We were scheduled to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace today.
There was a dress code that we needed to follow and we needed to be at the main doors of Wellington Barracks at 9:30 sharp so we were up bright and early getting ready.
All spiffed up and ready to go.
We caught a cab we thought in plenty of time but due to traffic, we made it there just in time.
Just a strange tree I saw along the way.
One of my sister's captains met us at the gate as we needed an escort and he took us to the officer's mess to wait for the parade to start.
They took us out to the balcony area, it reminded of an old plantation with these big huge columns.
We did have a great view of the courtyard where they practice their drills.
In our finest for our visit to the Palace.
Everyone looks so good all dressed up.
I hit up the ladies room just in case and they had these cute little hand soap containers.
It wasn't long before the Canadian squadron came out and line up in the square.
We were quite far away so I couldn't tell which one was my sister.
Some of the British guard were there as well, the Beef Eaters.
I just love their uniforms.
My Honey & my brother went down into the courtyard to get a closer look but I stayed on the balcony with mom.
I knew she would have to stand through the guard changing so I wanted her to get as much rest as she could first.
I knew she would have to stand through the guard changing so I wanted her to get as much rest as she could first.
They were lining up in preparation to march over to Buckingham from Wellington.
WE needed to get their ahead of them so we headed over there with our escort.
Our escort for the day.
There it is.
There were so many people gathered there to watch.
Some bobbies.
Apparently thousands line up here to watch the changing of the guard each time they do it.
The gates of Buckingham Palace.
There were armed guards there just inside the fence.
We felt like VIP's because we got to walk right up to those gates which were opened to allow us to go right in.
We got to stand right up beside the palace and have a front and center view of the whole thing.
We were absolutely forbidden to take any pictures though, we were warned if they saw one they would escort us out immediately so we followed the rules and just enjoyed the show.
It was great to watch from our vantage point, reminded me of all the parade's we'd been too when we were younger to watch my dad.
I couldn't quite pick out my sister until near the very end but it was so cool to watch and know that she was a part of it all.
We were escorted back to the gates at Wellington Barracks and My Honey captured this moment behind the scenes.
The soldiers having a bit of a break.
The weather was gorgeous and hot yet again so I bet they were sweltering in their uniforms.
We found a pub right across from Wellington Barracks and went there to get a bite as we hadn't eaten so far today.
Most pubs you have to go up to the bar to order so mom & I let the men take care of that.
Having a bit of a conversation with the bartender.
We tried a sausage roll.
My brother got a burger and fries.
The fries were huge and they were good suprisingly.
Mom had fish and sweet potato fries.
My Honey had what looked like a sheppards pie.
I ordered the watermelon salad.
It had watermelon, pumpkin seeds, goat cheese and balsamic vinegar.
I was surprised with how much I liked it.
We headed back to the room after we ate because we all wanted to change out of our dress up clothes.
It was hot and we were uncomfortable.
We ended up having naps, every one of us.
When we got up, mom wanted to just stay in the apartment and chill for the rest of the day.
They had a long day yesterday with their bus trip and we had an early morning today so she was wiped.
My brother just wanted to find something quick and easy for supper so he went his way and My Honey & I went ours.
We headed to Borough Market to look for a place and passed this awesome mural along the way.
We'd passed by it a few times already but I never took the time to really look at it.
We walked all around the market but nothing really appealed to us for some reason.
My Honey did get a Bratwurst.
It looked better than it tasted.
We walked over the London Bridge
We had a good view of the underneath when we got to the other side.
Then headed up towards the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.
Most folks, including us at first, think that this is London Bridge but actually this is Tower Bridge.
It is such a pretty bridge we just had to get a selfie with it.
We walked around for a while just taking it all in.
Eventually I had to find a rest room and as we were on the hunt, I noticed this guy sneezing and sneezing and as I walked by him, he asked me to take his picture with his phone that he was holding with his hands that he'd just finished sneezing into repeatedly.
It grossed me out to touch his germy phone but I did it then the hunt for the rest room became more urgent because I REALLY needed to wash my hands.
We went into the Tower Bridge Hotel and found one luckily so I felt much better.
There was a little place outside the hotel selling pizza so we ordered one.
The seats were on a slant so it was kind of uncomfortable but the view was amazing.
That is the Tower Bridge right behind me.
The pizza was about as good as a frozen pizza but it did the trick.
It was another gorgeous day weather wise so after the pizza we decided that it was great day to get out on the Thames for a cruise.
We bought tickets to what we thought was a regular cruise but turns out it was a hop on hop off cruise, but we just stayed on for the whole route so it might as well have been a regular cruise.
The sun was sparkling on the water and it looked brilliant.
There's the shard!
The Globe Theatre
This is the Millennium Bridge which I've always wanted to walk over but still have not done.
It's nicknamed the Wobbly bridge and apparently it is covered with over 400 works of art.
It's a really cool looking bridge and it's been featured in a few movies including Guardians of the Galaxy and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
This building is nick named "the pregnant lady".
There is the London Eye.
Big Ben in the background - although we learned that Big Ben is actually the bell inside and not the clock tower itself.
It was under construction this trip so it was surrounded by scaffolding.
Being such a beautiful day there were tons of other people out enjoying themselves on the water today.
We all were happy and waving at one another, it was such fun.
Another interesting bridge.
I think this might be the one they call the lost bridge because so many people have trouble finding it.
When we got to the Globe Theater dock, we decided to hop off and go see it up close since we didn't make it there last trip.
I was loving every minute of the sunshine we were getting on this trip.
This gate at the globe theater was so cool.
It was covered in all these little sculptures and I don't think any two were alike.
It's a replica, not the original, but it is still pretty cool to see.
We went inside to the gift shop but not right out into the theater itself.
You can take tours but it looked like there was something going on in there tonight.
We just wandered along the rivers edge for a while along with all the other people that were out and about enjoying the day.
These street musicians were playing some Vivaldi and they sounded awesome.
We saw these Wagamama's every where but never did try one.
Love the mural.
Another great mural.
I think that they are amazing.
Maybe even more challenging to do art like this on such a big scale.
What a great setting for a museum.
We just wandered along the water until we eventually made our way back to the apartment.
We did stop and pick up a couple of converters at the store.
We'd brought one with us but we all had phones to charge and mom had her C-Pap machine she needed at night so the one we brought just wasn't cutting it.
We checked in with my mom and brother to see if they wanted to go get a bite to eat but they'd just eaten so we went to the place just downstairs from our apartment, The Breakfast Club.
My Honey ordered this chocolate milk shake.
It arrived with popcorn on top which I've never seen before.
It complimented the shake though which was dark and rich and really cholatey.
Super good.
It is a cute little spot and they had some great menu items.
A fun bar too - it looks like it's a popular hang out spot.
My Honey ordered the Juevo Rancheros and it was so pretty, it tasted just as wonderful as it looked.
I was feeling the pancakes with berries and cream.
It was so good that I didn't even need the syrup.
We finished eating then we collected mom and my bro and cabbed it over to the Tower of London.
We had a chance to see the Ceremony of the Keys which started at 9:15 pm but the traffic was so bad that we were at a stand still again.
We didn't think we were going to make it.
We thought about ditching the cab and walking the rest of the way until we realized the bridge was opening for a boat to pass which is why the traffic was stopped.
As soon as it was through, the bridge would reopen to traffic so we crossed our fingers and hoped it wouldn't be long.
We made it right on time.
These statues were just inside the gate and I'd never noticed them last time we were here.
All spiffed up again.
Mom and I skipped the skirts this time and hoped the capris would be dressy enough.
The Tower of London is closed to the public after 5:30 so the gates were closed and locked.
However, there was a guard there who kept letting folks out.
I saw a bunch of folks in on the lawn so I jokingly said perhaps there was a dinner party going on in there.
Soon enough, my sister came out to greet us.
The Tower is where she has been doing her guard duty.
Doesn't she look smart in her uniform.
They let us in along with another couple who were there to see their grandson who is part of my sister's group as well.
That is one proud mama right there.
She had to take off to her post before we could get pictures with her.
She will be part of the Ceremony of the Keys that we are here to see.
It is very exclusive and hard to get tickets, in fact they are currently booking for a year away so we were very fortunate to have this opportunity.
Just waiting for it to start.
A lovely view from here.
I don't what that round building is but it is great.
Another view of the shard.
My mama.
As soon as I took this picture the Yeoman Warder arrived and we were under strict instructions of no cameras or recording devices of any kind.
He explained all about the ceremony and he told us a bunch of other stuff as well.
For instance, he actually lives right there in the Tower of London.
Once they've been in the Queen's service for at least 22 years, they have the opportunity to live here.
In fact, including the Yeoman Warders and their families, over 100 people live in there.
He was very funny and very interesting and you could tell that he really enjoyed what he did.
This is the description of the ceremony I found on wikipedi
Ceremony of the Keys (London)
The Ceremony of the Keys is an ancient ritual, held every evening at the Tower of London, when the main gates are locked for the night. It is said to be the oldest military ceremony in the world, and is the best-known ceremonial tradition of the Tower.
The ceremony
At exactly 9.53 pm, the Chief Yeoman Warder, dressed in Tudor watch coat and bonnet, and carrying a candle lantern, leaves the Byward Tower and falls in with the Escort to the Keys, a military escort made up of armed members of the Tower of London Guard. The Warder passes his lantern to a soldier, and marches with his escort to the outer gate. The sentries on duty salute the Queen’s Keys as they pass.
The Warder first locks the outer gate and then the gates of the Middle and Byward Towers. The Warder and escort march down Water Lane, until they reach the Bloody Tower archway where a sentry challenges the party to identify themselves:
- Sentry: "Halt! Who comes there?"
- Chief Warder: "The keys".
- Sentry: "Whose keys?"
- Chief Warder: "Queen Elizabeth's keys".
- Sentry: "Pass Queen Elizabeth's Keys. All's well".
The Warder and escort march down to the foot of Broadwalk Steps where the main Tower Guard is drawn up to meet them. The party halts, and the officer in charge gives the command to present arms. The Chief Warder steps forward, doffs his bonnet, and proclaims:
- Chief Warder: "God preserve Queen Elizabeth".
- Guard: "Amen!"
On the answering “Amen” the clock of the Waterloo Barracks strikes 10pm and the Last Post is sounded, marking the end of the ceremony.
The Guard is dismissed, and the Chief Warder takes the keys to the Queen's House for safekeeping overnight.
History
The origins of the ceremony are unknown. It may have begun during the Middle Ages, and it is often stated that a ceremony in some form has been held since the 14th century. Written instructions that the keys should be placed in a safe place by a Tower officer, after securing the gates, date back to the 16th century. In its current form the ceremony is likely to date to the 19th century when the institution of the Yeomen Warders was reformed by the then Constable of the Tower, the Duke of Wellington.
The ceremony has never been cancelled, and has been delayed only on a single occasion due to enemy action during the Second World War. During an air raid on London, a number of incendiary bombs fell on the old Victorian guardroom just as the Chief Warder and the escort were coming through the Bloody Tower archway. The Chief Warder and the escort were blown off their feet, but they recovered and carried on. The Tower holds a letter from the Officer of the Guard apologizing to King George VI that the ceremony was late, along with a reply from the King which says that the officer is not to be punished as the delay was due to enemy action.
Access to the ceremony
Between 40 and 50 visitors are allowed access to the ceremony each night, under escort. Tickets are free but must be obtained in advance from Historic Royal Palaces, the organisation that looks after the Tower. The event is usually sold out at least 12 months in advance.
My sister was actually the sentry who yelled "halt, who goes there" and then gives the "all is well" and allows them to pass and it was super cool.
Once she allowed them to pass, everyone goes through into the courtyard onto the stairs where the last post is sounded and a moment of silence is observed for all those lost.
A Canadian soldier played the last post on his bugle and it sounded hauntingly beautiful.
Then we were all escorted back to the exit with the group but because we were there to see Jen, we were actually allowed to stay on the grounds and visit her for a bit.
As we were walking back up to her quarters, a few gentlemen stopped us to rave about the bugler's performance.
They said that they were so moved by his performance.
Apparently the regular soldiers aren't solely musicians, it it like a second duty where the Canadian soldiers who are musicians are just musicians.
They were guests of the Governor General who also lives in a home in the Tower and apparently he was having a bit of a dinner party there this evening, so I was right about that.
It was super cool to be in there after hours without all the crowds.
This is where the Crown Jewels are kept and it also the barracks where my sister stays when she is on duty here.
How awesome is that?
A fellow soldier of hers took this photo for us.
We were able to sit and visit with her for a while.
Then she escorted us back to the exit.
Kind of eerie and beautiful all the same time.
Very peaceful too for being smack dab in the middle of the city.
I guess at one time Royalty used to receive animals as gifts from other countries, it must have been like a zoo in here.
This is a poor sculpture or the skinniest polar bear I have ever seen.
The cobblestone down Water Lane where the Ceremony of the Keys is held each evening.
This is Traitor's Gate.
Once outside the Tower, we caught a cab back to the apartment.
We watched this funny British show where they had to pick letters then create words or numbers then create equations using as many of the letters or numbers they'd picked as they could.
The host was funny and the banter between him and the guests was hilarious.
I will have to look for it when we get back home.
Another day full of steps!!
That is all for today, until next time, be happy!
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