Tim & Gerri's Wild Ride
Email & Facebook Gerri:
  • Home
  • Worldwide Travel
    • Everest 2025 >
      • 2025 Everest Packing List
      • Everest Blog Summary
    • 2024 Europe Tour >
      • 2024 Europe Tour Packing List
      • Europe 2024 Blog Summary
    • Asia 2023 >
      • Asia 2022 Packing List
      • Asia 2023 Blog Summary
    • Eastern Europe 2022 >
      • Eastern Europe 2022 Blog Summary
      • Eastern Europe 2022 Packing List
    • Narrowboat Holiday 2022 >
      • Narrowboat 2022 Blog
      • Narrowboat 2022 Packing List
    • Ireland & UK 2019 >
      • Ireland & UK Itineray
      • Ireland & UK Blog Summary
      • Ireland & UK Packing List
    • France 2018 >
      • France Itinerary
      • Blog Summary
    • European Tour 2017 >
      • European Vacation Blog
      • Blog Summary
    • Southeast Asia 2014-15 >
      • Southeast Asia Blog
      • Packing List
      • Blog Summary
    • Afghanistan 2011-12
  • United States Travel
    • Great Lakes Sail 2020 >
      • Great Lakes Sail 2020 Blog
      • Blog Summary
    • Trans-America Bicycle Ride >
      • Blog Summary
      • Our Team
      • Equipment
      • Breweries Along Route
    • Pacific Crest Trail >
      • Pacific Crest Trail 2016 >
        • What is the PCT? - 2016
        • Why Hike the PCT? - 2016
        • Gear - 2016
        • Itinerary - 2016
        • PCT Blog Summary - 2016
        • Where are we now? - 2016
      • Pacific Crest Trail 2014 >
        • What is the PCT?
        • Why Hike the PCT?
        • Gear
        • Food
        • Itinerary
        • Blog Summary
        • Where are we now?
    • Motorcycle Ride 2014 >
      • Motorcycle Blog
  • Brewery Visits
    • 2025 Breweries
    • 2024 Breweries
    • 2023 Breweries
    • 2022 Breweries
    • 2021 Breweries
    • 2020 Breweries
    • 2019 Breweries
    • 2018 Breweries
    • 2017 Breweries
    • 2016 Breweries
    • 2015 Breweries
    • 2014 Breweries
    • 2013 Breweries
    • 2012 Breweries
    • 2011 Breweries
    • 2010 Breweries
    • 2009 Breweries
    • 2008 Breweries
    • 2007 Breweries
    • 2006 Breweries
    • 2005 Breweries
    • 2004 Breweries
    • 2003 Breweries
    • 2002 Breweries

London Day 12 - Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Churchill War Rooms, Big Ben, 10 Downing Street

12/11/2019

0 Comments

 
Wednesday, 11 December 2019
Rick Steves:  This is the spectacle every visitor to London has to see at least once:  stone-faced, red-coated (or in winter, gray-coated), bearskin-hatted guards changing posts with much fanfare, in an hour-long ceremony accompanied by a brass band.
                      The most famous part takes place right in front of Buckingham Palace at 11am.  But there actually are several different guard-changing ceremonies and parades going on simultaneously, at different guard locations within a few hundred yards of the palace.  All of these spectacles converge around Buckingham Palace in a perfect storm of red-coated (or grey) pageantry.

Rick suggests various strategies to get a more intimate view of the proceedings (aka find smaller crowds, while still seeing a lot).  We began at St James Palace, proceeded across St James Park to Wellington Barracks, and then crossed behind the crowds in front of Buckingham Palace for the long view on the end of the ceremony.

Picture
Picture
Crossing the Mall, in front of Buckingham Palace and arriving at St James Palace (to the right).

Picture
Picture
Indeed, a smaller crowd is found.

Picture
"Crowd control"


The show begins...
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Wellington Barracks - fresh troops going on the watch.

Picture
Picture
 
Onto the Churchill War Rooms - Rick Steves:  This excellent sight offers a fascinating walk through the underground headquarters of the British government's WWII fight against the Nazis in the darkest days of the Battle of Britain.  It has two parts:  the war rooms themselves, and a top-notch museum dedicated to the man who steered the war from here, Winston Churchill.  The 27-room, heavily fortified nerve center of the British war effort was used from 1939-1945.  Churchill's quarters, the map room, and other rooms are just as they were in 1945.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture







Interesting placard in the War Rooms - they took every effort.




A panorama of Parliament Square - with Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Supreme Court, and the Houses of Parliament in view.
Picture
Is this Big Ben? (Okay, Ben is actually the bell within, the tower is Elizabeth Tower, but most everyone calls the whole kit and caboodle "Big Ben")  Or are the Brits prepping to launch a rocket from next to the House's of Parliament?  Okay, Big Ben/Elizabeth Tower is just getting a life extending renovation.
Picture
Picture

We walk 2 blocks north along Parliament Street to say hello to the Prime Minister at his residence, 10 Downing Street.
Picture
Picture
Hmmf, security prevents us from just dropping in and sharing a cup of tea with Boris.

Picture


A couple of noteworthy monuments:
Picture
Picture


                                             Going home, waiting for our train at a transfer point.

Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Ireland & UK Home
    Blog summary

    Archives

    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.