We started out our morning on the tube, where most all good mornings start out. It was, however, so crammed that we had to wait a little while before getting on one after seeing that the first 2 resembled a tubular can of human sardines. The one we got on was not packed but became so after a stop at Oxford Circus. One unfortunate little Chinese lady was squished so close to the door that if she hadn't leaned her head back at the last second her glasses would have been caught in the closing door. Upon questioning of the local populace, we discovered that sometimes people get their hair-yes, their hair-stuck in the door when it's super packed. Thankfully, this has never happened to us.
We took our breakfast at Speedy's. What? You haven't heard of Speedy's? Allow me to explain. In the BBC TV series of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock lives in the flat just above Speedy's, so it is in the background of virtually every episode whenever Sherlock or Watson leave their flat. The food was excellent, and my mushroom omelette ended up being a bargain at £4. Unless you are a Sherlock fan you would never know it was semi- famous. The only way you could tell that it was on TV were the pictures from fiming and the autographs from Benedict Cumberbatch. We took a load of pictures from different angles, and when were were across the street, his old guy walked by and immediately ascertaining what we were up to, said that they had been filming an episode in London last week.
We next proceeded to take he tube to a place of Galen's choosing, the Star Wars store. It was situated smack dab in the middle of nowhere, and turned out to be not quite what Galen expected. They seem to do most of their business online, as the shop itself was small and somewhat loosely run. It did, however, have some fairly awesome costumes, prompting me to seriously consider being Princess Leia to he next costume party I happen to attend.
After another long ride back on the tube, we stopped at the Tintin shop, which had all kinds of cool products related to our favorite Herge' character. Our next stop was Trafalgar Square, named in memory of the great battle of Trafalgar and the hero of that battle, Lord Nelson, who is ensconced upon an extremely high pedestal in the very center. It is also a good place for street performers, including a group of break dancers, a bagpiper, and a guy dressed as a pirate. The latter chiefly did nothing but wave at passers-by whilst sitting in a chair, expecting to receive (for such a great effort on his part) any spare coins you happen to have available. The other performers, at least, did something. The piper was amazing and it sounded like we were back in good old Edinburgh. The break dancers were okay, but give me a choice between the two and I'll always pick the bagpiper. :)
We ate lunch at an Italian place near the square. The food was really good, the waiter was a tad bit creepy though. He kept starting at me and at one point I saw him standing at the bar, showing the bartender something on his phone that looked like I was being compared to, as they kept glancing at me, then at the phone. This same waiter also held the door for us when we left (it was all Galen could do not to crack up. He didn't do it for any other customers.)
Weird. Maybe I look like an Italian soap opera star.
Today was our day to take a tour of Buckingham palace, and we made our way there and got some tickets. Finding ourselves with the need to use he bathroom before our tour, we headed to Victoria station to pay 30 pence to use their bathrooms.
Next, a small miracle ensued. Victoria had lost her ticket somewhere along the way from the bathrooms, and couldn't remember where she had last seen it. She had an idea that she may have set it down on a rock wall before we went to the bathrooms. Being still in possession of her receipt, she thought she would ask an attendant if anything could be done. The attendant made some calls and discovered that another employee had discovered her exact ticket blowing across the lot adjacent to where we were. So, Victoria was able to retrieve her lost ticket and not have to purchase a new one!
We arrived in time to take our tour of the Buckingham palace state rooms. I noticed that the predominant demographic that wishes to visit Buckingham is older folks, mostly older ladies. There was a particular group of older British ladies in front of us that were really blinged out in the red, white and blue of the Union Jack . By far, Buckingham was the most stunning royal living space we had yet beheld on our trip. It also led to my theory that the favorite colors of the royals are red, white, and gold. Or, at least their favorite colors and materials for using in their state rooms. It was fun to try and spot the many creative ways that the architect worked in the three emblems of the main countries of the UK- the rose of England, the thistle of Scotland, and the Shamrock of Ireland. Usually they were crafted of Gold and tucked into the crown molding of the ceiling. So many stunning details and SO much gold!
After we were done feeling painfully plain and quite common (to quote one young Australian girl, "Mum, it's all so grand, doesn't it make you wish you were a royal?") we went in search of some dessert to bring to Dinner tonight at Duncan and Rebecca's house. Do you know how embarrassing it is for me to BUY a store bought package of shortbread? Someone in my line of work? You can't imagine. Oh, the heresy.... anyways, we did get some nice dessert items and then traveled to their home.
They live outside London, and we happened to meet them at our church in mid-August, as they were visiting some family in the US for the late summer. They were so kind as to invite us to their house for dinner while we are in England, and it was so wonderful to be in a "home" again and enjoy a delicious meal of Spaghetti Bolognese and excellent conversation. It felt like we had known them for years, even though we had only met them once before.
It was after dinner when I received, unexpectedly, my favorite souvenir to date. I had just been telling them how much I enjoyed reading English History and studying the Kings and Queens of times past, when Duncan handed me a little book called "Kings and Queens; Poems by Eleanor and Herbert Farjeon." Now, I love poetry and I also love Kings and Queens, so this little book fascinated me. Essentially, it is a collection of poems, one for every King and Queen of England from William the Conqueror to the Present Queen, Elizabeth the 2nd. I knew it was an awesome book when I read the first line of the poem for William the first:
"William the First was the first of our kings,
Not counting Ethelreds, Egberts, and things,
And he had himself crowned and anointed and blest
In Ten-Sixty-I-Needn't-Tell-You-The-Rest."
(that won't mean much to you lest you are a King and Queen geek. I found it brilliant.)
When I handed it back to Duncan, he said, "You can have it. It would be far easier for me to get another copy than for you to get one in the US." I was so shocked. It was so generous of him, and I didn't feel I could accept it, but I did in the end, and I am so thankful for this gift.
After saying our "goodbyes," we walked to the station and headed home on the tube. Naturally, I read some more of the book on the tube ride home. :)
Well, now it's off to bed. I really can't believe that tomorrow is our last day!
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