Finally, palaces!
I had a very welcome late-start on my third day in London. I don't think I've packed in too many things to do, but I am walking a lot every day and I think I need to start adding some rest time in between activities on future trips, it's just taking me longer to recover these days. Right now, the end of my fourth day here, I'm back in my room by 5:30 p.m. and don't plan on leaving it until tomorrow morning. My feet are literally throbbing.
Palaces aren't open to the public every day, and the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace also doesn't happen every day, so I did some research and figured I don't need a tour guide to see the changing of the guard. The internet had told me a premium vantage point would be at the corner of Marlborough Road and The Mall (pronounce Mal as in Malcolm, not Mall as in maul, who knew (probably lots of people)), but when I got to the gates of Buckingham just after 10am there really weren't that many people around so I thought I could just hang back and it wouldn't matter where I stood, I'd have a good view. I was so very wrong! While 10:35 was still a little bit comfortable, by 11am when the 'show' was expected, the crowds were awful - not only because there were an awful lot of people, but because a lot of the people were awful. Ignoring the cops ignoring the barriers ignoring the people already standing there, everyone out for themselves pretending they couldn't understand when they were told to move, literally climbing on the gates...yuk. I did see some of the action but it was not a pleasant experience.
It was also around this time that I realised I hadn't plugged in my phone overnight and it was only on 50% battery, so as soon as I could move I left the area and went back to my room to plug in. While there I checked public transport options for my next activity, Hampton Court Palace, only to find that the Tube would now be CLOSED for that day and the next due to a fire (according to Google maps). Figuring tomorrow's problems belong to tomorrow, I got a taxi to Vauxhall train station and off to King Henry VIII's house I went.
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Hampton Court Palace is fantastic, and being there on a random Wednesday afternoon even better. There were hardly any people around at all, and the palace and grounds so large that everyone was very well dispersed.
It was originally built by Cardinal Wolsey (Sam Neil in The Tudors) in 1514 and Henry VIII liked it so he just - took it! - and it remained a royal residence for 150 years. Then nearly 400 years later, this chick from Western Sydney just saunters in looking around the place and taking photos like it's a tourist attraction.
Henry VIII had about a thousand courtiers who would have lived here with him and all six of his wives over the years, and he and latter monarchs who called it home each expanded and renovated the palace and gardens. The big fireplace in the kitchen was purposefully built to feed all these people, and all the rooms would have been sparsely furnished to allow space for all to wander around. There was even a room with an elevated dining table in the middle where the King would eat and courtiers would come to watch. Henry VIII was also extremely religious, setting up his own church and all that, and the chapel inside Hampton Court is absolutely breath-taking.
After walking through most of it twice, I sat on a bench in the privy garden, mostly alone, and was just able to look at it all and breathe it in. I loved everything about Hampton Court Palace, just loved!
A most excellent day of mild inconveniences:
... The crowd's behaviour, a mild inconvence.
... Not having plugged in my phone overnight, a mild inconvenience.
... Google telling me the tube won't be functioning for 2 days, a mild inconvenience (it was all working as normal when I was ready to head back to the city).
... Getting on the wrong train because they don't all stop at the same stations, a mild inconvenience.
... Seeing that the train has power points, I could have just grabbed my charger and left earlier, a mild inconvenience.
... Not realising I had to press the button for the train door to open so I stood there like a knob, a mild inconvenience.
....
Back at Buckingham Palace the next morning for my walking tour and skip the line tickets - the three favourite words of a tourist "skip the line". Buckingham Palace doesn't allow tour guides inside so he mostly walked us around Green Park, St. James Park, and the Horse Guard grounds, pointing out significant sites and sharing various monarch stories. Unfortunately, he referred to periods of time via the monarch which required a knowledge of royal family trees, of which I have none, so I don't know when all these significant things happened other than "during the last 500 years". At one point he even said "when James I, no actually it was James II", he thought he'd made an important distinction. Nevertheless, it was a lovely 2 hours before he left us at a side entrance where we received immediate entry into Buckingham Palace, past the long lines of waiting people.
Charles lives next door to Buckingham Palace when he's here, but when he needs to go to work they stop the traffic and bring lots of armed cops, just for him to get in the car, drive out the gate, around the roundabout, and into another gate at Buckingham. Compare that to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark who used to cycle from her home to her workplace, what a cool lady!
Now, I'm glad I visited Buckingham, but overall mostly because I never have to do it again. Just like with my previous day's experience outside Buckingham Palace, there were way too many people in there and it was very hard to ignore them, and quite unpleasant. I do recall that I liked the Green Drawing Room, but even only a few hours later I don't have many more memories beyond the pictures I took in my head - because you can't take actual pictures in there. The audio guides included with entry provide only very basic info, and without the luxury of being able to stop and appreciate items and spaces, every room is the Mona Lisa experience - lots of expectation with little reward.
I did walk back to the Horse Guards after Buckingham Palace and that was a much nicer experience, they are very impressive! I waited around a bit to catch a tourist being yelled at for standing too close, but none stepped wrong that day.
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Do you think the royal family knows how normal people live? Do they have people that tell them, or specific documentaries made just for them so they can know what life in England and around the world is like? I had the impression, or wishful belief, that Lizzie cared about her subjects, do you think Charles does, or worse, Camilla? Were you sad when they placed a crown on Camilla's head at the coronation, I was. Does the monarchy have any actual use or is it all just ceremonial? I had to become a Justice of the Peace for work a couple of years ago and had to pledge my allegiance to King Charles III, I literally had to say it out loud - I considered pulling the plug at that point because I knew I was lying, but I continued because I was in court in front of lots of people. The Netflix show The Crown portrayed Charles as quite progressive, do you think he'll bother making any substantive changes in our lifetime?
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Buckingham Palace is MUCH nicer from afar, away from the traffic and crowds
St James Park on the way back to the Horse Guards, these guys are so cool!
Hampton Court Palace, one of my favourite tourist days ever, I loved it so much!
Close up of one tiny corner of a wall tapestry, these are HUGE and were used to show wealth, as well as insulating the walls; and Henry VIII's crown (recreation)
I can hear my Mother now 
