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.
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