London - Buckingham Palace and London Bridge

March 22, 2014

We woke up and had our yummy big breakfast and we checked out of our room since we were leaving that evening. The B&B held our luggage for us for the day. Then we headed outside to another gorgeous day and walked down to Buckingham Palace. 

Buckingham Palace is where the Queen lives today. It was designed in 1710 for the 1st Duke of Buckingham. It became the official royal palace for the monarch by Queen Victoria in 1837. The last major structure additions were made in the late 19th century and early 20th . They added the front balcony on which the royal family traditionally congregates to greet crowds outside. You can only tour the inside of the Palace during the summer months when Queen Elizabeth is on vacation. But you can watch the Changing of the Guard everyday in front of the Palace. That day the Union Jack flag was flying on the Palace, so that meant that the Queen was not there. 

The children in front of Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms (19 state rooms, 52 bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms). Wow! 

Gates to Green Park

Daffodils everywhere in Green Park

Gates to Clarence House

Queen Victoria Memorial in front of the Palace 

The road that goes right in front of the Palace 

St. James's Park is the oldest of the Royal Parks in London. 

St. James's Park - looking towards Whitehall

Whitehall Palace was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530-1698. Henry VIII married two of his wives at this Palace - Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour. He also died here at Whitehall Palace. By 1650 the Palace had 1500 rooms and rivaled St. Peters in Rome and Versailles in France. In the late 1600's there were two big fires that burnt most of the palace. There are only a few rooms that still exist today from the original. 

Whitehall Palace

Old double decker buses

We finally found one that was not locked...phone booths are so out of date now!

modern looking double decker buses. 

At one point our tour bus went over London Bridge. Now London Bridge is just a plain bridge and most people get it confused with Tower Bridge. L thought this was so neat when they announced we were driving over London Bridge. She broke out singing (pretty loudly)..."London Bridge is falling down...falling down...falling down". It was pretty funny!

Modern London Bridge

London Bridge in the early 1900's

The old medieval bridge they think was built around the year 1000. It had a drawbridge for the tall ships and defensive gatehouses at both ends. By 1358 the bridge was already crowded with 138 shops. There were many fires on the bridge over the years. By the Tudor era there were 200 buildings on the bridge and some were up to 7 stories high, and some overhung the river by 7 feet. The road was only 12 feet wide and divided so that in each direction, carts, wagons, coaches, and pedestrians traffic could flow.  The bridge reminds me a lot of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. You can see at the gatehouse the heads on spikes from the executed criminals. 

This picture dates to around 1616

The bridge lasted until the late 1700's when they decided to tear it down and rebuild it. Maybe that is where the song "London Bridge is falling down" comes from?

Our final stop...Kensington Palace!