God Save the Queen

Early in March we took a long weekend to meet up with our friends from Charleston, Emily and Courtney, in London. John had been to London a few years before with his Masters program, but for me it was the first time.

We started off our trip with a visit to the Natural History Museum. John and I aren’t the biggest fans of art museums, but give us a natural history museum and we are entertained for hours!

After a long morning in the museum we walked over to Harrods for a bit. I had no idea that on top of handbags, jewelry, shoes, and toys, they also have a full service butcher and restaurant!

Before the trip the girls decided we’d take a bus tour of London to be able to hit all the highlights in a short amount of time.  The best part of the tour was by far being able to stay warm on the bus! Our first stop was St. Paul’s Cathedral where Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married.

We then drove by Trafalgar Square on our way to Westminster Abbey and Big Ben.

Wesminster Abbey

 

I love that you can see the London Eye in this photo of Big Ben!

The next stop on our tour was to Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, in the winter they do not d the changing of the guards everyday, and, of course, we were there on an off day. Also, when we arrived, Queen Elizabeth had just left for her weekend residence, Windsor Castle.

The final stop on our tour was to the Tower of London, home of the Crown Jewels! Sadly, there are no photos allowed of the Crown Jewels but they were GORGEOUS! While were there we had the opportunity to have our photo taken with one of the Beefeaters (whose actual title is Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary). The original purpose of the Beefeaters was to look after prisoner at the Tower of London and to safe-guard the crown jewels. These days, they act more as tour guides than anything else. However, it’s not easy becoming a Beefeater. They are all retired from the Armed Forces of Commonwealth realms and must be former senior non-commissioned officers with at least 22 years of service. They must also hold the Long Service and Good Conduct medal. Crazytown.

Tower Bridge

While the girls were out on their tour, John went on his own tour of the Purdy Gun & Rifle Makers’ Gun Room at the Audley house in Mayfair. He did not come home with a souvenir.

We ended our day by meeting back up with John for a ride on the London Eye after dark. The city is beautifully lit at night and it was a real treat to see it this way.

One of the highlights of our trip was the snow. From what the locals told us it almost never snows in London. It’s cold and it rains a lot, but the snow never makes it into the city. While we were there a big snow storm blew threw dumping giant white snow flakes into the city. It was absolutely magical! Unfortunately, I was too in awe to pull out the camera to take photos, but I know it was a moment John and I will never forget.

We had a great time in London seeing the sites and catching up with friends. I look forward to going back one spring or summer. I still have dreams of renting bikes and riding through Hyde Park and walking through Kensington Gardens.