Sightseeing in London

Friday we were given a full day to explore.  Some of the students went on a guided tour to Scotland.  They texted me when they arrived and reported there was a monsoon occuring in Scotland. I'm not sure they call it a monsoon, but apparently it was raining - a lot. (We all warned them to take warm raincoats - did they listen?  hmmm) 

So I and two of our students who stayed behind set out for a day in London with several sites in mind to visit.  Our goal was to arrive at Buckingham Palace before the changing of the guard so we could acquire a good vantage point to watch the event.  The guidebooks said to be there by 11 for the 11:30 event.  I am here to tell you, that is NOT early enough.  It was already jam-packed at 11. So we did the best we could and were able to see quite a bit.  We were not, however, able to tour the palace.  The summer tours don't begin until July 23 and we'll have to see if we can get tickets to squeeze that in before we leave on the 30th.  We did go into the Buckingham Palace shop and it was all about Kate and Wills and the royal wedding, of course.  There were exquisite items, but very expensive.  I was tempted to bring home some wine bottled for Buckingham Palace, but it was a little pricey also.

We then headed for Parliament and were disappointed to find out "No visitors today" from a London Bobbie.  Here's a tip:  even though the information may say places are open, it is totally within their power and discretion to close to visitors for whatever reason.  So we will try again another day.

We stopped for lunch at a delicious place called "Pred"  I think.  Thanks for the suggestion Charisse!

Next stop was Westminister Abbey.  It took a bit of convincing to talk the girls into shelling out the 13 lbs. to see the Abbey, but I explained to them it would be money well spent. I had seen the Abbey many years ago and knew it would be memorable. We spent well over an hour inside and were absolutely amazed at the history of this structure that dates back to about 1065. We Americans think we have history?  Try and top that!  They do not allow photography inside the church so our only photos are of the outside.

Last stop was the National Gallery and I want to go back and spend more time.  We were able to locate many famous paintings like; "The Cartoon" by Leonardo da Vinci (a sketch); "The Entombment" by Michelangelo; several Rembrandts, Monets, and "Sunflowers" by Van Gogh.  My favorites were by Monet, Degas and Cezanne.  Again no photos inside the gallery.

After a long day, we found the Trafalgar Square tube and headed back to the train to Surbiton.  The students stopped at KFC (yes I do mean Kentucky Fried Chicken) to get their dinner and then headed back to their dorm.  I walked back to Middle Mill, had dinner and then talked with Cathy, my friend from Montclair until bedtime.

Today is Saturday and we are heading back into London to Camden Markets.  It is supposed to be a very eclectic, but interesting market where you can buy clothing, jewelry and crafts.

The photos are of Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Trafalgar Square and Westminister Abbey.

Have a good day everyone!