London and Leaving

I spent a lot of time in Harrods. I touched a lot of bags and scarves that cost more money than I will make in my life time. I believe that I became more Scottish in the store when I looked at a very lovely blue scarf I was all set to buy until I saw it cost £250, or about $500. For a scarf. Do you know how many scarfs I can buy for $500? About 200. And I would wear them too - I wouldn't be afraid of them blowing away or getting dirty or being anything other than framed art on my wall. £250 for a scarf. Valentino or not, the hell I'm paying that for a piece of fabric. (Though a sales lady complimented me on my Alexander McQueen scarf. It's not McQueen, it's probably Claires. I got it from the thrift store. Did I tell her this? No. I simply smiled and said, "Thanks, though it's a couple seasons old," with a serious and slightly disappointed look on my face.)

 

The windows were all done up with designer's takes on Disney Princesses. Having no interest in Disney Princesses combined with the dresses not being that pretty and everyone else taking pictures of them, I saw a really spectacular picture of the sky and took that instead. 

James and I started out at  Buckingham Palace for Changing of the Guard. Scroll down for those pictures.

 Victoria Memorial. This thing is huge. Queen Victoria must have thought mighty highly of herself.

 James liked this Queen. Somewhere along the line, I know there is another picture of him and Tangle with a Queen Victoria statue, maybe in Winnipeg? This one was a lot less climbable than that.

 Still part of the Memorial. There are beautiful Victorian fountains all around it and it's got it's own moat.

We then went to St. James's Park, right beside Buckingham Palace. It's a really beautiful urban park. 

The animals are friendly and will eat out of your hand. I'm not willing to give a squirrel a chance to bite off my fingers so I opted not to do this. Plus, I can't advocate for animals eating from people/people food. They become too dependent on this, it's not good for them and it creates a false sense of security for people. One day they're going to feed a squirrel a peanut in another city and that squirrel is going to think their finger is another peanut, bite them and give them rabies. No thank you.

 It's the Queen's Jubilee year. There are many monuments to commemorate this, but the topiary crowns them all.

 

St. James Palace

Heading to Hyde Park, I decided to walk along Constitution Hill. This is the street that runs right beside Buckingham Palace. It is tree lined and the walls to Buckingham Palace are highly secure. In addition to having a slimy moss on them, there is what looks like deadly wrought iron along the top. There is CCTV literally everywhere in London. You're constantly on camera, especially near a palace.

 The Olympic Torch ran along here - this was a hand off spot. The Marathon also ran along here. I believe it was the finish line.

Hyde Park was gigantic and I went there for two reasons. I wanted to see where Arthur Dent and Fenchurch flew, and I wanted to see the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. Those pictures will come as part of the Princess Diana post.

 

Steve asked why James did not go in the phone booth. Simple: it smelled like pee.

My accommodations were amazing. I stayed in a flat in Islington, as previously mentioned. I only paid $25/night. I was two blocks from a tube stop, a block from a Sainsburys, in a really lively, eclectic and safe part of London. The street was quiet and the hosts were amazing. I had full run of the flat if I desired it, but I really only needed it as a bed and a shower. 

I used AirBnB for this and I would do it again in a second, anywhere I travel.

 

I stayed in the room right above the door (there are two flats in this house).

Leaving London was a treat. I nearly missed the coach because the Megabus website gave very bad information. It said I needed to be in a building totally other than the one I actually needed to be in. I eventually found where I needed to be and drove through the country side of England for a few hours before getting to Port of Dover to catch the ferry to France.

 

There really are white cliffs.

 

No bluebirds, however.

 There are, however, nushy peas. The English have found a way to make peas into a starch and it is delicious.

 This is the closest James and I will ever get to a cruise. Going across the English Channel.

 

For Mom.

 

London Pictures, Round 2

I'm really, seriously lazy about this - none of you can be surprised. I'm a lazy person.

Day two on London, I went to see Changing the Guard.

One thing to know about London is that it is crowded. This is not location dependent - everywhere you go it is crowded. Londoners are very nice, friendly, patient, wonderful people. Tourists are shoving, impatient, rude people. The difference between who is who becomes clear very fast. Maybe I grew up differently, but I believe that when you travel, you become a walking, talking representative of your country. I know I base my opinion of a country on the people I meet from there.

A lot of the tourists at Changing the Guard were American. They wore their entitlement very clearly and very loudly. I met several Canadians there as well. How did I know the difference? The Canadians would tap me on the shoulder (or I them), point to my poppy and ask where in Canada I was from. They were also the ones in the crowd who said "excuse me" and "sorry" when trying to get to a better vantage point, or who apologized when someone else shoved them.

 Since it was off-season, Changing the Guard happened every other day and I wasn't about to miss it. I wanted to see the Royal Guard in their red coats and bearskin hats! I learned that the Royal Guard is made up of five regiments and each one is easily identifiable by their buttons, collar and plume. This is information I did not know before I left - I thought that it was all one group.
I don't know why they weren't in red while I was there.

It was a lovely day outside. Bright sun, beautiful blue sky and about 12 degrees. Stunning and perfect. Tourists were in gloves and scarves and toques because....I don't know, they lived on the surface of the sun and this was cold? I couldn't tell you. I got to Buckingham Palace an hour early and it was packed. I moved three times to get a better vantage point.

 The crowds. They fill every space they're allowed to.

Here comes the band!

 The new Guard coming on.

There are a lot of people in the Guard. 

 This was the nice, informative police officer. He told us where things would be happening next and gave us a chance to move to get to a better spot.

 Pointy hatted men on horseback. I'm sure they have an official name and purpose, but I don't know what it is.

 There were a lot of them too. I think if I was in that car, I would have shat myself.

 Once inside the gate, the band played for a while. I couldn't really hear them because everyone was making so much noise, so the only song I could make out was the James Bond theme. 

James enjoyed Changing the Guard too.