A day in London with Donna and Emma. A girlie day, just the three of us. And a chance for Donna to see some of the sights of London before she leaves at the end of this month.
First stop, after a coffee break at Victoria Station, was Buckingham Palace, in order for Donna to take a photo of the board, which has the announcement of the birth of baby princess.
We were blocked by a huge crowd of people, mostly tourists, packed in against the fences and around the fountain. Just in time to see the changing of the guard. Well timed. And the first time for me, after living in this country for twenty three years.
Donna and Emma, posing in front of Buckingham Palace.
After what seemed like a long time, the band and guards arrived. In fact there were two bands and two sets of guards, with a 10 minute delay betweem them. Does this normally happen? The bands had turns playing during the changeover.
No point waving to the Queen as she was not in residence at the palace. It was the Union Jack flying from the flagpole rather than the Royal Standard.
Cameras at the ready. Plus the selfie sticks, handy for those people with short arms.
Time for interviews. About the royal birth. The board announcing the birth, is on the other side of the fence. And between me, and the fence, there was a dense crowd of people, pushing and shoving, all trying to reach the fence. Too scary.
The lady in question was telling the European interviewer, newspaper like details of the royal birth, and possible names. I have no idea who the woman was, and why she was being interviewed. I should have asked her, I know.
Now more importantly, two women, nationality being Australian/English/Netherlands, depending who they choose to be on the day, were interviewed by a good looking Australian interviewer From Channel 7. Donna had plenty to say, as can be seen from the photograph, mostly about her returning to Australia soon. It was exciting and very funny. However, it would appear they were edited out, too dynamic for a news item about a new royal event!
Then off we went down Pall Mall, together with all the other people.
A view of Buckingham Palace, from Pall Mall. Impressive.
After a long lunch, we visited the Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery. A brief look, but very interesting.
Trafalgar Square in brilliant sunshine.
What to do next. After a quick discussion we decided to find a hotel or cafe where we could sit, rest our feet, and have a coffee, and perhaps a slice of cake. But after deciding against popping into the Savoy, due to our very casual dress, we tried unsuccessfully to find a quiet cafe with comfortably seating. The place was heaving with people. We walked around Covent Garden, and through back streets until we came to Leicester Square. So busy. In the end we found tearooms, but scones were finished for the day. Never mind, we found seats.
Convent Garden, always interesting. But in England there is no understanding of how to organise an outside cafe culture. Not cosy or inviting at all.
After our feet recovered, we set off again. So back to Trafalgar Square, across the bridge by Charing Cross Station, along the South Bank, taking selfies along the way. We saw huge queues waiting to get on the London Eye. Thank goodness that was not part of the plan. We took our last selfie, with Parliament House in the background.
Donna and Emma, with hair blowing in the wind, just before we took a selfie. No selfies possible on a camera.
Finally across Westminster Bridge, where we dragged our feet for the last sprint back to Victoria Square. And made our way to a bar, for some very welcome drinks. Alcoholic of course.
A wonderful day, being together, talking and laughing, and taking selfies at every significant point in our journey. Not quite the last visit into central London for Donna, but time is marching on.
A day to remember.
No comments:
Post a Comment