Day 5 London

We had a great day today. It was one of the days for the Changing of the Guard, so we arrived at Buckingham Palace in plenty of time and took up our position on the Mall where we thought we’d have a good view. A troupe of the Horse Guards went by soon after we arrived. Then we waited for the real guards to march along, and we waited, and waited. Many of the crowd gradually drifted away, and we saw a police car nearby and we knew you could always ask a policeman if you were lost. Well, we weren’t lost but the Grenadier Guards were, so we asked them if anything was going to be happening. They told us all the different regiments were rehearsing for the Trooping of the Colours, but the Horse Guards would be passing again soon. And they did! The most entertaining part was the the two mounted police who preceded them, clearing tourists who were all over the street taking photos, and risking being mown down by the horses who looked as though they were going to proceed straight ahead regardless.

We had a lovely walk back through St James Park, along the lake where we saw squirrels and white swans. The squirrels look so tiny, and the swans so big compared to our black ones. After lunch we walked back along Whitehall past the Cenotaph, and numerous other war memorials. The two photos we’ve included honour the airmen of the Battle of Britain, and the women who served in WWII. We walked past Downing St, but there was no way anyone was getting near No 10. The entry to the street was very securely protected to all but authorised entries.

Of course we had to see Big Ben, (yes, I know you can only hear him), crossed onto Westminster Bridge, then walked back along the Thames till we were close to home. We loved walking along beside the river which is such an iconic part of the city.

Needless to say we’d had a wonderful day, seeing so many sights, and were happily exhausted when we reached home.Lue lisää