London Crowds

Buckingham Palace during changing of the guard

Arriving in London on a overnight flight, our first venture into the traditions of the British was stumbling upon the changing of the guards ceremony at Buckingham Palace. We didn't intend to do this, but it was fun to see.

Our hotel was right by Victoria Station, which is a short walk from Buckingham Palace, so it was a natural place to start. The sidewalks were packed with people. We couldn't even get close to the gates. We meandered through the crowds to get a distance from the gate and watched the marching bands go by in the street. Mingling with people from countries all around the world, all interested in seeing, in person, the British Royalty traditions. To see something that our country doesn't have is so interesting. Traditions older than our country and places bursting with history. I could only imagine the crowds at this spot during the Royal Wedding.

No matter what crowd we were in, whether at Buckingham, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, or rush hour in the Tube, it was always a myriad of people together in one place with many different languages and interesting personalities. Plenty of people-watching. More on that later...

Olympic countdown clock in Trafalgar Square