Day 22 -- 15 May 2013, Part 1 -- Last Full Day in London, Last Full Day in the U.K.

Starting out I have to tell you that when I awoke on this beautiful Wednesday morning, I was ready to cry. This would be my last full day of my dream trip and I was not ready to go home. Don't get me wrong, I missed my family and would be happy to see them. But something happened to me in England. I fell in love--with the people, with the sights, with a country. I have ancestors who came to the U.S. from England in the 1800's. Maybe that had something to do with it. Maybe my love for this country was programmed into sleeping genes that had to be awakened by returning to the land of my heritage. I don't know. What I do know is that I would be leaving the following day and I wasn't going to waste a minute of it by being sad. Though I was ready to burst into tears at any moment throughout the day. Just keeping it honest.

Everywhere I had stayed during my three-week holiday, with the exception of Paris and Edinburgh, included a full English breakfast in the cost. Add the Rubens to that short list. I could have an English breakfast there, but it was an additional 20 pounds. When I had made the reservation two months prior, I decided I didn't want to pound the pavement first thing in the morning just looking for a good place to eat. Twenty pounds was on the hefty side, but after I walked into the large dining room that first morning, I wanted to fall to my knees in thanks that I had made that decision. Everything was on four separate buffets; I didn't know where to start first. And delicious! Oh. My. Golly. Stellar service combined with exquisite food? I was in heaven. And who would need lunch when I could get my full twenty pounds' worth in that one spot? If you're ever in London and have the opportunity to stay at The Rubens, splurge a tiny bit and go the extra charge for the breakfast. You're welcome; glad I could be of service.

Since it was so close and one of my friends had visited a couple years prior and loved it, I decided to tour the Royal Mews first. Here's just a small portion of the outside.

 

 

My fun began with the young man who took my money and gave me my ticket.

"You're from the States," he said. "Whereabouts?"
"Florida," I replied.
"The pretty part?" His facial expression matched the snarkiness in his voice.
"Tampa Bay area. Is that pretty enough for you?"
The change in his demeanor was palpable. "Oh. Yeah. It's very beautiful there." The snark had turned to awe. Or maybe I just imagined it.
"I think so." I grabbed my ticket and proceeded on to the tour.

I had the option of headphones with my own self-guided recorded tour, or I could choose the live guide. Thinking I might have questions, I chose the live guide. We started with her explaining about how the horses are bred for royal service in particular, how they're then chosen and how much training they receive.

The brown horses service the carriages for everyone but the queen. The queen's horses are light gray. Gray ones were not in the stables that morning, though. The docent explained that Prince William had to receive special permission directly from the queen for his wedding to "borrow" the gray horses. Can you imagine that conversation? "Granny, if you don't mind, would it be too much of a bother for Kate and I to use the gray horses in April? You see, she's afraid that the brown looks a tad common and will clash with our outfits. We can? Thank you, dear; such a lamb."

 

It just so happened that on the particular day I toured the mews, two different diplomats were presenting their credentials to the queen. When that occurs, the queen sends a carriage to the embassy to pick up the person and bring him to Buckingham Palace. After he (or she) presents credentials, he returns to the embassy again by carriage. Since there were two different diplomats, two carriages were needed. These horses are being led to the carriages to be hooked up.

 

After the horses were connected, or whatever it is they call it, the drivers brought them out to the courtyard where they circled numerous times to get the horses warmed up.

This is the second driver and carriage.

Below, the footman has hopped onto each carriage, and away they went! The carriages use the city streets and are accompanied by policemen both in cars and on horseback.

 

This is the glass coach, used mostly for transporting royal brides, the most recent of which was Kate, Duchess of Cambridge.

There were other coaches, but they weren't nearly as fancy as the Glass Coach. If you want to see them, stop by the Royal Mews sometime and take a look.

 



The royal stables. They alternate keeping the horses in town or out in the country. Just so happened they were out in the country this particular day. See the nameplates for each horse in each stall? There is another nameplate that travels with the individual horses and is placed in their stall wherever they go.

The Gold State Coach. The last time this was used was for Queen Elizabeth's coronation, 60 years ago. Staged as being pulled by four horses, it actually requires eight horses of great strength because it weighs so much, not to mention the weight of the harnesses on the horses. Notice that the horses are all light gray.

 

Since the Queen doesn't travel by coach much, here is the official royal limousine. My husband is a car aficionado so I tried to capture the limo as it would be featured in a high-end car magazine. How did I do, honey?

 

This describes the official chauffeur's uniform. Snazzy, huh!

 

The horses are trained a minimum of two years before they are allowed into service.

 

What I wouldn't give to trot a well-trained horse around this ring!

 

After I left the mews, I decided to head back to Westminster Abbey. After all, it was only 1:45 p.m. and they were open until 3:30 p.m., right? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. It was Wednesday. Posted correctly on only one sign on the entire premises was the information of a 2:30 p.m. closing time on Wednesdays, with the last visitors being admitted by 1:30. So I got a few more pictures, swore silently under my breath, and subsequently gave them a 2-star rating on TripAdvisor for their erroneous signage. Someone else gave them a 2-star rating also, but that's because he paid the exorbitant entrance fee (18 pounds), only to learn after entering that several of the areas were closed due to renovation. But they didn't let you know those areas were closed until after you had already gone in. If they can't get all their signage correct, why would they want to warn you that you can't see everything you thought you could tour until after they had your money? Westminster Abbey, you may have been witness to Will and Kate's marriage, but it'll be a long time before I visit you again. Just sayin'.

 

One of the best parts of getting to Westminster Abbey from Buckingham Palace is the walk down Bird Cage Lane. That's St. James Park on the other side of the road.

 

The scene of the crime--encountering all the bad news described way above.

 

 Trying to smile, but the smirk is coming through.

 

So, what does one do when you're given a pile of rotten lemons? Well, if you're in London, you go back to the beautiful park you just passed--St. James Park--and make the best of it. And was there ever a lot of "best of it" to make!

 

 

Since I spent so much time on the Royal Mews and W.A. in this post, let's make St. James Park its own post, because once you see it, you'll know how deserving it is.