Buckingham Palace, London home of British monarchs since George III, was today's destination. It took some doing to get into because the 19 state rooms of the palace are only regularly open to the public in August and September. When we saw an opportunity to book a rare off-season evening tour (for a small fortune), we grabbed our chance. The little girls stayed at Kristin and Gareth's while Scott, Laura and Olivia made the two-hour trek through rush hour traffic to the palace. It was worth our trouble. The palace is gorgeous, with each room opening into an even more magnificently arrayed setting. It was built to be imposing from the moment you enter it, and it succeeds. As we stood in the anteroom waiting for our guide, Olivia complained about being cold. I asked, "Are you nervous?" and she showed me her shaking legs and knees knocking together violently. The art collection is priceless. We learned a little about English history along the way (Bet you've never heard of the baby race in Regency England!) and quite a bit about architecture. We were all amused to discover that George IV, who designed the palace and who fought Napoleon, was an ardent francophile who had everything French copied or purchased and installed in his new digs. We also learned to our surprise that the current stately Portland limestone facade so familiar to all of us is actually the latest addition to the palace and was not added until 1911. When we ended our tour, we enjoyed a glass of champagne, Olivia felt quite grown up to get her own flute of non-alcoholic elderflower water--whatever that is.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
A Trip To Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, London home of British monarchs since George III, was today's destination. It took some doing to get into because the 19 state rooms of the palace are only regularly open to the public in August and September. When we saw an opportunity to book a rare off-season evening tour (for a small fortune), we grabbed our chance. The little girls stayed at Kristin and Gareth's while Scott, Laura and Olivia made the two-hour trek through rush hour traffic to the palace. It was worth our trouble. The palace is gorgeous, with each room opening into an even more magnificently arrayed setting. It was built to be imposing from the moment you enter it, and it succeeds. As we stood in the anteroom waiting for our guide, Olivia complained about being cold. I asked, "Are you nervous?" and she showed me her shaking legs and knees knocking together violently. The art collection is priceless. We learned a little about English history along the way (Bet you've never heard of the baby race in Regency England!) and quite a bit about architecture. We were all amused to discover that George IV, who designed the palace and who fought Napoleon, was an ardent francophile who had everything French copied or purchased and installed in his new digs. We also learned to our surprise that the current stately Portland limestone facade so familiar to all of us is actually the latest addition to the palace and was not added until 1911. When we ended our tour, we enjoyed a glass of champagne, Olivia felt quite grown up to get her own flute of non-alcoholic elderflower water--whatever that is.
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