Thanks to the Queen’s birthday celebration at St. Paul’s messing up my original plans of touring there this morning, I found even better things to do today! I went on an Original London Walks Tour of Old Westminster and learned many things that I would have otherwise never known about Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the area surrounding them. It was absolutely fascinating. I love to travel because I love to see and learn about the history of an area, and if you are like me then I highly recommend the London Walks tours.
The tour ended at the Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchhill Museum. I am always interested in WWII history, so this was a “must see” for me on this trip. As a bonus, since I had just been on the walking tour, I got a discount off of admission. It was incredible to see in person where Churchhill and the War Cabinet conducted operations during WWII.
Right as I came out of the Cabinet War Rooms, I was in the middle of a queue full of people. I asked what was going on, and learned that they were queued up for Beating Retreat:
Beating Retreat is a musical spectacle of sound and colour. On two successive evenings in June, London’s famous Horse Guards Parade, off Whitehall in the centre of the city, resounds to the stirring sounds of the Massed Bands of the Household Division as they perform Beating Retreat, one of the major spectacles in the capital’s ceremonial calendar. The event starts at 7 pm each evening with the salute being taken by Her Majesty The Queen or another member of the royal family.
I walked across to St. James’s Park to watch it, and it was fantastic. In addition, I got to see the Queen! Ok, she was just a speck as she got out of her car, but still – the Queen!
Pictures to come, but now that I have cleared off the camera card (uh oh, that means I took 225+ photos today, so far), it is time for us to head out for dinner.
4 replies on “Change of Plans…”
Sounds amazing! Can’t wait to see your pictures. Enjoy the rest of your trip.
Wow – how serendipitously cool!!
Geez, I miss your posting for like a week – and hey presto – you’re in a another country! Hope you like it! My neighbor is currently on holiday there too, ya never know you might have already past her on the street. (Ya, like London is such a small place – NOT)
I keep meaning to tell you how much I love those pics you’re sharing with us. (Because I’m lame, and I read everyone’s blogs via rss–I can’t access anything else at work, and then I get home and I forget. hee.)