As I prepared for the second day of my hop on, hop off bus tour, storm clouds rolled in over London. Thank goodness I had packed an umbrella! I made my way to the London Bridge area to catch my bus, then waited patiently in the rain. The first stop of the day was the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. In this ceremony, the old detachment of guards on duty at the palace is replaced by a new detachment; the pomp and circumstance of the event are legendary.
Even though I was over an hour early for the ceremony, people had already begun to gather. I chose to stand on the steps of the Victoria statue; being on stairs is always beneficial when you are as short as I am! I had a perfect view of the bands and soldiers marching in and out; however, thanks to a ridiculously high number of selfie sticks, my picture opportunities were limited. Also, the actual ceremony happened behind the closed gates of the palace. While officers cleared the area of spectators prior to the band marching in, people were allowed to pass in front of the gates while the ceremony was happening. Talk about frustrating!
Next I had hoped to take in Madame Tussaud's; that changed once I saw the line. I decided that waiting in an extremely long line for what would have been hours and paying 33 pounds to see imitation celebrities was not my cup of tea. I elected to walk a little bit from Madame Tussaud's to Baker Street to check out the Sherlock Holmes Museum. The ticket was less than half the price of the wax museum, and it was a great deal more interesting to me. The lower floors of the former boarding house were set up to replicate the rooms Holmes and Watson inhabited in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works; the upper levels of the Victorian dwelling contained scenes from some of the best known cases Holmes ever solved. I thoroughly enjoyed myself in this museum, and the gift shop was very nice as well. Upon leaving, I popped into an Italian restaurant for a quick bite, then climbed back aboard the bus in search of another fiction related experience.
King's Cross Station is a bustling train station where you will see people from a wide array of nationalities. It is also where one can find Platform 9 3/4 of Harry Potter fame! A long time fan of all things Potter, I could not pass up the opportunity to snap a photo of Harry's cart, chocked full of wizarding goodies (including Hedwig), disappearing into the wall. While I could have waited in a gigantic line to have my picture made pushing the cart, I opted to quickly grab a photo between other people's photo opportunities. This preserved the "magical" feeling of the photo and gave me more time to explore the Harry Potter Shop.
I came back to my flat a little earlier tonight so I could post this blog and get a good night's sleep; however, the building's internet is out as I type this first draft, so I have no idea when I'll actually get to post this entry. Regardless, I can say that I highly recommend hop on, hop off style tours to acquaint yourself with London. After only two days, I feel much more confident about the layout of the city, and I have a better understanding of the history of the area.
Tomorrow I will be visiting Stonehenge, touring Windsor Castle, and exploring the city of Bath. As I type these words, I am still in awe of the fact that so many of my dreams are becoming realities! I cannot wait to share tomorrow's visit with you all--not to mention sharing today's post once my internet finally gets fixed!
Long days and pleasant nights!
**Good night, Mrs. Hall, wherever you are!**
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