Merry Old England Take 4

Walking through St. James Park (the Queen's park) we took in the wildlife.

And at the other end of the park...oh say, where can this be?

Buckingham Palace! Yes, that's the balcony where Kate and William appeared after gettin' hitched.

Fairly glam gates. I think we'll use something similar as an entrance to our driveway when we get the house finished.

Part of Queen Victoria's Memorial, outside the palace. Naturally, I neglected to take a picture of the other side that had her statue.

Walking back down the other side of the mall, towards Trafalgar Square, we had opportunity to see various guards.

This is still part of the second day. I'm still not sure how I survived the pace. But anyway...

There was a folk/rockfest in Trafalgar Square proper, so we couldn't go through that section. Had to walk around various sidewalks to get to the National Gallery (Art, people!). And aside from the rain and not getting to see T. S. we only had one hour...that's ONE HOUR to see one of the best art collections in the world. I started out with the Dutch Masters and ended up with Impressionism. Oh my....Monet, Manet,  Cézanne, Degas, Gauguin....I about fainted! Actually, I wasn't feeling well, but mainly I was awed by the art.

Of course we couldn't take photos inside, BUT, I did run across a rather graphic and extraordinary work by the Dutch painter van Haarlem. My plans are to obtain a cheap copy, hang it in the boys' room with a bolded subtiltle: "This is what happens to boys who don't obey their mother."

Yeah, that should work.

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