We tried to get out of the house in time to get to Buckingham Palace for the 11:00am changing of the guard ceremony, but it was so busy that we would have probably had to get there at 7:00am in order to get a decent spot to view it. Yes, Buckingham Palace was crazy busy.
We left at 9:30am, figuring it would take us about an hour and a half to do the 8 km (5 mile) walk.
Just down the road from where we are staying, is this bush cut and trimmed to look like a dog.
London double decker bus.
Lots of interesting architecture along the way.
Skinny building.
Courthouse.
More interesting buildings.
Made it to Buckingham Palace.
They had all of the roads around the palace closed off. Lots of police and barricades as they are preparing the route for Queen Elizabeth's funeral procession.
Bobby. There were lots of these guys (and gals) out and about.
My father was in London twice, once in 1954, and once in 1957. He didn't take a lot of photos, but we did have a few we wanted to try to match up.
The horse parade.
My father's photo from 1957.
We weren't at the right time or place to exactly match up my dad's photo of the horse parade, but we were close. My dad's photo was taken at the parade grounds, but we actually saw them on their way to the parade grounds.
Later, we did manage to stand in the same spot that my dad might have stood.
Lots of flowers for the Queen.
As expected, Buckingham Palace was very busy!
My dad had some photos from Buckingham Palace that we were trying to match up, but there were just too many people to be able to get ourselves in the right place. So we had to give up on that.
Changing of the guard 1957.
The changing of the guard was happening when I took this photo, but I think you might have had to arrive at 7:00am to get a viewing spot!
Buckingham Palace 1957.
I took a video for you of the crowds...
More flowers for the Queen.
View looking back through St. James Park.
1954
2022!
Trafalgar Square 1957
Trafalgar Square 2022.
Yesterday, they had Trafalgar Square all roped off so you couldn't access it. Fortunately, the viewpoint where we figured my dad was standing when he took the photo was accessible.
Trafalgar Square.
Big Ben 1954.
Big Ben 2022.
They have only just completed a four year restoration of the clock tower.
Westminster Abbey 1957.
Westminster Abbey 2022.
Ruth and the coat of arms gate.
Pretty detailed ironwork!
Westminster Abbey is closed for the Queen's funeral.
Westminster Abbey.
The Thames River with the Parliament Buildings on the left.
Parliament Buildings 1957.
Parliament Buildings 2022.
We think my dad might have been on the dock when he took his photo, but we couldn't access it.
The London Eye.
The fancy lightposts.
It was a beautiful day in London!
Where we had lunch.
We found a little Vietnamese restaurant where we could get a bowl of Pho. We have learned that Indian and Asian restaurants are usually the cheapest when you need to find a meal in an expensive city. We shared a bowl, and it was enough for us, but it still cost £16.30 ($24.75 CAD, $19 USD) in total. Fortunately, it was really good and the beef was super tender.
Lunch!
Scenery along the way.
More interesting architecture.
St. Paul's Cathedral.
Dirty Dicks Pub!
This pub has been here for over 200 years!
Colorful restaurant.
The Regent Canal.
What a great day in London. We ended up walking 18 kms (11.2 miles). Our feet were done!
But we've recovered overnight and are headed out for another walk. Just in this area though. Supposed to rain later this afternoon, and we are going to the theater this evening.
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How wonderful that you just happened to be in London at such an historic time. Bet you didn't expect that! You did a great job matching the photos up again. Not all that much has changed in London since your father was there, from the photos!
ReplyDeleteNo, we definitely didn't expect to be in London or even England for that matter at such an important moment in history!
DeleteWe also noticed that there were only a few subtle differences with Kevin's dad's pictures between then and now but London overall has changed a lot from the 50's with all it's modern skyscrapers.
Awesome tour, thank you.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed the pictures and the post!
DeleteWhat an awesome time to be in GB although very very busy. Are you going to go to Scotland. Edinburgh my birthplace has wonderful history, architecture and wonderful places to explore. One of many is Arthur's Seat an ancient volcano which is the main peak around Holyrood Park. Good walk. Also a great walk is the Royal Mile filled with history and great pubs. Enjoy your travels.
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely just a coincidence that we arrived here just after the Queen's death and it was certainly an interesting day that we had but other than some road closures and barricades up in certain places we didn't find a huge difference downtown. The only place that was really busy was by Buckingham Palace but I am sure that will change over the coming week as more people flood into the city for the viewing of the Queen and for her funeral and we won't be here for that.
DeleteNo, we will not be headed to Scotland on this trip but we are thinking of returning next summer with the motorhome and visiting more of England, Ireland, Scotland and maybe even Wales but we will see, lots can happen between now and then. We have been to Edinburgh before though but it was back in 1987 when our daughter was only 9 months old. We were up there for a week with my cousin, her husband and family and we stayed in Scotland for a week and visited Edinburgh for a day.
We really enjoy what you do with your dad's photos! I'd love to go to the UK but, well, it's the language barrier that concerns me :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris, we have a lot of fun matching up his old photos.
DeleteYeah, you and Juan might have a problem with the language but I am sure you both could overcome it, lol! :-P
Don't laugh - on the last "The Great British Baking Show", there was a contestant named Lizzie who had such a broad Liverpool accent, I could only understand about a quarter of what she said!
DeleteLol, I can definitely understand that, some of the English accents are really strong.
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