07.31.10 - London: Day 3

I was up with a migraine from 4:45-5:30am. No bueno. Instead of waking up at 7:45, my parents let us all sleep in (THANK YOU!!!) until 10:00 :) we headed down the street to grab Starbucks for breakfast. It tasted JUST like in the States. And they had all sorts of Fair Trade things (coffee, bananas, and countless other items). 

<< the Royal Band inside Buckingham Palace Gates

Next, we headed to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards. Since we were so late, we didn’t get a good spot and will have to go back tomorrow or some other day to see everything properly.

                          parents & me at changing of the guards >>

We went through the Royal Mews next. This is where all the horses, carriages, and royal cars are housed, along with the staff and their families. We did an audio tour here (as well as in the Queen’s Gallery and the Staterooms). There are something like 30 Royal Cars, including two Bentleys and some Rolls Royces. The Queen usually rides in one of the Bentleys, which doesn’t have a license plate. I also saw the Glass Coach, which is the coach royal brides get to ride in to their weddings. Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana both rode in it to their weddings. 

<< The Glass Coach

During the tour of the stables, we walked through the harness room (which was huge, as it held harnesses and bridles for all of the horses) and stables. There are over 30 horses currently working at the Mews. There are two kinds of horses: the Windsor Grey (not an actual type of horse, but called Windsor because that’s where they are from and Grey because that’s what color their coats are), and Cleveland Bays. The Windsor Greys are very tall and they pull the Queen’s carriage. All the horses are trained for at least 2 years before being used. The Queen also gets to name each of the horses herself. One of them is named “San Anton”! Aww :)

 













                                                            ^^  The Gold State Coach ^^

The last part of the tour of the Mews was through a display room of the Gold State Coach. It was completed in 1762 and cost 7652# to build. Today, that’s like, hundreds of thousands of pounds (I think). Even if not, a TON of money was put into this coach. It is used during coronations, but those who have ridden in it all complain that it is uncomfortable. One King said it was the most uncomfortable ride of his life! But it is beautiful. There are sculptures of Sea Tritans on the coach, which represent England’s Naval power. The drivers of the coach actually ride the horses, giving them better control. This is called “postillian riding”. The coach weighs 4 TONS! The drivers have to start “braking” 30 yards in advance. Otherwise, the coach would have too much momentum, carrying them past their intended stop.

After that, it was getting close to 1:30 and we were HUNGRY! We walked a few blocks down and ate at a little cafe. I got an omelet, which was good, but super greasy. Then we headed back to Buckingham Palace to go through the Queen's Gallery. It was a huge museum called "Victoria & Albert: Art & Love" all about the lives of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (1800s). There were three rooms of paintings, as well as some of the Queen's jewels. We weren't allowed to take any photos tho :( There were paintings that were gifts to Queen Victoria, and also some sketches and watercolors that she had done herself (they were actually quite good).


Next, we toured the Staterooms in Buckingham Palace. There are like 800 rooms in Buckingham Palace (200-something bedrooms, and like 78 bathrooms or something like that). Mostly, there are rooms like Drawing Rooms, Ball Rooms, and the like. We saw the throne room too! But it wasn't like you would think. The thrones were wimpy little chairs with their initials embroidered on the backs. There were also 6 or 7 other similar chairs off to the sides that had belonged to previous Kings and Queens. I asked the man guarding this area about them; he told me to whom each belonged to and also why the thrones are all so lame. He said there is really no reason to have a big ornate throne in your own palace. The grand, imposing thrones you think of as a typical throne are at the House of Lords in Parliament. Interesting stuff, huh? There is also a type of throne in the Ball Room where people are dubbed as a knight, etc. We weren’t allowed to take photos in this room either. The detailing in the whole place was just magnificent. And to think this was done hundreds of years ago! It really is incredible. Every bit, from the portraits 3x larger than life size to the ornate detailing on the ceilings, to the chandeliers with 1000+ crystals, to hidden doorways behind ornate mirrors - everything was breathtaking. If I ever get to return to London, I would gladly take this tour again. It also had an audio tour, which was very enlightening.

After the three walking tours, we were all pretty beat and decided to head to the hotel. We were planning on seeing Oliver! tonight, but we were in too much of a rush so we’re going to see it another night instead. We made dinner reservations for 8:45pm at a Brazilian steakhouse, Gaucho Grill. It was AMAZING! For an appetizer, we got a sampling of four different types of spiced meats and cheddar cheese. We also got a bottle of Argentinean wine, which was to die for. Seriously, it was so so good. I had the sirloin, grilled veggies (which I didn’t eat – they were just grilled bell peppers, of which I’m not a huge fan), and dulce de leche cheesecake! What a meal.. Definitely our best so far!

We headed back to the hotel around 10:45 with very full bellies and very tired bodies. We’re going to the Hillsong Church in the morning!