After Hampton Court Palace we headed to Buckingham Palace. We went through Green Park and got a look at the Queens Gates.
The gates are part of a grand entrance to The Green Park called Canada Gate. They were installed in the early years of the 20th century as part of the memorial to Queen Victoria. The gates were a gift from Canada, celebrating its contribution to the then British Empire. The metalwork includes the crests of Canadian provinces (I found this out after we got home. There is a virtual tour of Green Park online).
Green Park
Once again I was in awe of how huge this palace is. More than any other feeling while in England I just felt small and insignificant. It is eye opening to see another place.
The gates to Buckingham Palace.
The crest on the front of the gates at Buckingham Palace. I thought it was interesting that it has a lion and a unicorn on it. I wonder if it has anything to do with the children's nursery rhyme...
I was so excited to see the guards in red with their bushy hats...I am not sure why these guards were dressed like this. At the other castles we visited they were in the big bear skin hats and red tunics, but these weren't...no idea.
These guys were also guarding the palace. Not so formal as the guy above...just shooting the breeze, waving his huge gun around.
The gates into the palace grounds.
This is a monument to Queen Victoria who is the nations longest ruling monarch. She ruled for 64 years! Queen Elizabeth has ruled for 58 1/2 years. That is amazing!
On the not so beautiful side of the palace is all of the security. On the corner of this there are cameras.
Definitely wouldn't want to climb this...
The Wellington Arch (also called the Constitutional Arch), was planned by King George IV in 1825 to celebrate Britain's victories in the Napoleonic Wars. It used to be at the entrance to Hyde Park, but has since been moved to it's current location.
I loved every bit of this city. Each part seemed cohesive, but different from each other. There was so much to see everywhere we went. My camera was always clicking...
Architecture heaven.
We saw these really neat window displays. this one is done with pencils. Even this dude's hair was pencils.
See, told ya :)
This one was done with wrenches and nuts.
Clothes pins.
Tapes.
Some little wooden animal, not quite sure what it was, but this is cool.
We finished up the evening at Harrods. I have heard a lot about Harrods and couldn't wait to go there. Nothing could have prepared me for it. It is the most random store ever. We walked into a makeup counter section and each room was way different from the last one we were in. I thought it would be like a Nordstrom, but there was little counters where you could buy fish, fruit, meat, clothes, sporting goods, cheese and sweets to name a few. You never knew what the next room would be selling. I didn't take any pictures in here, it was so busy and I felt a little claustrophobic. It was really cool though.
That night we had a taste of real English fish and chips and they did not disappoint. Most people get malt vinegar on them, I am not a fan of soggy things or vinegar, so I passed. It was so good though.
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