The Queen's Guard and the Cold

Friday morning I got up fairly early and headed out to Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guard. I went to the Green Park Tube station, which meant that I had a decently long walk through Green Park in order to find the Palace. It was pretty, though, and nice and tranquil. When I got to the Palace, it was around 10am, but there were still a few other people wandering around, taking pictures, and claiming spots by the fence. I found a spot just to the right of the main gate, and stayed there for the 1 1/2 hours until the actual ceremony started. It was actually really cold, and my boots were still a little damp from the rain Thursday night, so it was kind of miserable. The people with young children kept fussing over them, and everyone was really cold while we waited.

I had a really good spot, though; right up by the fence, so I could take pictures through the bars. The ceremony itself was both more and less interesting than I expected. The Guards weren't the typical red-coated, fuzzy-black-hat-wearing ones you expect to see. The Old Guard had the hats, but grey coats, and the New Guard was completely different. They marched in, and there was a lot of marching and forming up and walking around and shouting orders. Then the two bands played, and that was my favourite part. The first band (the Old Guard's band) played the theme from Star Trek, some jazz piece that I recognised but couldn't name, and the theme from Star Wars. Then the New Guard's band played a bunch of songs from Les Misérables, in a kind of mini-medley thing. Then the Old Guard band played St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and the New Guard's band finished with a bunch of songs from Mamma Mia. It really surprised me; I was expecting the bands to play "God Save the Queen," or something, and certainly not ABBA! I did really enjoy it though, since both bands were really good.

After they played there was a bit more marching and formation, and then the Old Guard's band, the Old Guard, the New Guard's band, and half of the New Guard marched away, and the rest of the New Guard (apart from the four that had already taken up their posts guarding the doors while I wasn't watching) marched away back to wherever the rest of the company hangs out. After the ceremony was over, I took a few more pictures and walked towards Victoria for lack of anywhere else I knew of to find something to eat. I was freezing still, so I ducked into the Queen's Gallery Shop, and wandered around, looking at stuff and warming up a bit.

Along my way, I also found a centre for the Girl Guides of the UK, which was a fun coincidence! The Girl Guides are basically the UK version of America's Girl Scouts, and seeing as I was a Girl Scout all the way through high school, I of course had to check it out! It was basically just a store selling stuff for girls who are Guides, but the groups of various girls standing around and the general atmosphere brought me back... it was kind of fun.

When I got to Victoria I was absolutely starving, so I decided to go to an actual restaurant and get actual food. In the food court on the top level there was a restaurant called Garfunkel's, so I went there and got a chicken wrap sandwich and some lemonade. The lemonade was kind of strange, since it was less like squeezed lemons and more like flavoured water, but it wasn't bad. The sandwich was a little dry, but the fries that came with it were good, and I was really hungry anyway. I was far too full for dessert, so I just asked for the bill. And when I glanced at the dessert menu while I was waiting I was glad that I was full; almost every thing on there was about 5 pounds by itself; way too expensive for me!

Afterward, I took the Tube to try and find the Museum of London, which has free admission and basically goes over the history of the city itself. It was difficult to find, as I was beginning to discover everything not marked by a specific Tube station was. Eventually I got there, and wandered around inside. It was decently interesting; a lot of cool artifacts and history. It did seem to be somewhat geared towards kids, and the hordes of childlings wandering around inside did nothing to quell that suspicion. After I'd looked at it, I figured I would just barely have enough time, if I hurried, to see the British Museum.

If I had thought the Museum of London was hard to find, the British Museum was ridiculous. I ended up walking around in circles three or four times, and all about a block away from the entrance. I ended up going in the back entrance, since that was the one I found, and it steered me straight into an exhibit of Islamic ceramics and pottery. Since that was not exactly my area of interest, I ended up following the signs in the stairwell all the way up to the top, where there were Egyptian artifacts and mummies. From there, I wandered through into Ancient Near East stuff, including some Greek and Roman artifacts. It was a lot of fun, because a few times I came across things that I had studied in my Art History class, and I liked the chance to get to see them in person. I was really excited by the Greek vases; I managed to find the one depicting Ajax and Achilles playing a backgammon-esque game, and took a bunch of pictures. Since that was my favourite amphora in class, it made me really happy. I also saw some other fun stuff, like statues of gods, various mummified animals, and a phalloi/herme in the shape of a wind chime. Unfortunately, the museum was closing soon, so I had to leave before I'd seen very much.

When I left, the sun was going down and it was going to be night soon. I hadn't yet just gone and walked along the Thames and seen the sights to see, so I went to Embankment station, walked across the bridge there, and then walked up by the London Eye and the Aquarium. There was a beautiful carousel, and everything was lit up and gorgeous. I took a bunch of pictures, although being as it was night not all of them turned out. I walked back across at the Westminster Bridge, where there was a bagpiper busking in the middle of the bridge. You could hear him all the way back at the Eye, but I really enjoyed listening to him. I gave him what money I had left in pounds, since I knew I'd be leaving the next day. Then I went back by Big Ben, got on the Tube at Westminster station, and went back up to Katie's house. I got some more dinner at that little Waitrose grocery store, and started the process of packing up all my souvenirs and clothes so that I would be ready to leave the next day.