Monday, March 30, 2009

We A-Mews Ourselves On Our Last Day

Oxford beat Cambridge in the big race along the Thames which took place right behind our house today, but we weren't there to see it. We took one look at the crowd of rowdy twenty-somethings headed for the river with enormous quanitities of booze and decided we could spend our time more productively. This being our last day in London, we decided to return to one of our favorite places, Southwark Cathedral, for morning services. The best moment of that was when Cecily decided, uncharasterically, to lend her voice to the hymns and did a pretty good job of carrying the tune! Our next stop was the Royal Mews--the stables adjacent to Buckingham Palace. This was a place Olivia had wanted to go from the start of our visit, and she (and we) were dismayed to find that it is closed for the first three months of every year. Fortunately, the re-opening day turned out to be March 28, so on our last day, we were able to give Olivia her wish. Both she and her sisters enjoyed looking at the horses and were fascinated to learn that the Queen names each one. Olivia thought it was cool that when the queen visits, the stablemaster has to follow her around with a silver tray of carrots and sugar cubes. Also stored at the mews are the amazing royal coaches, including the 4-ton state coach gilded in solid gold (shown at left with Meredith in front.) This amazing piece was built by George III and has only been used four times in the long reign of Queen Elizabeth II. It was a great way to end our visit. For the rest of the afternoon, the girls went for a goodbye play date with Owain, Gwyneth and Rhys while Mom and Dad went home to finish packing. All that remains at this point of our presence at our wonderful little house in London is an enormous pile of luggage in the hallway awaiting the arrival of the car tomorrow.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry to see it end, but can't wait to see you all in person. Have a good trip home!--Patti

Hilary said...

I am also sorry to see it end - Abby and I have enjoyed reading together every day! But I know we will all be happy to see you back home again. Abby especially misses Meredith and is ready to have her buddy back! :)