We wander up The Mall Day 6e

.

After the guards satisfactorily completed their changing, we wandered away from the palace, up the mall.  Which I suppose I should capitalize...as in The Mall.

We saw buildings but didn't care enough to find out what they were. Because my girls were in a h-u-r-r-y. And we were hungry, thirsty and tired. Well, make that SARA was hungry and thirsty. The rest of us were just plain tired out.

We caught a glimpse of Big Ben through the trees. You know what's funny, I don't remember ever hearing the clock chime while we were there. Hmmmm. I wonder what's up with that....

Lovely statues. Not sure who they were, though.

Annnnnnddddd the Winged horse.   Randomly placed above a gate, amongst the tree tops.

I can't even describe how much I loved the memorials, statues, buildings and all the history. Even though I wasn't familiar with the history. Just knowing how old and historic and meaningful it was meant so much and was so fascinating.

The Admiralty Arch which is the entrance to The Mall--the road that leads to Buckingham Palace         (but as we were coming FROM Buckingham, I guess that makes it the exit)          

It is off to the corner of Trafalgar Square and was commissioned by King Edward VII

in honor of his mother, Queen Victoria

6d Buckingham: the changing of the guard

We arrived at Buckingham Palace with a little time to spare before the Changing of the Guard Ceremony began. So we amused ourselves as best we could. 

Lining up in front of the palace--hordes of people on this rather dreary day

A front view of the palace so you can see the fab gates and the balcony from which the royal family stands and waves.  I was kind of impressed to see it in real life!

Bobbies on horseback, charged with keeping us off the statues, out of the fountains, and off the streets.  They also were in charge of periodically telling us to watch our belongings 

 because "there are thieves among us."     If it were up to me, I'm not sure I'd be advertising it...

This is a scary picture. Not sure which is scarier, though:  the bobby with the assault rifle or the bloke in the bottom right hand corner...

or the fact that they continued to remind us about the thieves among us.

The iconic gates of Buckingham Palace and the guards, busy guarding up to the very last minute until they were marched off to do whatever it is royal palace guards do in their free time.

Now we began to see some action on the outside of the gates! Mounted guards, swords drawn, ride up to the gates. But they didn't enter by the front gate but rather by a gate off to the side.

On their way to the side gate, paying no mind to the traffic signals.

This picture cracks me up. Notice the guy in the middle; it looks like he realizes he's a bit behind and he is double-stepping to catch up.

He has now recovered his composure and is right where he is supposed to be, hoping no one saw.

 And we were treated to a bit of a concert there at the end. I was surprised by the songs they chose to serenade us with. I couldn't tell you now what they were but there were definitely not British songs, more like American pop songs. Of the 80's.

Day6c Buckingham Palace!!!

A view of the Palace
as seem by the commoners
Although, were we commoners since we weren't even British citizens?
Might we have been royalty from America, visiting incognito?












Not sure who the charming fellow to the right is....





Gorgeous fountains in front of the palace. Some of us, not "us" but some of the bystanders kept climbing up on the statues to get a better viewpoint. And were politely told to stay on the ground.

These are the side gates that the guards entered in. And isn't that a cutie patootie cherub-child-angel-person on the top of the pillar?               To the right of the picture is the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk.     It might take one to Hyde Park and Kensington Palace.   That's what I thought at the time but come to find out, it does not. It's just a little scenic trail.

                               Statue of Her Majesty Queen Victoria in front of Buckingham Palace.

Day 6b What we saw on our way to Buckingham

We didn't merely see architecture as we made our way to Buckingham Palace via St. James' Park.

We got a second look at the duck keeper's cottage.

And some of the ducks he keeps.

And the fountain in the lake where he keeps them.

An explosion of flowers!

Keep in mind this picture was taken at the end of October.

And these are just a few of the delights that were to be seen in St. James Park, or, as I like to call it, the doorway to Buckingham Palace.  (I don't think anybody else calls it that)

Day 5ee An Evening Stroll

By now it was *seriously* dark. But not really that late. Since Daylight Savings Time was now over and we were closer to the Arctic Circle and not that far from the Prime Meridian (Greenwich, England) (actually I don't know if either of those things factor into it at all but I wanted to be sure to name-drop that location, even though we weren't actually able to go to Greenwich), it seemed to get dark early. And I'm kind of a chicken. By that I mean I like to go to bed with the chickens, that being when it begins to get dark. But these girls were teaching me to be adventurous.

I'm not sure where we were by this time but it was reassuring to see McDonald's.  Not that we were hungry or anything but you never know when you're going to need a cheeseburger. Or wi-fi.




And it was fun to see a Chinatown; here again, not exactly sure where we were as there are at least two "Chinatowns" in London but I think we were near 10 Wardour Street, Westminster, which is where the Chinatown Gate is. We didn't see the Chinatown Gate but we were near!!

I do know that there are theatres in the West End of London so that must be where we were when this photo was taken. My adventurous spirit was really revved up by this time and I was ready to drop in this theatre and have a "Miserables" time. Seriously. This is my all-time favorite musical. (which I was blessed to see on Broadway. In New York. I cried) (several times)

But we were on a mission to find our tube station and find it we did and we were soon at our "home sweet hostel" where we dropped gratefully into bed and had sweet dreams, wondering what adventures lay ahead. Like where we would be staying the next night. But that is a story for another day...



                                                                                                                                                            5ee

Day 6a On the way to Buckingham Palace

  This was the day we checked out of the Restup Hostel. Goodbye, teeny tiny broom closet masquerading as an Ensuite room for 4. Goodbye gender non-specific bathrooms. Goodbye first floor wifi and plastic kids' chairs. It's been fun.  Well, the real fun was the company!!!!

After we checked out of our room, we paid for a locker so we wouldn't have to schlep our luggage all around London. We crammed all of our stuff into two lockers. I know it doesn't sound that impressive but if you would have seen the enormous suitcase Rachel and I were sharing and Heather's suitcase that was as big as she was (that's not saying much, she's no bigger than Paddington Bear) you would have been impressed. We paid a reasonable amount, well, whatever we paid it was worth it to me not to have to drag luggage around on buses and the tube.

We set out for Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the Guard, since it was free and all. But first we had to get there so Rachel and I led the way, since we had been there on our first full day in London.  Today I noticed the architecture and statues that I had been a little too preoccupied to notice  on our first foray to this historic area.

I don't know what most of these buildings were, much to my embarrassment, especially since I'm writing this blog to remember and I don't remember. Perhaps I never even knew.

However, I do know that the last picture is that of the Institution of Civil Engineers because someone was kind enough to carve it on the front.

Big Ben, of course

(at least I know this one)

(but you probably already knew it)

Those civil engineers, always showing off.   

However, I quickly forgave them because I seriously loved this!

Handal House.... 5dd

Rachel's London bucket list included visiting Handel's house so we set out to find it. It was in Mayfair, which bills itself as one of the most exclusive districts of London.  Block after block of shops, pubs, cafes and more shops.




And Claridges.   5-star hotel and restaurant.

I'll bet that dude in the yellow vest is feeling just a little underdressed right now...what with no top hat and the reflective stripes and all...









I was getting a little confused and concerned. AND it was dark and we were four girls, roaming the streets of London. And we had no snacks.

The address we were looking for was 25 Brook St, Mayfair, London. Mayfair is billed as "an affuent area in the West End of London, in the city of Westminster." And "one of the most expensive districts in London and the world."   And, in case you are a Monopoly fan, Mayfair is the most expensive property square on the London Monopoly board.

Finally a welcome sight met our eyes. A sign proclaiming Handal House Museum. Not a cute little Tudor house or thatched roof cottage or even  a row house. Just more shops and, on a red door, a sign that proclaimed Handal House Museum, enter at XXX Lancashire Court.  

Lancashire Court was really just an alley between two buildings. A breathing space between shops, barely even lit. I feel like we could have stood still and spread our arms out and touched both buildings. Could this be a mistake?  After a slight pause, we plunged into the dark unknown of the alley. While questions filled our minds... Well, they filled my mind anyway. Why couldn't we go in the front door? Why were we being directed down this shadowy alley? Was the house back here? Why weren't there more lights? Was this an elaborate trap?  Were we going to be mugged and murdered in our quest for cultural enrichment?  And why haven't I every heard of Handal's composition The Harmonious Blacksmith?  While everyone has heard of The Messiah, and rightfully so, why aren't some of his other oratorios more popular?  Such as:  Esther, Deborah, Joshua, Hercules, Samson, Susanna, Solomon. Oh, maybe those were some questions I had later...but in any case,               
I'm thinking I could really dig an opera about Deborah...




 Ahem.    With none of my questions answered, we find a well-lit entrance and discover that the museum would be closing in about 45 minutes but we decide to power through it--all three floors--since the admission paid for through our London Pass and it was unlikely we would be coming by this way again.



Handal's house was a small Georgian townhouse that was built shortly before he took occupancy in 1723 and lived there until his death in 1759. He wrote 250 pieces of music during his tenancy, including the Messiah, Zadok the Priest, and The Royal Fireworks Music.  I have to admit I'm a little curious about Zadok the Priest.

On the subject of composing the Messiah, Handel is said to have remarked in 1741,
              "I did think I did see all Heaven before me and the great God Himself."

Horace Walpole said in 1743 "[Handel's] oratorios...give me an idea of heaven, where everybody is to sing whether they have voices or not."            For my part, I can hardly wait.

Soon we discover that not only did Handal live here, so did Jimi Hendrix. From the sublime to the ridiculous.  (That opinion is today's freebie.)  He lived there for two years, more or less. His rent in 1968 was 40 pounds a week, as compared to Handal's thirty-five pounds per year a couple of centuries earlier. There was a plaque on the wall facing the street commemorating the fact that Handal had lived there. This pleased Hendrix even though he admitted he hadn't heard much of that "fella's stuff."  But he did "dig a bit of Bach now and again." 

One floor of the townhouse was dedicated to Hendrix and the other two floors to Handal. I actually don't think we even walked through Hendrix's floor. But we spent our time wisely oohing and ahhing over the gorgeous harpsichord and his four poster bed.    We were also duly impressed by the paintings, sculptures, and early editions of some of his operas and oratorios. Also some of Handal's original correspondence and some of his original manuscripts. What treasures are housed here!

A fun little factoid:   he wrote about a dozen hymns, all in German.  Which only makes sense, since he actually was born in Germany.




Had we stumbled into this museum on a Thursday night, we might have been treated to a recital of Baroque music.





And  thus was  "visit Handal's House"  duly checked off Rachel's London bucket list.

And the rest of us were culturally enriched.








day 5dd