Today's Phrase of the Day: We were at Buckingham Palace watching the changing of the guards...well...trying to watch it. There were throngs of people there and jockeying to get a spot so we could see proved challenging, to say the least. We squeezed in as close as we could and ended up watching most of the parade and ceremony on the phone screen of a person a little closer in (he has his phone up above the crowd, and we could see his screen pretty well). Although, Joe got some good shots, as well. Somewhere behind us, a dad had his daughter up on his shoulder. She was about five years-old and ran commentary on the entire event: "They're not doing ANYTHING!" "Wait, here comes the band." "Somebody's shouting something." "They're still not doing ANYTHING!" And then, the jewel of the day: "This is so uncomfortable; you have no idea." The in ear-shot, sardine-packed crowd collectively burst out laughing. Ergo, phrase of the day: This is so uncomfortable; you have no idea.
From our vantage point, it was much more an auditory experience...but still an impressive tradition!
Earlier in the day we went to Westminster Abbey...talk about impressive. There is some old shit there! Stuff that's over 1,000 years old. And beautifully carved tombs, ceilings, chapels...it's amazing.
And so many famous tombs: Chaucer, Darwin, Newton, Dickens, a memorial to Shakespeare (he's buried at Avon), Laurence Olivier, Faraday, Tennyson, and all or most of the royals up to the 1700s: Longshanks, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Richard II, Edward the Confessor, Henry VII...so very many. In the 1700s, they ran out of space to bury royals...a little creepy...they're all buried at Windsor (i.e. Victoria, Albert, the Queen Mum, etc.).
It's been a fabulous eight days! I can't believe we're done here. We've sampled a long list of new beers, eaten delicious food, seen wonderful sights, and had lots of new adventures. I love London!
PS: save the red boxes...
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