So on Saturday Margo and I went to the palace of Buckingham (another ham!) anyways it was raining so ended up being quite a good thing to do on a wet day. What was annoying was that it had been quite a humid week and outside for lunch weather but then the weekend came and it all changed!
Off track there anyways it was Margo, me and a lot of tourists! now i wasn't quite in tourist mode when i arrived so it took me a while to adjust when i saw the queue! what some of the people didnt quite get though was that the palace is basically not a tourist attraction and is a working home! it was only opened to pay for the reconstruction of Windsor Castle after the fire in the 90s i guess though margo would probably know more about that??? (though basically was designed to mean the British taxpayer wouldn't pay for Windsor and the many tourists that London get would! anyways that basically meant that it didnt have purpose built tourist facilities including toilets etc - this was annoying some of the visitors when we were kept in a holding tent for about 20 minutes before we went through the metal detectors...was quite amusing - made me want to say something but i think margo would of disowned me!
Anyways we got through after Margo's bag was examined in more detail than a airport and then were given a free audio guide. We went in and normally when i walk into these places like that im like ok this is cool but... - but walking into this place was completly different - it was quite something! walking up the grand staircase and through some of the rooms into the banquet hall where the room was fully set up for a state visit banquet. it was quite something - although as margo pointed out the chairs (apart from the queens) were a little small and uncomfortable looking! everything was lined up though (glasses - one long line down both sides of the table). Well worth the $30 entrance in my opinion!
anyways at the end we got to walk through the garden to the exit! where there were toilets and gift shops in the normal marquees you get at these temporary events!
anyways apart from the rain in the garden it was a good time! if you visit london in the august/september time frame i would definately recommend - especially as you dont really know how long the public will be allowed in like that!
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4 comments:
How does it compare to Versailles?
oh it was probably on a par but with the difference that it was still being used and was therefore a bit more down to earth inside. the garden was no where near as good though! no boating or amazing looking cottages!
I think it meant a bit more to me though as im british and not french i guess if that makes sense!
I guess its a bit like when i weant to washington dc and went to where to declaration of independance (the place where you can go see it) was and it was very good but obviosly didnt mean quite as much to me as the others who were there...i guess Buckingham Palce would be similar...
I thought Buckingham Palace was probably more interesting! Think it's primarily the fact that it's a working palace so you're looking at rooms that are still actively being used for these purposes instead of ones used once upon a time. Made it easier to relate to. Probably because of this everything seemed to look a bit fresher and nicer! But I agree with Mark, the gardens were not nearly as cool! Of course they were impressive in size considering their location in the middle of London!
Oh! And I finally put up pictures from Edinburgh on picasa, as well as some other random photos from different things over the summer.
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