Day Five: Buckingham Palace
On Fridays, we don’t have class, so we decided to go see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. The change happens at 11:30, so normally we are in class during that time. We headed out around 10, and stopped in Trafalgar Square for some photo ops by the gorgeous fountains there. They also have a countdown with how many days, hours, minutes and seconds until the Olympics begin.
After Trafalgar Square, we went to Buckingham Palace to stake out a good spot at the gate. We were able to get right along the gate, so we could see the whole ceremony. The palace is enormous—I knew it was big, obviously, but it was even bigger than I imagined. The gates are black, and have gold on the top. There is so much gold and intricate details on all the buildings here! We stood in the large crowd for the changing of the guards, and watched as the soldiers marched in through the gates. It seemed crazy to me that only two guards are standing guard over such a huge, important building.
The precision and order of the changing ceremony was really interesting. Every single movement the soldiers made was at exactly the same moment, even just moving their arms. The ceremony lasted about twenty five minutes, and consisted of the guards marching up and down the area in front of the palace. There was also a band playing, and then the guards switched places. It was cool to see such an ancient and historic ritual. After it was over, the crowd dispersed and the area was unbelievably crowded with thousands of people!
Later, we ate lunch and then took a Harry Potter walking tour. We were able to see the entrance to Diagon Ally, the inspiration for the sweet shop in Hogsmead, and a few places where scenes from the seventh movie were filmed. The seventh movie has quite a few scenes that take place in London, so that was pretty interesting.
Next: Stonehenge and Bath!
