"God Save the Queen" loyal readers!! Hopefully, after reading the title of this blog post and the opening line, you have a little bit of an idea of how we spent our last full day in London. That's right, we were going to begin the day at Buckingham Palace.
We got an early start and grabbed our morning latte at Cafe Nero. Again, the barista asked if we wanted the usual, which made us smile. We enjoyed our coffee and got a front row seat to people watching outside. After that, it was off to see the Buckingham Palace State Rooms. While Buckingham Palace is a major tourist attraction, the State Rooms are only open to tour 60 days a year - in August and September! So, we were very lucky to be able to tour them; something not many people get to experience. When we got our tickets and entered through the gate, we were seated with a large group and giving instructions on going through security, much like the airport. After about 10 minutes, we were through the gates and greeted with a free audio tour headset.
BP is absolutely breathtaking! The architecture, color scheme, ornate designs of the ceilings, columns, and every detail of every room was highly thought out. One of the most amazing areas is John Nash's grand staircase. The staircase sets the tone as we prepare to journey through the remainder of the State Rooms. Rosemary enjoyed the dining room and hearing about the table settings. The table is set to accommodate different amounts of people, therefore, they use a ruler to space out each place setting! (We couldn't help but think of Gary and his precise measurements-maybe he can apply for this job!) The Queen always has say in the place settings and even reviews the menu (which is presented in French) prior to dining. The tour lasted about an hour and a half and was a sight we will never forget-Thank you Tiffany Rabaduex!
After that we wanted to grab a bite to eat. What better place to grab a bite than one of the most historic pubs in all of England - Ye Olde Chesire Cheese Pub. It was rebuilt in 1667 and was a favorite of Charles Dickens, and Samuel Johnson. For those of you who don't know-Samuel Johnson was a British author. He created the dictionary of the English Language which was viewed as the pre-eminent British dictionary prior to the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary. Rosemary was feeling quite adventurous and ordered the fish and chips-an English staple. Winston ordered the Scotch Roast Beef with roasted potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. Lunch was "brilliant" as the locals would say! In addition to the food the pub was exactly what we were looking for. Very small, dark woods, Samuel Smith on tap, and even the chair that Dr. Johnson sat in.
After lunch, we went to the visitors center to book our train tickets for the next leg of the journey. This took about 40 minutes and then it was off to the HayMarket Hotel to experience more English tradition. The Brumus Restaurant attached to the hotel has a lovely afternoon tea-as recommended by Chloe Foster aka Candie. We ordered the Haymarket tea for two. Winston had the Earl Grey and Rosemary had the Lady Grey tea. Tea was served with a three tiered tray of sandwiches, scones, cupcakes, and desserts! Everything was absolutely amazing and we enjoyed the relaxing pace of the tea. In fact, we propose that all Americans take afternoon tea from 3-5 daily. It might loosen them up a bit.
After tea, we decided to head back to the Tate Modern to view the remaining floor that we had not seen. Unfortunately, we forgot to check the closing time, as the Tate closed about 15 minutes prior to our arrival. Winston ventured about the building taking some photographs of the Millennium bridge and then it was back to the flat for a relaxing evening.
We began packing for our Wednesday departure and were still too stuffed to think about dinner. So, we just enjoyed some snacks and wine at the flat and called it a night! It was a wonderful last day in London and we went to bed a bit sad that we wouldn't be coming back to the flat any other time during our journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment