We have been here for over a month and until today we had not even been to London. In an attempt to keep the kids' lives as normal as possible, we enrolled them in all sorts of activities. They all play soccer and are involved in scouts. With games and practices on the weekends and campouts to boot, we just have not had the time. Many expat families actually decide to not participate in after school activities in order to allow them time to drop everything and go on adventures. I must admit that the possibility of an adventure has always been the most exciting draw of becoming an expat.
Well, today I took the kids out of school right after lunch (before lunch for Jacob who then had to eat in the car) and we made our way to London. From the school we had to drive to the train station, pay to park and get our tickets. The train was 8 minutes late getting to the station and then 13 minutes late arriving at the transfer station. This had me nervous because we only had a 10 minute change time so now we had missed the train I was planning to take from there. No worries though, as there were plenty of trains coming into Clapham Junction to get us to Victoria Station. Safely in London with 45 minutes until our scheduled tour, we made our way up Buckingham Palace Road to the Palace.
This was to be today's adventure. I had purchased tickets online almost 2 months ago for a tour of the palace. Buckingham is only open about 2 months of the year for tours and they sell out. It felt great to walk up and get my tickets when other people were being turned away at the gates. It really does pay to be prepared. (Scout motto there!) With more than 35 minutes to kill we went out in search of a loo (ie toilet). Of course the public ones were closed, but a Starbucks was around the corner. By now we were actually starting to cut things close. And the barrista was slow. And the people in front of me were pondering their choices. The kids had all used the facilities and I contemplated putting my selections from the cold case down and ditching it. And the guy in front of me couldn't count his money. I did get the bottle of water and the cookie and then we dashed. Really. We ran straight across Green Park on a diagonal and then across the road and along the whole front of the Palace and around the corner to the Visitor's Entrance. The guard commented, "have you been running?! Well, you can relax now." And we could because you just go into a holding area and queue (a queue is a line) up again!
There are no photos allowed in the Palace so you will have to invest in the guide book! First we had to go through security and Katie almost started crying when the thing buzzed as she walked through an airport style detector. It was all fine! Then you get a free audio guide and the kids have there own version. I really must learn to just ask for the kids version too because at the end they always tell me the most interesting things that they learned on their tour that they didn't tell the grown ups and we were in the same rooms. It's crazy.
This tour is of the state rooms and included the rooms used for the wedding receptions last spring. The Ballroom is amazing. The chandeliers are amazing. The details on the ceilings are amazing. It was spectacular. The highlight was the wedding dress on display along with the earrings, shoes and a reproduction of the bouquet. They had a video of an interview with the designer who explained how the whole dress was made. Katie and I were mesmerized. In the State Dining Room the cake was on display. Over 900 handmade flowers adorn it. Stunning! It's actually 18 smaller cakes put together. 12 form the base with 4 pedestals of 3 cakes and the remaining cakes tiered and centered on those. They are fruit cakes which explains why they haven't gone bad. Fruit cake and twinkies have a lot in common in terms of longevity. Also on exhibit in the Palace was a collection of faberge gifts the royal family had received through the years and the painting gallery was showcasing Dutch masters (I enjoyed that bit!).
The end of the tour dumps you into the gardens at the back. Its an amazing oasis in the middle of London. There are plenty of parks right around there, but here is a beautiful private park completely enclosed by walls just for the royal family. It even includes a pond of no small size.
