Saturday in London

20th April – Saturday

 The Royal Gate

 Don't think this really came from the "Titanic!"

 Portobello Road in the springtime

 My own security pass

 Inside Westminster Hall

 Someone else famous stood here!

 Strange coloured antlers

 Inside Parliament grounds

 Orange Men

Saying goodbye

A good night’s sleep left us feeling more “normal” and ready to enjoy a typical English breakfast, seemingly at the same time as half the hotel’s guests! An interesting sight was sharing the lift from the 6th to the ground floor with a man wearing shortie pyjamas (presumably), a bathrobe, short dark socks and slippers. Only an Englishman …

With the temperature hovering just above zero and no clouds in the sky, we decided to head for the Portobello Road Market, along with half the population of London. First up, we had to brave Victoria Station and the numerous, and conflicting instructions, before buying tickets and finding the correct platform. Once we arrived at the lovely Notting Hill Gate, it was easy to find Portobello Road – simply follow the crowd. We spent a delightful morning poking about the oh so many antique shops and stalls, interspersed with the obligatory souvenir stalls. There were just sooooo many people, but the weather was beautiful, as was the setting.

Returning to the hotel wasn’t an issue, but we have been having issues with our UK sim card in the phone and I can assure everyone that Australians aren’t the only ones who talk to someone in India when needing technical support! We still aren’t sure if the phone is still working or not.

This afternoon we braved the Underground again and headed for the Houses of Parliament and a guided tour. We discovered a protest in progress opposite the building; apparently an anti-Muslim group who seemed to be middle Eastern and needed to shout their message with the use of a PA system. We were held up for a short while at the entrance as the guests of a wedding being held in the crypt (funny place for a wedding!!!) were given precedence. We had to undergo another metal scan and Cat also had another full body x-ray to make sure he was still in good health. He also took the opportunity to make friends with one of the female police officers and ended up with his own security pass, just like the rest of us. Once in Westminster Hall (the only place we were allowed to take photos), we quickly realised that most of the people who didn’t go to Portobello Road were at the Houses of Parliament. The tour was really interesting, with us being taken into both the House of Lords and the House of Commons, as well as receiving a suitable commentary by our guide. At the end of the tour, back in Westminster Hall, we were unceremoniously asked to move off the stairs as the wedding party wanted to have their photos taken there! The 90 minute tour was well worth it, even though the feet and legs were starting to complain.

After leaving Parliament, we discovered the protestors had left but the Irish Orange Men were parading. There was a vehicle in front of them which played out a white tape barrier down the middle of the road and another vehicle behind the parade which wound up the tape. We decided to walk back to the hotel along Birdcage Walk and were rather amused to see a bridal couple (long, white dress and all the trimmings) standing on the footpath beside St James’s Park and hail a black cab.

We managed to give the feet an hour’s rest before heading to our appointment at Buckingham Palace. Cat had been worrying about the corgis all day, so we decided he could stay at home and have another sleep to help get over his jetlag. We were met at the gate and ushered into a waiting area along with the other 22 guests, after undergoing another security scan (we must glow in the dark by now). Then it was into the grand entrance hall to meet our guide before heading up the beautiful staircase to the staterooms. Unfortunately, we were not permitted to take any photos in the grounds or building itself. It was wonderful being guided through the rooms with the guide giving us details about the art works and building, not to mention the glass of champagne the Queen had left for us to enjoy in the marble hall at the end of the tour. We were then personally escorted out through the front entrance of the palace – and had our photo taken by quite a few tourists who were still about at 8.00 pm on a very chilly evening.

It has been a great day, although the feet may not agree!