Our final full day in London and we found ourselves outside the gates of Buckingham Palace. Being just steps away from the official royal residence was kind of surreal.
There were about three of these gates a few yards away from one another down a row on the front side of the palace.
The monarch's royal seal, made out of gold.
See, I was there. You will also notice the red, white and blue flag flying behind me. That means the Queen was not there. She must have still been chilling at Windsor Castle.
Allison and Kim at Buckingham.
Mom went to see what this huge stage was all about. It was being constructed just in front of Buckingham Palace. Turns out it was for a concert for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. You may have seen some of the famous stars - including Elton John - performing here during the Jubilee news coverage.
After a quick street side breakfast of sausage, eggs, bacon, toast and beans (yes, beans - like frank and beans?) we went to mass at Westminster Cathedral. It's the largest Catholic Church in England. Not to be confused with Westminster Abbey which is the Church of England and an official royal church.
After mass we took the elevator up to the Bell Tower which is on the left in the above picture. Once up there we were rewarded with an amazing view of the city.
One of the views, Buckingham Palace!
Inside the Bell Tower.
Another view of London.
Trying to figure out our next destination. That was always fun...
We decided to do a little shopping, so off to Harrod's we went. That's Harrod's with all the flags.
What an AMAZING place. Six or seven floors of incredible, and EXPENSIVE stuff. Holy Moly!
Since we couldn't afford anything inside THAT PLACE we decided to go eat in Picadilly Square.
I guess Kim thought something was funny.
I guess Kim thought something was funny.
After doing some souvenir shopping, we decided to check out Hyde Park which was directly across the street from our hotel. We walked through the park and found Kensington Palace on the far side.
The royal residence was where Princess Diana resided after her divorce from Prince Charles. It was passed tour hours when we got there, so we didn't get to go inside.
We were able to walk around the Kensington Palace gardens. Such a relaxing, gorgeous place to be.
After Kensington, we walked through the park at sunset. It was a nice time and a great way to wrap up our trip in England. We left early the next morning. Our time seemed to fly by. I will treasure the memories we made and the time spent together always. Thank you Mom for the opportunity. Thanks to each of you for such a special trip! I love you all. Cheerio!!!
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