The Ceremony of the Keys happens at the Tower of London every night, and has done so since the 14th century. These tickets are free, but very difficult to come by. I was lucky enough to get some during my moms visit. We had a fun night out with the Stones.
At exactly 9:53pm, the Chief Yeoman, meets the military escort, made up of members of the Tower of London Guard. Together, the Chief Yeoman and the Yeoman 'Watchman' secure the main gates of the Tower. Upon their return down Water Lane, the party is halted by the sentry and challenged to identify themselves:
- Sentry: "Halt! Who comes there?"
Chief Yeoman: "The keys."
Sentry: "Whose keys?"
Chief Yeoman: "Queen Elizabeth's keys." (identifying the keys as being those of Queen Elizabeth II, the current monarch)
Sentry: "Pass Queen Elizabeth's Keys. All is well."
Chief Yeoman: "God preserve Queen Elizabeth."
Sentry: "Amen!"
Following this, the party makes its way through the Bloody Tower Archway into the fortress, where they halt at the bottom of the Broadwalk Steps. On the top of the Stairs, under the command of their officer, the Tower Guard present arms and the Chief Warder raises his hat, proclaiming:
Chief Yeoman: "God preserve Queen Elizabeth."
Sentry: "Amen!"He then takes the keys to the Queen's House for safekeeping, while the Last Post is sounded.
Such a special experience to be at the tower when it was closed, and I highly recommend it to those visiting.
Such a special experience to be at the tower when it was closed, and I highly recommend it to those visiting.
Mom and I went to another great free museum in London, The British Museum. This museum is filled, and could take days to see everything. We just dabbled and saw some of the more famous items.
After the museum we went to a famous umbrella shop in an original Victorian building called, James Smith & Sons. It was beautiful, and the craftsmanship was top notch. I bought Josh an umbrella!
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| Playing with his British toys |
February 8-14, 2016
This was a busy week! I'm trying to get lots of our outings done before mom heads back to the states. We took another trip to the London Zoo...man this place was expensive BUT I heard they are raising their prices next week so we had to go, and we had 2-for-1 passes. Harvey loved it! He got to get so close to the giraffes, and was tickled watching the meerkats run and play. He really enjoyed the children's petting zoo with goats and sheep. He wanted so badly to pick up food on the ground and feed them, like he does his dogs...but the "food" was goat poop!
It's Pancake Day! Pancake Day has been celebrated by Britons for centuries. Known also as Shrove Tuesday, it is always the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Traditionally, pancakes were eaten on this day to use up rich, indulgent foods like eggs and milk before the 40-day fasting season of Lent began. But although it is enshrined in Christian tradition, it is believed that Pancake Day might originate in a pagan holiday, when eating warm, round pancakes - symbolizing the sun - was a way of celebrating the arrival of spring. I got pancakes for breakfast and dinner, and they were delicious!
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| Loves Pancakes |
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| Driving a Taxi |
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| Driving a train |
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| Harvey loves there red and green man when we are out walking |
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| Pancakes for dinner with the girls |
Cricket is getting old, and her teeth are getting gross! We decided to get her teeth cleaned. To do this she must be put under anestisia...bummer! But the results were amazing.
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| Before/After |
Happy Valentine's Day! Josh was traveling so my Valentines Day plans were changed a bit. I spent it with my mom instead. Mary babysat Harvey so we could go see Guys and Dolls. It was a great time, and we loved singing along to the songs.
Happy Valentine's Day!
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| 2 New Twirlywoos! |
This week was Chinese New Year. London had lots of activities going on in Chinatown. The biggest was the parade on Sunday morning. It was so crowded, but we got a good spot and Harvey loved watching the dragon and fun activities.
After the parade we ate lunch at Imperial China. There was a big queue (line) waiting for them to open, thats a good sign right? Once they opened, we got a table, and even a high chair! Harvey loved the homage pulled noodles, and granny got the duck!
February 15-21, 2016
We had waited for a beautiful day to visit Tower Bridge. We waited a while but finally a beautiful sunny day came! The Tower Bridge was built in 1886-1894, and is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London. The bridge crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and has become an iconic symbol of London. We used a 2-4-1 ticket, and went early in the morning to avoid the crowds. It was really cool! They had glass floors that you could walk across while looking at the cars, buses, and boats way below you. Harvey had no fear and was curious about the glass walkway. We loved getting a gorgeous view of London. They even had a penny press at the top!
The girls and I went to Tate Britain, a museum right in my neighborhood and on the site of the former Millbank Prison. It is the oldest gallery in the Tate network, having opened in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the art of the United Kingdom since Tudor times, and in particular has large holdings of the works of J. M. W. Turner, who bequeathed all his own collection to the nation.
Finally, finally, finally I was able to order waffles at the Electric Diner! It only took me 3 visits. They have 1 waffle maker so you have to wait as they make one at a time but it was VERY yummy. The hash browns were my favorite though.
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| Bloody Mary |
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| Waffles, roasted tomatoes, hash browns |
Harvey's favorite show, the Twirlywoos celebrated their 1 year anniversary. We tried to congratulate them and win a prize, but no luck. Who wouldn't think this precious face deserves to win?!?
Granny, Harvey, and I went on a day trip to York. It was a quick train ride to visit a beautiful city!
Harvey had another round of vaccines to get ready for our move back to the US. He was very sad, so we met up with dad for lunch. We ate at Beboz, an Italian street food place famous for their Italian burritos. I will be back! It was delicious. Harvey was cheered up to see dad during the daylight.
After lunch granny had to make one last stop at Fortnum & Mason for some tea to bring home. I bought a special bespoke hamper as a souvenir in my new house...wherever that may be.
This week marks The Black Dress Initiative through the Junior League of London. I wore the same black dress for the week and received donations to help those in need. It was planned to coordinate with London Fashion Week, to make poverty unfashionable.
Josh stayed home with Harvey, and mom and I took a day trip around Britain. The plan was to visit Warwick Castle, Stratford-upon-Avon, the Cotswalds, and Oxford University. We left Victoria coach station at 9:00am and went to the farthest place first- Warwick Castle.
Warwick Castle was beautiful and very impressive as its all original. The little touches our tour guide pointed out were very cool to witness...such things as a cross being carved in the wall, or where the guards would sharpen their knives. They even had a dog house for the guard dog. This would be a great day out with kids, especially little boys...they had arrow shooting shows, knights, mazes, and a fun playground. I loved it because they had a penny press! Mom and I packed a little lunch for the bus and we enjoyed it as we drove to Stratford-upon-Avon.
Stratford-upon-Avon has been on my "to visit list" as soon as we landed in London. It is such a sweet little medieval market town that brings you back in time. Well as much as you can go back with seeing all the shops from the high street. There are quite a few things to see in this tiny town but the big ones are Shakespeare's birth home, and the home of his wife, Anne Hathaway. The main place I wanted to visit was Shakespeare's birth place. It was surreal walking on original floor in the home and standing where the famous playwright stood! We then drove through the Cotswolds.
Mom had to get some last minute tea from Twinings before she heads back to America! We tried Birley Sandwiches for lunch and it was really good! Everything was so fresh, and made to order.
