Dublin and London for Business

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Sunday, 2 October 2011 - Took a slower start but headed to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard, watched the Household Cavalry and band parade, walked along The Mall past the Duke of York Column, visited Trafalgar Square and the British National Gallery to see European masterpieces, enjoyed High Tea at Fortnum & Mason, strolled through Hyde Park to Round Pond and Kensington Palace, and soaked up classic London sights and history.

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We were off to a slow start but headed for Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard.

This is the guard changing - not the big changing - just a little one.
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The guard at Buckingham Palace. Guard is from the Coldstream Guards - you can tell by the number of buttons in a cluster - in this case two button clusters. This is because the Coldstream Guards were the second unit added to the Queen's Own regiments.
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Taking a cue from Rick Steves we positioned ourselves on the Victory Memorial as your can see in all directions from the memorial and over the crowds at ground level. It was great advice as throughout the ceremony we could see the action. Unfortunately, the pomp is very hard to photograph from the memorial. This is because the angles and light do not favor the photographer. Much better to have a place on ground level with good light - you would only have a single angle but better pictures.

The mounted guards of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) at Horse Guards parading by.
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The St. James' Palace detachment of the Queen's Guard is led by the Corps of Drums, and bearing the Color during the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace.
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The New Guard coming from St. James' Palace
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At the end of the changing of the guard the Captain of the Old Guard gives the word of command to 'Break into Quick Time' and with a brisk five-pace roll from the drums, the Band leads the way back to Wellington Barracks.
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From the Changing of the Guard we walked the length of the Mall - very pleasant with the Changing of the Guard band playing in the distance.

The Duke of York Column is a monument, to Prince Frederick, Duke of York, the second-eldest son of King George III. Prince Frederick, Duke of York was the commander-in-chief of the British Army during the French Revolutionary Wars and led the reform of the army into a capable modernized force. When he died in 1827, the entire British Army voted to forgo one day's wages to pay for a monument to the Duke. The column was built in 1833.
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We ended up in Trafalgar Square and decided to visit the British National Gallery. Great paintings - and so much to view for free!! Fortunately we had Rick Steves to guide us to all the important works.

The National Gallery is an art museum founded in 1824. It houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.

Saint Martin-in-the-Fields church is off Trafalgar Square as well - this is the steeple.
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The very popular Lord Horatio Nelson hero of the high seas. He bested all of Britan's foes on the open water. During the Battle of Trafalgar he was mortally wounded. Now he stands tall in Trafalgar Square.
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Quite used to using the underground by now - I bought a ticket for unlimited rides for a week. The subway went everywhere we needed to be - or very close.

For a break in the afternoon we stopped by Fortnum and Mason's for High Tea. It was quite good - or lovely.
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After a brief rest we headed out to a Rick Steves suggested restaurant at the far end of Hyde Park. After another subway ride we walked the park to Round Pond in Kensington Park.
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Round Pound is just across from Kensington Palace - there were plenty of people out as the day had been warm encouraging several picnics.
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As we left the park we walked along Kensington Palace and into an area with several embassies including the Israeli Embassy. Quite a bit of security.

Pretty buildings along Kensington High Street. It took me a while to figure out "High Street" was similar to "Main Street"
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Texas Embassy - well not really - it was never the embassy for Texas. This is actually the former home of the famous White Star shipping line, owners of the Titanic. When the Titanic sank it was to this very building friends and relatives came to view the lists of survivors. Odd that they would not exploit their actual lineage.
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