If you know me at all in real life, it should also come as no surprise that Melissa and I had this vacation planned to a T. We researched everything and anything that it was possible to do research on. TripAdvisor was our best friend, as were real life friends that had lived in each destination we planned to visit. We read Frommer's, Rick Steves and Fodor's. By the time we left for the trip we had built a 7 page itinerary that listed every activity we were planning to do. It even outlined exactly when we'd have "down time" or time to "be spontaneous" (yes, I have been told this level of planning is insane, but hey it usually gets the job done!). Naturally it all came back to bite me in the butt in the end -- clearly someone from above was trying to teach me that life isn't all about schedules, itineraries and plans -- but we will get to that shortly.
Although I don't want to spend a ton of time rehashing our stay in London, I will tell you that we LOVED it. We were staying in the St. Ermin's Hotel, which was centrally located right outside the St. James's Park Tube station and within walking distance of Westminster Abbey and Big Ben/Parliament. In our first four days we took trips to Stonehenge, Windsor and Bath, did tours of Westminster Abbey & St. Paul's Cathedral, went to the Tower of London, had traditional afternoon tea at a fancy hotel and squeezed in time for shopping at Harrod's and on Oxford Street. We also went to an English pub, ate fish & chips, walked through Trafalgar Square and visited the Victoria & Albert museum (which unfortunately, was our least favorite activity of the trip). All this to say our schedule was packed and we were looking forward to capping off our last day in the city with a royal viewing of the changing of the Guards.
Of course, this is where, despite all my planning and scheduling and researching, our plot was foiled. That morning, as we were asking our Concierge for directions, he sadly informed us that the changing of the Guards would not be happening that morning,. Of course it happened the morning before, and would happen the morning afternoon, but this particular morning? No dice. My heart sank! We were leaving for Paris early the next day, so it meant I had totally and completely missed my opportunity to see this piece of traditional London. I couldn't believe that somehow I had made such a fatal mistake, particularly knowing that this was one of the key items on my 30 things list and that I thought I had much such an ironclad itinerary (I should have spoken to the folks that built Titanic, clearly).
Despite the disappointment, we headed toward the castle anyway, figuring that we'd make the best of things. We wound up taking lots of pretty pictures in front of the castle (including a close up of the balcony where Will & Kate kissed!) and then started walking down a long dirt path back toward the center of the city.
Alas, about a half mile down we saw a crowd of people standing around what looked like a small garage entry, and then moments later, noticed that there were two Guards standing nearby guarding the gates! Hallelujah! This was no Buckingham Palace, but the red jackets, black boots, bayonets and tall black fuzzy hats were in tact, just waiting for us (sorry but you'll have to tilt your head to watch the video as I can't figure out how to flip it!).
Hurrying, we crossed the street and strategically placed ourselves in a position primed for photo/video-taking (you see these Guards actually marched up and down a roped off area, so you had to be ready at any moment to catch them at a good angle). Interestingly, each of the two guards appeared to be about 18 years old. I don't know why I expected them to be older men, but perhaps they have to start here at the servants entry before they get promoted to the front of the castle! We wound up standing in the same spot for a good 20 minutes until we were able to snap the perfect shot: As Melissa says, he had a little captain in him! :) (P-S: Does anyone else think those chin straps look INCREDIBLY uncomfortable??)
After we had our fix, we continued down the path feeling much more satisfied and ready to finish our final day. When we did depart, we felt sad to leave London behind, but glad to have experienced so much in a short period of time. And although there are still many things I'd like to see and do, I chalk it up as an excuse to come back one day...and one day soon!
Coming soon in a few days...meeting Mona!! Til then...
