Gridlock at the Palace

It was a cool morning here in London -- likely one of the coldest yet that we have had on this vacation. We put on a few more layers than normal and are thankful at least we don't have snow, unlike photos from home that were sent to us today. 

This morning we fulfilled Sir IF's desire to head to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard. We had been warned that there are usually swarms of people at this event and yes, there were big crowds. We were fortunate to get a spot along one of the railings, not at the palace, but on one of the parade routes, so we had a chance to take better photos than a lot of other people who were there. The horses were beautiful and we got to hear the military band and also see the guards. 

Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

We left the palace via a walk through St. James Park and the Princess Diana Memorial Playground which was quite lovely. When we got out of the park we needed to cross one of the roads by the palace and got into what can only be called 'pedestrian gridlock'. A lot of the roads around the palace were closed off for the changing of the guards, but also in anticipation of the marathon events as well, so people had nowhere to move to when a "buggy" or vehicle got into the roadway somehow. But we forged on; one of the event organizers finally took charge and told people to divide into two lines, and the gridlock became manageable and passable. 

We were trying to make our way into the Knightsbridge area and head towards Harrods to check out the iconic London retailer. Took a bit of a windy route but we did get there and had fun checking out the interesting floors and shops and departments inside Harrods. The Egyptian Escalator area was particularly memorable. We also took a stroll through their toy department which was done so much more tastefully than our experience with Hamleys. 

Being the brave and learned souls that we have become we now managed to transfer trains and divide up our subway trip home so we felt like we had achieved a milestone. 

In the early evening we made our way over to St. Paul's Cathedral to take in the Evensong service. The cathedral truly is an incredible feat of architecture to marvel over. The ceilings and the immense size of the building and the artistry are all so impressive. There was a choir visiting from Essex and it was lovely to have this chance to participate in an Anglican service in such a revered setting. 

St. Paul's Cathedral

The weather took a dramatic turn for the better late this afternoon so we took advantage of our balcony for some photos of the Thames and pre-dinner drinks. 

The tour boats were very busy today.

Tonight we ventured out as far as downstairs for some dinner in that restaurant. We had breakfast here once before but this was our first chance to have a dinner meal there. It's a very happening place on the weekends. Beside us there was a group of five lovely young women celebrating a birthday. They were earnestly in conversation with the managers discussing their identification in hopes of some celebratory alcohol but we don't think they were very successful. They had brought a birthday cake and some flares and sparklers on it so the serving staff brought it out to the table. It gave off quite the show of light and we were quite convinced the smoke detectors were going to go off but they didn't much to their server's relief. 

There were a couple of boat cruises on the Thames tonight and the people on one of them seemed to be having quite the early dance party. All of the guests were wearing headphones and dancing up a storm - guess that way the ship complies with noise bylaws and the partiers still get to have a good time.