Tuesday morning found us crossing the Thames to catch a bus to the City. Tower Bridge might be the most photographed of London’s bridges, but Albert Bridge is my favorite. ♥
We got to the Churchill War Rooms later than we had planned, and there was a line. The attendant said it might be a long wait; and as it was such a beautiful day and we wanted to try to catch a bit of the Changing of the Guard, we decided to postpone the War Rooms until later. St. James’s Park was dressed in its spring finery, and I got some photos of Buckingham Palace from a distance.
We could hear music in the distance, and wandered up and down the Mall a bit, and even ventured a bit closer to the palace – but not too close with all those people!
In the end, we just got to see the Horse Guards parading down the Mall, but it was better than nothing!
Then we walked over to Trafalgar Square where A wanted a photo with a lion. 😉
We enjoyed an excellent lunch at the National Gallery’s cafe, and then walked around finding some familiar friends and new favorites among the paintings. My must-see was Constables’s The Hay-Wain.
My apologies, as apparently I cannot seem to photograph a painting straight on. Also I took that last photo to show Mr. R. 😉
A few photos from our walk back to the Churchill War Rooms. It was fun to see a bit of Canada in London, and the peachy-cream color of the Mall Gallery was just gorgeous.
The line went fairly quickly this time, and the audio guide proved to be quite fascinating. I only took a few photos, and apparently I can’t photograph doors and buildings straight, either! The Churchill quote beside the original Number 10 door reads in full: “I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial…I was sure I should not fail.”
It was inspiring to learn more about Churchill, and to see the place where he and many others worked so hard and under such difficulties and dangers to win the war. One of my favorite things was seeing some of the letters he and his wife wrote to each other (I came across a copy of Winston and Clementine: The Personal Letters of the Churchills at the used bookstore the other day!).
And here he is in front of the Houses of Parliament, which are mostly under scaffolding right now. The Victoria Tower was still looking lovely, though. ♥
We ended the day with a trip to Foyles Bookstore on Charing Cross Road. I found an anthology of English poems, songs, and such to take home with me. And I stumbled across a previously-unpublished story by Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots, which has now been illustrated by Quentin Blake. It’s quirky – more in the vein of The Tale of Mr. Tod or The Tale of Samuel Whiskers than Peter Rabbit – but I thought it would be fun for the little boys, and I bought a couple for my nieces and nephews as well. 🙂
