London-Day 4: Buckingham, Tower Bridge and More

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Today was going to be kind of a leisurely day of tying up some loose ends of places I wanted to visit if there was time and then attending the London Symphony in the evening. Slept in a little because of my late night last night and then headed out, first up, Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace
I was able to tour the state rooms of Buckingham Palace which are only open a few months of the year when the Queen is out of town. No photos allowed. These are the rooms used for state dinners and for meeting with dignitaries. They even had the tables set up as they would be for a state dinner. They provide free audio tours which are nice because then you can move at your own pace through the rooms. They are quite elegant as one would expect. We also saw rooms containing George III’s art collection. He was obviously a fan of Rembrandt and also collected several Dutch paintings (including of Venice landscapes). The large room containing several works had skylights which were put in under Victoria’s reign which helps with the lighting. George was also a collector of sculpture and there was a large room containing several of those pieces of work. Buckingham Palace became an official royal residence under Queen Victoria. There’s also a memorial to her in the front of the Palace. After the tour, I walked the back lawn which had a large pond with some gorgeous reflections. Much larger than the average back lawn! They had a coffee stand so I got a cappuccino and noticed that they put “ER” (Queen’s initials) into the foam! Details, details.

For lunch, I headed up to Piccadilly Square and walked around and ate there and then walked to Trafalgar Square.

The National Gallery
The National Gallery is located at Trafalgar Square. It is home to several impressive pieces of art by J.M.W. Turner, Picasso, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. The Gallery building itself is gorgeous and has a great mix of art. No photos area allowed but a must see for art lovers. The building itself is stunning inside.

Tower Bridge
After the Gallery, I tubed over to Tower Bridge to take some photos of it. The Bridge is wonderful and so easy to photograph. Walked along the London Tower side and then started walking over it. As I was getting ready to cross, we were stopped because they had to raise it. What luck. I heard it only happens about 100 times a year. A small ship with large sails was let through and then everyone was on their way. I was getting short of time and needed to rush back to my hotel to change for the Symphony, which I was really looking forward to.

London Symphony at the Barbican
What a wonderful night. I have not been to many symphonies so am definitely a novice but I sure enjoyed this one. I loved the first half on Beethoven. The pianist was spectacular. The second half was good and had a baritone and nice choir with it but didn’t have the drama of Beethoven. The Barbican is also a beautiful contemporary styled building.

Favorite London restaurant names I’ve come across on this trip:
Slug and Lettuce
The Balls Brothers
Eat Like a Pig
Bumbles
Blah Blah Blah Restaurant

It was a great day. Tomorrow, is my last day in London.

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Photos

Pond in Back of Buckingham Palace
What a reflection

Tower Bridge
Ship Passing

Pond in Back of Buckingham Palace
Check out that reflection