The Changing of the Guards

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Fanie, Harmony and I caught the Metro to Buckingham Palace. We discovered a Sub-sub train system called the Piccadilly Line (the Dark Blue Line). The Dark Green line was the District Underground Train System, whereas the Piccadilly Line (the Dark Blue Line), ventured beyond and across districts. Because Buckingham Palace is on the other side of London to where we were staying, it made sense for us to use the Piccadilly Line (otherwise, we'd have to hop off and hop on between two different District Lines). The Piccadilly Line made life even more simpler. It was wonderful. But, because the Piccadilly Line is below the District Line, the esculators to reach the sub-terrain were extremely steep - much akin to catching an esculator down a moutain. Looking down to its destination made your feel light headed.

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We finally go to our destination of Green Park, which was located at the back area of Buckingham Palace. As we walked to Buckingham Palace we passed the Rizz Hotel, Paul Mall, Hyde Park, etc. - all places on the Monopoly Board we used to play on. That was freaky!

We finally got to the front entrance of Buckingham Palace and I was surprised at the crowd numbers, consisting of people from all over the world (there were heavily dressed Muslim Women, a heavily dressed traditional religious Jewish man, traditionally dressed Africans, Japanese, Chinese, even French school tours, etc.), gathering two hours prior to the event - just to see the Guards changing (I know ... we were one of them ...)

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The Changing of the Guards was a fanfare pompus ceremony ... I loved it. Real British Millitary Bands rolling in with their musical instruments and the "stiff upper lip", marching into the gates of Buckingham Palace. The crowds went wild. Then a second British Millitary Band marches through the second gate. The changing of the Guards took place and the bands played an assortment of music. Then they played the "Britanica" music ... even though I am not British, it was a heart tugging experience. It is an emotional and proud musical piece for them. You could sense and feel the emotions of naional pride swell with each note they played.

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Fanie, Harmony and I then got the courage to hop on to Metro Trains between lines. We jumped into the nearest Metro Underground and worked out which line to catch to get to the British Museum on our own ... and at no cost to us as we had bought the Day Pass again. We found our way to the British Museum, which was adjacent to the Kings Cross station found on the Monopoly board. The museum has authentic Ancient Greek relics, Pathenon relics, Egyption Mummies, and the original Rosetta Stone.

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Fanie and Harmony were very tired, so they decided to head back to the Hotel via the Metro on their own. I decided to stay on at the Museum longer. I stayed on for another hour.

I spent time going through the Technology section of the Museum, then the British section. There was a section dedicated to books, a Japanese section, and more. The British Museum pride themselves on being the "Protectors of History" as they proudly display in massive writings throughout the museum. They even had pamphlets explaining the ongoing disputes and arguments with Greece demanding to have the Pathenon scultures back. Their stance, predominantly, back dates to the Otterman Empire over a hundred years ago, when Greece was not an independent country. They made agreements with the Ottermen Governor of Greece to purchase the Pathenon Relics because they were being destroyed with all the battles and wars going on throughout history on Greek soil, coupled with neglect over the millenia, they worried that the relics will soon be lost to mankind. They won the right to buy them from the Otterman Governor of Greece because they believed it would not last another Century.

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On the way home on my own, I crossed the park outside the London University. I sat there for a while enjoying the view and the atmosphere. As I was relaxing, I saw a squirrel run in front of me and looking at me, then looking around. It was an interesting situation. Then I noticed the pigeons chasing it, but the squirrel out smarted them. Then I saw the squirrel pick up an acorn, bigger than itself, with both its hands ... just like in the movie "The Ice Age". It was running ackwardly, but it would not let go of the acorn. It sprinted up a tree (don't ask me how). I just smiled.

When I finally got to the Hotel, Fanie was tired and decided to stay at the Hotel. Harmony and I decided we wanted to catch the Metro (Underground) again and went back to the River Thames banks. We walked across the bridge and went to the London Eye. The London Eye required us to purchase tickets inside a main building. There were selling hundreds of people buying soveniers. Also on offer was a 4 minute 4D presentation of the construction of the London Eye. It was an additonal cost. I enquired what 4D was, and as per usual, an Africa Brit smiled at our accent. He told Harmony and me to go inside for free. Basically, it was an iMax Theatre, with 3D glasses looking at the construction of the London Eye. The 4th D came with the thunderous vibration of the floor we were standing on, the Soap Bubbles they blew down from the ceiling at us, and the scented water that lightly sprayed us. It was an interesting experience.

We finally got onto the London Eye. In essence, it is a very, very big ferris wheel, providing the option of sitting down in a bench in the middle of one of its cradles, or standing at the handrails on all sides of the glass cradle. Each cradle accommodated about 14 people, and the wheel spun continuously without a break. However, it spun so slowly that you had plenty of time to hop on and hop off the moving cradle when you reached ground level. After every cycle of the cradle, two young girls walked in, prior to the new group of people waiting to board it. They used mirrors attached to elongated rods to check for bombs under each seat. This notion alone was uncomforting to me.