London

Queen Elizabeth II. Check out her title at the end of the post.

London Bridge, staying up.

I had this past Friday off and was able to take a trip to London. I was in the locker room at the gym on Monday and they were talking about how Billy Elliot had won some Tonys the past weekend. Since I had Friday off and loved the movie, I decided that it was a great opportunity to get down there. The play was pretty good, but I preferred the movie. It's hard to get into something with a lot of singing in it. The movie was believable and did what a movie was supposed to do: it convinced me that the characters were real and I was able to relate to them. In the play/musical, that wasn't the case. Every time something big happened, it turned into a song. I don't know about you, but have never once in my life spontaneously burst into song before/during/after a particularly sad/happy/funny event.

The trip was very compact. I arrived by train a few hours before the show on Friday. I spent the whole day Saturday on my feet and moving. I was able to make it to most of the "must-do" tourist sites. I had a bit of luck when I showed up for the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. As it turned out, it was the Queen's Birthday. I got to the palace about an hour before the "Trooping of the Colour" ceremony began and I moved up to about five people from the front. I saw the Queen, the entire royal family, and a lengthy military passing in review complete with the old uniforms, horses, and clanking swords. I couldn't help but laugh a few hours later when I was at the National Gallery and I saw a painting from the 1700s of a similar ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The palace, uniforms, and equipment looked exactly in the same in the 1700s as they did that morning.

Besides Buckingham Palace, the Saturday highlights included Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, the Tate Museum, the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the British Museum, the London Bridge, and Hyde Park. I was also able to make a walk past the V&A Museum, Natural History Museum, and Science Museum later that evening in preparation for Sunday, as well. After such a busy day I slept well, despite the fact that I was in a hostel room with 27 other guys and someone was playing with my foot (which was hanging into the walkway as the bed was too short and I had to squeeze my feet under the bunk bed bars) at 4:00am.

Sunday was less eventful. My train left at 2:00pm, so I was hoping to make it to 2-3 museums before I had to leave. Unfortunately, the underground was more or less shut down. It took me 2 hours and a lot of changing of plans just to get to my first destination. By that time, I figured I would be better off making my way to King's Cross just order to avoid missing my train.

I made it back to Harrogate in time to meet some friends for dinner. All in all, it was a really nice weekend.

The Rosetta Stone.

Big Ben

Apparently they made a movie about me. I love my reviews.

Yes, the mummies and 5,000 year old statues were cool, but I especially like the roof at the British Museum.

Westminster Abbey

Trooping of the Colour, Buckingham Palace (The Queen and entire royal family are in this picture. Look closely.)

As promised, here is the queen's official title, at the time of crowning, as per Wikipedia:

Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas Queen, Defender of the Faith, Duchess of Edinburgh, Countess of Merioneth, Baroness Greenwich, Duke of Lancaster, Lord of Mann, Duke of Normandy, Sovereign of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Sovereign of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Sovereign of the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick, Sovereign of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Sovereign of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Sovereign of the Distinguished Service Order, Sovereign of the Imperial Service Order, Sovereign of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, Sovereign of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, Sovereign of the Order of British India, Sovereign of the Indian Order of Merit, Sovereign of the Order of Burma, Sovereign of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, Sovereign of the Royal Family Order of King Edward VII, Sovereign of the Order of Mercy, Sovereign of the Order of Merit, Sovereign of the Order of the Companions of Honour, Sovereign of the Royal Victorian Order, Sovereign of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem.

And if that wasn't enough, here are the some she has acquired since gaining the crown in 1953:

Sovereign of the Order of Canada, Sovereign of the Order of Australia, Sovereign of the Order of New Zealand, Sovereign of the Order of Barbados, Sovereign of the Order of Valour, Sovereign of the Order of Military Merit, Sovereign of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, Sovereign of the Queen's Service Order, Sovereign of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Sovereign of the Order of St. Andrew, Sovereign of the Order of Logohu, Sovereign of the Order of the Star of Melanesia.

Believe it or not, the list goes on. Her business cards must be super annoying.