the changing of the guards

We kept waiting for a perfectly bright and non rainy Wednesday to go and see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace.  One never seemed to come, so on a pretty wet Wednesday we headed off to central London, walked down through green park and waited with the crowds of people to see the ceremony of the Changing of the Guards.  It was a lot of waiting, so we sat on the curb in the crowd under our umbrellas and read our books.  I talked to all the people around me from all over the world, Spain, India, Italy, Australia.  We also met a super nice policewoman on a horse who had the same ages of kids as me.  She talked to us while we waited and made everyone move out of the way once the ceremony started so that my kids could sit front and center as the soldiers and bands passed by.  When the parade started and the guards started marching it was cool, but I’m not sure if it was worth all of the waiting.  We couldn’t see the guards actually change (it was inside the gates) but we saw some pretty cool marching bands and met some nice people.  I guess it was a good touristy thing to get under our belt. Peter was pretty awestruck by all the horses and those cool dogs.  Poor Emmeline was stuck back at school.  I have a suspicion that she would not have really enjoyed this event.  Too much waiting, too little to see.
Bottom line?  I’m not sure if I’d put the Changing of the Guards high on my list of things to see in London.  I do love all the ceremonial stuff that comes with queens and palaces and castles, but I’m not sure I need to wait in crowds to witness it all.
But, regardless of what we were doing in London, oh how I miss those Wednesdays, dropping Em off and heading in from Roding Valley station with my big kids and my baby to a city alive with things to see.