London

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace....

It seems a shame to spend quite a bit of time in England and not visit London. We decided the easiest way to do this (given our previous hassles with traffic) was to catch the train from Great Chesterford into Liverpool Station in London. We managed to get a ticket that covered both train and tube travel for the day. Yay!

Susan kindly dropped us at the station and it was an easy hour and a quarter trip into the city. We started walking as soon as we left the station, stopping at a Pret a Manger coffee shop to study our city map and decide what we'd like to do.

It wasn't far from where we were to St Paul's Cathedral, where Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married. It's an imposing cathedral, and Barb had visited once before so didn't feel the need to pay the entry fee to get in (it was free last time) but took photos outside anyway.

Outside St Paul's

St Pauls Cathedral

John in Fleet Street

We hailed a taxi in Fleet Street. Barb's knee had decided to play up today. It's been pretty well behaved all trip considering the amount of walking we've been doing, but today it had to play up.We asked the driver to take us to Kensington Palace as we wanted to have a look around there and then lunch at Harrods.

It soon became obvious that we were in some serious traffic chaos - the cabbie was actually apologetic. Despite trying to dodge down side streets our cab soon ground to a halt. As we were slowly passing Parliament House and Big Ben the crowds became thicker and we were barely moving. When Buckingham Palace came into view the reason for the crowds became clear. It was the Changing of the Guard (or so we thought - it was also a dress rehearsal for tomorrows Official  Queen's Birthday - Trooping the Colour). Barb was jumping up and down in her seat.
"Stop here!" she begged. John couldn't see what the fuss was about - soldiers, marching, big deal! - but Barb was frantic wih excitement. We leaped out of the cab, despite her knee which gave serious trouble all day, and gave our driver extra money so he wouldn't be too aggrieved by our early exit.

Changing Guard

Buckingham Palace

The crowd gathers

Bobbies manage crowd at Palace Gates

Peeking through the gates

Marching off down the mall

Grenadier Guards

We walked back as quick as we could and were lucky enough to get quite a good vantage point to see the ceremony. Barb was excited! She even temporarily forgot her sore knee. The Grenadier Guards looked magnificent marching around the palace forecourt and then up The Mall. There were lots of police around, some even carrying machine guns! The crowds were cheerful and happily dispersed once the guards marched off.

Wellington's Arch

Wall gardens

The Ritz Hotel

John puttin on the Ritz

We decided to go to Fortnum and Mason for lunch instead of Harrods as it was closer on nearby Piccadilly. We walked up Piccadilly to the Piccadilly Circus where we saw the Statue of Eros. On the way we passed The Ritz Hotel and many other high end stores, gaping like hicks from the sticks.

Fortnum and Mason was a great choice for lunch. The store reeks of genteel grandeur. We were waited on most solicitously in the restaurant and the menu was like something off MKR. Barb chose the spatchcock while John had a beef salad, all served by the waiter from a large tray being held by a girl assistant waiter.

Barb at lunch at Fortnums

Fortnum & Mason

John at Fortnum & Mason

After lunch we walked around the store visiting the perfumery (in search of more Joop! le Bain.) No such luck. We also looked at the food section and refrained from buying very expensive jam.

Money for jam

Oooh! What can I buy?



No perfume today

We caught the Underground down to Knightsbride and continued to look around the wonderful stores there. The escalators in the Underground are so steep and long. It is quite giddying to stand at the top and look down to the bottom. I wonder how many people tumble down them? Some people were actually running down them to catch the subway tube. We were astounded at some of the shops we window shopped in. We could've bought an Aga cooker for $78000 but it might be hard to ship home (or fit in our kitchen for that matter). Or we could've spent thousands on diamonds and jewels in de Beers. Luckily Barb is just as happy with her cheap bling for red hatting.

Piccadilly Circus

Eros

Catching the tube

Barb at Harrods

Harrods

We got to Harrods in time for afternoon tea. We found a restaurant called Florian and ordered a pot of tea, cappuccino and two fruit tarts which cost more than our main meal at Mont St Michel. Oh well! You have to lash out at least once. Barb's fruit tart had a spectacular array of exotic fruits on it. Some we didn't even recognise but it tasted good!

Barb has arvo tea at Harrods

Spectacular fruit tart

Man about town at Harrods

Afterwards we wandered around Harrods, quickly realising that most things were well beyond our budget. In the childrens' wear department we saw Bronte sized dresses that cost around $1000! Who pays that for a three year old? The very rich people who live nearby here probably don't even flinch at that. We did check out the lower ground level of Harrods to see if the Diana and Dodi memorial was still there since Mr Al Fayed has sold Harrods. It is!
Perhaps just a tad less tacky than before.

Diana and Dodi RIP

Statues of Di and Dodi

We walked towards Kensington Palace and got as far as the Victoria and Albert Museum before realising that we were really too exhausted to continue.  Our biggest walks have all been in the big cities: Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Glasgow and now London.












Brompton Oratoty

The Victoria and Albert Museum

We jumped on the tube on the Circle Line and headed back to Liverpool Street Station to get the train home. It was a wonderful day, but we were glad to get back to the quiet peace of a small village.