The kids were in their glory with the Full English Breakfast which came with our room. This consists of juice, tea, toast, beans,bacon,sausage and eggs(poached!). I told them that the Brits have the beans on their toast and they thought that was hilarious, but gave it a try. Danny was a fan, and I may be hunting in the British section of Meijers International Foods aisle when we get back to MI!
Jerry headed off to his meetings and we hopped on the tube to Kings Cross Station, and you HP fans know just where we were headed...Platform 9 3/4! We learned that the exterior movie shots were actually done of Saint Pancras station just across the street, and the platform scenes filmed between 4 and 5 because the real platforms 9 and 10 are not adjacent to each other. The magic of the movies I guess. Anyway, the lovely folks at Kings Cross have made the many pilgrims to this special site very happy by embedding a luggage trolley into a wall beneath the inscription Platform 9 3/4! See our awesome pictures below!
We took the tube to Green Park and walked across this beautiful well tended park right to the front of Buckingham Palace. We secured a perfect spot on the rope line and watched the Changing of the Guard. This process lasts about an hour and involves cavalry,foot soldiers,and bands. It was terrific! Charlotte loved being in the spot where the Queens jubilee concert was last week. She had watched it on BBC and kept saying, "that is where the Queen sat, that is the balcony where they sang Romeo and Juliet from.." It was clearly magical to her, which made me so happy! Danny chatted with a police horse named Lionheart who was 17 hands high! I can't imagine anyone getting up to no good with him around!
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| At the Palace |
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| Charlotte with Grandy and Jeter |
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| Here they come! |
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| Lionheart, one of the Queens protectors |
We walked down the mall and passed Number 10 Downing street but didn't stop to visit the Prime minister--no time! We toured Westminster Abby, which is so huge and stunning we could have stayed all day. We used the free audio tour and it helped keep us moving along. We then walked over to the only remaining part of Whitehall Palace, The Banqueting House, and met up with Jerry. This is a quieter tourist stop and we were able to use the empty bathrooms and watch a short film,sitting down, which was just what we needed! We then toured the place, which has a ceiling painted by my favourite, Rubens in 1635, showing the reign of King James. This was also the site of the only beheading of a member of the royal family, King Charles I. The building was completed in 1622, a creation of Henry VIII, but Charles I lavished much attention and effort on it, including luring Rubens over to paint the ceiling by promising him Knighthood. Ironic then that he was beheaded there, after losing to Parliament, and then there was no royal family for 11 years until Parliament restored his son Charles II to the throne in 1660. We learned alot there.
We then popped across the street to the Horse Guards Palace and saw the changing of the Guard there too! The ceremony in this country is everywhere! We then headed towards Westminster Cathedral, which is the Catholic Cathedral in London, stopping along the way for random photo ops, and to get sandwiches, which we gratefully consumed on the steps of the church. We were so blessed to attend vespers and mass beginning at 5pm. The boys choir was singing, and as the 20 boys processed in behind 2 priests, all singing in Latin, we knew we were in for a special time. The boys attend an all boy school right at the cathedral (what do you think Danny?!). The church is of course gorgeous, with many side altars, mosaics and art work. A wonderful visit.
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| I think he smelled the apple Danny had eaten earlier! |
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| ya gotta do it! |
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| Dinner! at last! |
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| Westminster Cathedral |
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| I love this, they had it near where you light candles |
And as if that wasn't enough, last but not least, we went to a West End production of Wicked!
Charlotte was beside herself when we told her we were going, this is a show she has wanted to see for years. Danny had a chance to attend his first "Broadway" show in London, and I will see any theatre anytime,anywhere, so I was a happy girl too! The show was amazing, our seats were fabulous, just a 5 star event, and a 10 baguette day(family rating system begun in Paris!)
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| how psyched does she look?! |
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| yeah, I bought her a shirt! What could I do??! |
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| this dragon was so cool! |
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| seats were three rows from front of balcony |
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| curtain calls |
