Buckingham Palace

Thu, Aug 20:  London:  We headed back to our little café by St. Paul’s Cathedral and had our breakfast this morning.  The traditional English breakfast is not very palatable—to me, anyway.  It consists of eggs, mushrooms, bacon (really ham), baked beans (what?), and grilled tomatoes.  I had a bagel with cream cheese and Mike had a breakfast sandwich which looked pretty good.  Back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit and then headed out to the subway and Buckingham Palace.  We lucked out and scored tickets for the inside tour—which is only available a couple of months in the summer.  We toured 18 state rooms.  Even though the outside is pretty plain, the inside is sumptuous beyond belief.  It started out as a country home and still sits on 39 acres in the middle of London.  We did a lot of walking.  Mike’s back was killing him.  On our way back to the subway station we stopped at a little pub and had dinner.  So, we hit the subway at rush hour, which wasn’t too bad really.  Back to our hotel worn out.  Not sure if we’ll hit the champagne bar tonight or not.

One of the Queen's Guards.

One of the gates--resplendent in beautiful gold.

Queen Victoria Monument and Fountain.

Gate to Green Park which is next to Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace with Victoria Fountain in the foreground.

These guards are armed with MP-5's.

A couple of residences near the Palace.

Back of the Palace which faces the gardens.