Thoughts put into the planning and the morning ticks are counted before the countdown begins.
It's a 15 minute drive and a shuffle through the winding corridors before the rush to enter The Underground towards The Tube which will be our chariot for the day. Once on The Tube, I'm instantly lost into individual worlds as each person has a bubble cocooning them within their own quirky ways and adventures. Everyone is so absorbed in these bubbles, that I doubt they notice the people getting on and off at every stop, yet it surprises me, how without noticing, they know exactly when they should be getting off The Tube to their next destination.
Clearly no one gets lost in London...
Wrong, as if reading my mind Cousin JJ tells me where to meet her if I lose the pack, because it's something that happens often.
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| Cuz JJ |
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| At the Tube station |
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| London Underground |
Once getting off The Tube and
landing on our feet, it’s a speed walk towards Buckingham Palace because we
want to make it in time to watch the changing of the guards. As we near the
fence, it takes me a while to realize we are already there but I’m momentarily
distracted by the amount of News Vans that are parked on the outskirts of the
Palace (no doubt waiting for the arrival of Kate’s baby) and I instantly
remember the movie Anchor Man and the zoo with the birth of the panda.
Once past the fence and the
vans we hit tourists; hundreds and hundreds of tourists with their backpacks,
cameras, tour guides and travelling shoes and it blows my mind. To be a celebrity, to be a
Royal; the lack of privacy instantly destroys any thoughts of becoming a star
and I’m happy with the routine of my life. I'm happy gazing into their windows from the streets, like the rest of England.
Everything blurs past me as we
find a spot to watch the guards change over and if you think it’s one or two
guards that change places, you’re wrong. It’s an entire parade filled with
horses the size of cars, coppers everywhere, blocked off streets and marching.
It’s like being transported into an entirely new world. Don’t believe me, watch
this:
I managed to take a video from where I was standing as well so you could take in my surroundings in. The one thing that amazed me and I think also disappointed me slightly, was the size of Buckingham Palace, it was smaller than I thought it would be. Granted I only got to see the front of it but things definitely look bigger on TV.
I'm literally a 5 minute drive away from the Windsor Castle (where the queen stays on weekends (how awesome am I)) and I was more impressed with that Castle than the Palace. Maybe, I just have a thing for castles, the tall towers, the gun ranks, the watch towers etc, it all seems very exciting compared to the constraints of a Palace.
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| The start of the walk way to the Palace |
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| The center of the court |
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| The center of the court |
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| The security - much better quality cop cars than in South Africa |
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| Buckingham Palace from the side |
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| Buckingham Palace, pigeons and tourists |
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| The London Eye seen from the Buckingham Palace which is behind me |
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| Status are found everywhere in City of London |
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| Queen Victoria |
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| Royalty arriving |
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| More Royalty |
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| The horses are beautiful |
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| Coppers are much fitter in London than in South Africa |
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| The changing over of the guards begins |
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| Copper on horse |
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| Changing of guards |
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| Changing of guards |
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| Changing of guards |
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| Changing of guards |
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| Changing of guards |
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| Changing of guards |
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| Changing of guards |
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| Changing of guards |
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| Commander |
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| Myself with my Cousin JJ |
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| Buckingham Palace |
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| Memorial walk for the late Princess Diana |
Once the cops had said we were able to walk on the streets again, we made our way through the streets, past historic building and through a park towards Big Ben.
You've all heard of Big Ben; it's in every action movie based in London. But you can find out more by clicking HERE. It was difficult to try and get a shot of Ben because it was a battle between trying to stay with The Pack and not getting hit or dragged in the opposite direction with a group of tourists, but I don't think I did too badly when I look at this pictures:
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| Cousin JJ with Mozzarella |
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| This was my first sight of Big Ben |
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| Big Ben |
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| Big Ben |
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| Big Ben with an English bus |
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| Big Ben |
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| The Underground to the Tube |
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| Connected to the base of Big Ben is the Parliament building |
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This is a duck tour which means this vehicle actually goes under the Thames River to the other side.
Crazy! |
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| Big Ben |
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| Big Ben |
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| Big Ben |
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| Big Ben |
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| Me and Mozzerella |
It was literally a couple of blocks before we were created with a view of the London Eye. We never went closer than this, but I've been promised a trip on the London Eye, so I will be sure to record that moment.
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| Mozzeralla and the London Eye |
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| The London Eye |
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For all the British people who fought in the war,
This was dedicated to them. |
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| Soldier Pilots running to their planes |
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| River Thames |
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| A pub and restaurant on the river welcoming anyone to join |
It's pretty incredible to believe that so many legends came from London. There is Jack the Ripper whom I will definitely dedicate a blog to and the notorious Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. I mention this because we made our way to the Sherlock Holmes pub and once inside I could definitely imagine what it must have been like the in the past.
The history in London wraps itself around you and it's very difficult to unwrap it. Simply because you don't want to.
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| Sherlock Holmes Pub |
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| I suggest that you do not try this one. |
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| Aunty L and Cousin JJ |
Once we were done here it was a couple of steps to Trafalgar Square and then into the center of London where all the shops were to be found. I'm going to put all the pictures below for you to have a look at, but first will be a video of my first double decker bus ride. It was amazeballs!
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| The Old Styled London Bus |
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| The Back of the Old Style London Bus |
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| Trafalgar Square |
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| National Art Gallery at Trafalgar Square |
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| Trafalgar Square |
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| Nelson Statue at Trafalgar Square |
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| Mozzeralla at Trafalgar Square |
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| Entrance to China Town |
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Stuffed bag leading towards a duck leather bag.
So wrong. |
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| Found an ice cream bar |
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| Knicker Bocker Glory |
It was an incredible day out and it was like being warped into an entirely new world. I felt extremely blessed to be able to experience something that many will not be able to experience.
And this is only the beginning.
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| Minding the gap |
One more note:
Waiting for The Tube to arrive, I had a moment where my heart ached and I was able to give a silent thought to all the people who had committed suicide on The Tube tracks, and to all those people who have thought about it in the past or even today.
Remember, anything is possible - you just need to keep believing. Don't let the world and the evil inside of it destroy the power of who you are and the dreams that are out there, designed specially for you.
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