Sightseeing in London

Hello Everyone,

I'm delighted to be joining Adore to Decor for Wayfaring Wednesday and A Southern Daydreamer for  Outdoor Wednesday.  I have a real project going with my photos from my 18 day trip to England and Scotland.

First: I blog about my trip

Second: I scrapbook my trip

Third: I make a DVD of my trip

Way to much photo editing~But I love it.

A few days ago I shared with you 'Three Ladies Go Traveling' first night(Thursday) and the Queen's Birthday which was held on Saturday.

Today I'm sharing with you our sightseeing tour on Friday.
All this in one day!!

We took the Tube to the Tower of London and arrived just before 9:00 a.m. It seemed that we were the only tourists there.  We walked around and I took a few photos of the Tower before going to see The Crown Jewels.  Wow!!! Awesome and Fabulous.

A brief history about 'The Beefeaters'

The original duty of the Yeoman Warders (called "Beefeaters") was to guard the Tower, its prisoners, and the jewels. Their nickname may come from an original perk of the job-large rations of the king's beef. The Beefeaters dress in blue knee-length coats with red trim and a top heat. The "ER" on the chest stands for the monarch they serve-Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabetha Regina in Latin). 

All Beefeaters are retired officers from the armed forces with distinguished service records.  At night, they ritually lock up the Tower in the Ceremony of the Keys.

This is Tower Green

In medieval times, this spacious courtyard within walls the was the "town square" for those who lived in the castle. See-There are no tourists yet.

 I Love London

There are 35 Yeoman Warders, including one woman.  They and their families make for a Beefeating community of 120 that live inside the Tower.

The White Tower Museum holds the Royal Armory. 

After touring The Tower of London we moved on to watch the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.  We started at the Wellington Barracks, following the Red Coat pageantry to the Palace.

While I was photographing this ceremony at Buckingham Palace the rain was coming down in buckets. I did put my camera away during the downpour.  It did clear up for a few minutes as the guards were almost finished changing from Guard unit to another. 

Then we proceeded to have lunch  in St. James Park and continue with our touring.

The sun was shining the rest of the day.

Amazing. 

First look upstream, toward the House of Parliament.

On our boat ride down the Thames we saw Shakespeare's Globe-1997 Replica of the Original Globe Theatre

The London Eye is a memorable experience. Twenty-five people ride in each of its 32 air-conditioned capsules for the 30-minute rotation (you go around only once).

'Trafalgar Square'

The world's biggest Corinthian column, where Admiral Horatio Nelson stands 170 feet tall, looking over London in the direction of one of the greatest naval battles in history. Trafalgar Square is the in the center of London, a thriving city atop two millennia of history.

I  photographed 'Trafalgar Square' from the front entrance of the National Gallery.

The next stop on the day's tour was Westminster Abbey. A thousand years of English history-3000 tombs, the remains of 29 kings and queens, and hundreds of memorials to poets, politicians, and warriors-lie within its stained-glass splendor and under its stone slabs.

At 4:30 the Abby is closed and at 5:00 Evensong is sung.  I attended the service and was in awe of the beautiful choir that performed the evening prayers. 

This is St. Martin-in-the-Fields church.  Standing on the front entrance of the National Gallery the church sits to the left.  After eating a wonderful meal in the church dinner hall 'Three Ladies Go Traveling' attended a Candlelight concert at 7:30 in the church... VIVALDI FOUR SEASONS.  Vivaldi, Handel and Bach presented by London Musical Arts Ensemble.

Absolutely the most beautiful music and sound I have every heard.

Wow!! What a day.  I hope you have enjoyed the highlights of my day in London.

I will be sharing more of my trip in the coming weeks.  Please drop by and say hi.
xo
Betty