also houses a large number of artworks which were on display in a few galleries. The whole place screamed opulence and had that royal air we were all craving. No pictures were allowed inside the rooms but that was alright since the real treasure was outside.
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| Opulence, I has it |
Buckingham sits on 30+ acres of land, right in the middle of London. The gardens feature exotic trees that have been gifts to the crown from dignitaries as well as a large lake. The grass was immaculate and with the shade from the trees as well all we wanted to do was hop the little fence and lay down. That would have been bad though since the whole place is patrolled by a small army of cloaked individuals who act as guides as well as sheep herders, making sure we went along the route.
All in all it was a great couple of days seeing how one of the few active monarchies in the world goes about its business.
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