From the Palace to the Tower

After a leisurely start to the day we wandered down towards the Palace, experiencing what delights the town could bring. Bond Street (completing the green set) turns out to be where all the expensive shops are in London. We noticed Southerbys’ Louis Vitton, Mont Blanc, Tiffanies, De Boers’, Omega, and many more. So it was equivalent to the Champs Elysees except there was no McDonalds in sight. After drooling at the Ritz we followed the stream of people through the park to the Palace. It was obvious something was going on by the hordes and the controlling Police (horses and all) keeping the centre of the square clear. Deciding to see what all the hoopla was about we positioned ourselves on a nearby wall to watch the action. The Royal Standard was fluttering overhead (meaning she was in), however the crowds and the guards seemed to be getting ready for something other than a royal parade - as there were no flag waving locals hanging around. As it turns out it was all for the daily changing of the guard.
What caught us by surprise was the appearance of a couple of police motorbikes (lights flashing), a Limo with Prince Phillip giving a royal wave, followed by a people mover with ladies wearing fancy hats silhouetted through the windows making a quick exit out of the gate and off down the road. The flag was then changed to the Union Jack. So we can now say we went to London to see the Queen (that’s where we’ve been).
We then tried to leave but got caught up in the crowd at the front gate and were forced to watch the changing of the guard from 10 feet away from the action. Unfortunately this meant a wall of 6 people deep and the only person who got to see anything was Isabel who we sent up on a barrier to take photos. It’s a curious salute that crowds give to spectacles these days – everyone seems to raise their fists in anger – on closer inspection they are (of course) raising their cameras to snap shots of what’s going on. We discovered we could therefore see the action through the little TV screens presented by the people in front of us. Really it would be much easier and more comfortable to buy a postcard.
Once the action was over hopped on a Double Decker bus and had a tour of the place. This was very enlightening and enjoyable. We ticked off some reds (The Stand, Fleet Street), some purples (Whitehall, Pall Mall) and ended up at the Tower. We spent a few hours here wandering around disturbing ghosts of the past and trying to dodge the rain showers, we saw the crown jewels which according to Rosemary made hers look insignificant and according to Neil made his feel tender.
A blustery trip up the Thames blew the cobwebs away as we entertained by a lively commentary. Disembarking back at Westminster we hiked up to Covent Garden where we were accosted by a street performer who was trying to get a crowd together through exciting the few that seemed interested. We were more interested in Dinner at this stage. So we found a place which served Fish and Chips (surprising not soggy – some things have improved) and then strolled back home though the misty rain wearing our multicoloured ponchos resembling the Telly Tubbies. Very English.