London Day 3: Big Ben, Parliament, Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey

London Day 3, Saturday February 23
        Late Friday night we went to the bus station to take a bus from Paris to London. We thought that the bus we had chosen was going to go through the Chunnel (tunnel under the English Channel), but instead we went on a ferry over the Channel. It was hard to get any sleep, as we drove for 2-3 hours, then had to get out for customs, drove a little more and had to wait in line for the ferry for like 2 hours, and once we got on the ferry we had get off the bus, and then it was about 2 hours to London. And our bus driver did not speak much English. If anyone ever plans on doing this, if you have enough money I would pay to take the train, or be prepared for a sleepless night! And the border control for the UK was different. Most of the time they just ask how long you are staying and what your purpose of coming into their country is. but instead they had you fill out this card of your name and all this stuff, including where you were staying. There were no pens available, so bring your own pen! It was frustrating, especially at like 1:00 in the morning.
        Once we actually got to London at 7:00 (an hour later than we should have arrived), we got out pounds (terrible exchange rate when compared to the US dollar), found the metro, (or Tube or Underground) bought a daily pass, and found our bed and breakfast. It was a nice little place, and we had the front desk worker hold our luggage. We found a Starbucks to get breakfast, Wi-Fi, and plan out our day. I had never had a croissant from Starbucks before, but it was so good! And the nice worker helped explain to us the different pounds and coins. The coins were especially confusing because they were all of different sizes, and the largest wasn't the highest amount.
          We went on the Tube again and found Big Ben, Parliament, and the London Eye. It was quite cloudy, and a little snowy the entire day, so all my pictures look pretty dark!

Big Ben! Attached to Parliament. It also goes by Elizabeth Tower to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Year.

The London Eye

              After that, we made our way to Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, the Palace is only open to visitors during 2 or 3 months during the summer, when the Queen goes on vacation...I would have loved to go in! Here are some things I saw on my way there:

Iconic London telephone booth

Just looking out for your safety! As in Ireland, the entire time I was confused on which way the cars were coming from, and one-way streets are just as confusing.

Double-decker bus!

The Queen's Guard! They kind of remind of the Winkies in the Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch's army.We passed by the Wellington Barracks, where the Guards were coming from, and then they walked into the park that is near the Palace to go to the Changing of the Guard. I really wanted to follow them!

          We got to Buckingham Palace, and took some pictures. Then we found a spot near the fountain and monument in front of the Palace to see the Changing of the Guard.  We had to wait for an hour in the cold and snow, but it was worth it! The Changing of the Guard took about 45 minutes, and was very extravagant. The Guards stand behind the gates of Buckingham Palace, so you can't see them up close. First, the new Guard came in, and the old Guard members and the new guard members started to do their changing ritual. Then, the  the Mounted Guard and Queen's Guard Band came by, the band going into the gates of the Palace. The Guard finished doing their changing, and the band played some songs, including some Beatles', and the old Guard was joined by the Mounted Guard and Band and processed out while the new Guard was left to keep watch of the Palace.

Buckingham Palace

Queen's Guard Band processing out of the Buckingham Palace gates at the end of the Changing of the Guard

The old Guard leaving Buckingham Palace

The Mounted Guard in the procession after the Changing of the Guard

 

      We found pizza for lunch at Pizza Express, which were all over London. From the name, you think it would be a cheesy (ha ha that's punny) place to go, but it was actually a nice sit-down restaurant, similar to Dewey's in St. Louis. Claire and I split a pizza, and it was so good! We went back to our bed and breakfast, checked in, and got our stuff settled in our room, which was quite spacious and nice. 
        We then went to Westminster Abbey for Evensong...hopefully that counted as kind of going to mass, and it was a free way to see Westminister Abbey. Westminster Abbey is an Anglican/Episcopal/Church of England church, and is where all of the coronations and royal weddings take place.The service was really nice, basically a prayer service with a lot of singing. It was a similar layout to a Catholic mass, except without the Eucharist. I really enjoyed going to a pretty church and hearing music and singing...I have missed that since I have been in Madrid!

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

         After that, we went to Picadilly Circus, which is a big area of shops and restaurants. It was packed full of people! We went into some souvenir stores, and then walked to Trafalgar Square. It was dark, so I didn't get a very good picture of it. We tried to find somewhere to eat, but it was too crowded, so we just went to Victoria Station, where they had all kinds of restaurants. We had fish and chips, and then a Krispy Kreme doughnut for dessert! By this time we were exhausted, and I was very happy to get back to the bed and breakfast, take a shower, and go to bed!

Things I learned in London:

• Most everything is named after the Queen or the Royal Family
• Parliament, London Eye, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey are in the same place
• On the Tube they always say "Please mind the gap", meaning watch your step when you get off the metro
• I should have brought my Uggs...there were so many people wearing Uggs!
• It was cold, but not as cold as Paris
• British pounds are confusing

Cheerio! 
(I am not sure if people actually say this anymore, but I'm going to use it anyway!)