Traditions and History

When I think of London I think of traditions. One of the many traditions that London has is the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Today we got to witness that first hand. Well not exactly right at the palace. Everything I read said it was a spectacle that everyone wants to see and very few actually get to due to the amount of people standing out in front of the palace. I decided we needed an alternative. So I researched where the Guard steps off from and ends the ceremony and decided we would be there instead of in the masses in front of the palace jockeying for position with thousands of other people. They start at St. James Palace and end at the Wellington Barracks. So after a great nights sleep we hopped on the tube and headed for St. James Palace. We had plenty of time for breakfast once we arrived so we opted to have breakfast at GBR The Great British Breakfast at the Duke hotel and it was lovely. After breakfast we headed over to St. James Palace and waited for about 45 minutes for the Guard to begin. Unbeknownst to us, and just before it was to begin, the police on horseback came down and made everyone on our side of the street get over to the other side where there were quite a few people already standing. So instead of crossing the street we walked down to the end of the road so we would not get blocked off from heading down towards the barracks afterwards. We had a great vantage point to see the guard pass us on their way to the palace playing tunes from Broadway shows to Bon Jovi. It was pretty neat to see and hear. While we were standing there I overheard a travel guide telling her group the best place to watch them leave so we headed there and got some great photos of the end of the pageantry at Wellington Barracks.

We walked over to see the palace when most everyone had left to see the new guards standing out front watching over the palace. It was after noon by then so we hopped back on the tube and made our way down to Tower Bridge, (the bridge everyone thinks is London Bridge). We walked over to St. Katherine’s Dock and had lunch at the Dickens Inn and had our first taste of British fish and chips. After lunch we walked along the waterfront and over Tower Bridge. After taking some photos of this iconic bridge from different vantage points we headed to Borough Market, a huge outdoor market selling all sorts of food. We shared a large cup of strawberries that they pour a generous amount of chocolate over. Wanting to try something else we found ourselves at a stand called Humble Crumble and had a classic apple crumble with a warm custard on top. Both were delicious but very filling. We needed to walk off all those calories.

About a month ago I was able to get us tickets to go up to the top of what they refer to as the “Walkie Talkie” building to Sky Garden. London has a lot of pretty parks and green spaces, but one thing sets the Sky Garden London apart; it’s London’s highest public garden. It’s on the top of the building and offers some of the best 360 degree views of London. We walked around there for awhile seeing London from 34 stories up. We had one more stop in mind, to visit the oldest church in London that our guide had told us about yesterday. It’s not one that many know to visit so we had the place just about to ourselves. All Hallows By The Tower church was founded in 675 AD. The church survived the Great Fire of London in 1666, but was badly damaged during the Blitz in World War II. Following extensive reconstruction, it was rededicated in 1957. It was so interesting. The church has a museum in its crypt, containing portions of a Roman pavement which together with many artefacts was discovered many feet below the church in 1926/27. Also on display are the church's registers dating back to the 16th century, and notable entries include the baptism of William Penn and the marriage of John Quincy Adams. He married a young lady from England by the name of Louisa Catherine Johnson before he became president.

We had such a full day that we never made back in time for dinner reservations we had at the Scarsdale Tavern. So instead we opted to have dinner downstairs in the pub and it was very good. We took our drinks outside after dinner and sat watching all the double decker buses go buy. One more day in London tomorrow and another full day of seeing the sites before heading to Cornwall.