The Brighton Pavilion. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and English Heritage Site
Welcome to the third and final installment of Meet the Luczaks British Invasion. It isn't easy to fit in all of the wonderful things to see and do in the United Kingdom with only a week. Indeed, it is impossible, but we managed to do quite a bit more in the last few days of the visit.
On Monday, the 21st, we took the train into London. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace and we had the surprise privilege to view the changing of the guard. After viewing the time honoured tradition, we walked alongside Saint James Park, and were delighted to be met by the guard marching back up to the castle. We couldn't have been any closer to them, as you can see from the picture below.
In front of St. James Park. Me, Mike, Patrick and Mom (and I made that pink and green top!)
We then walked up to Trafalgar Square and settled on a pub for lunch. We ate at The Silver Cross. The food was nice and the pub traditional, but a bit pricey and because of it's very desirable location for tourist traffic it clearly doesn't feel the need to go the extra mile in service or quality. Still, we made the best of it and had a lovely lunch. (Well, Neil had a lovely lunch of our leftovers since they didn't bother making his order!)
We then went towards Parliament and Big Ben. This was the point were the tiredness began to settle in. Unless you are an avid walker, doing the bus tour of the sites if you are only going to have a day in London is probably a better idea. We took at break at this point and sat in front of Westminster Abbey. The square in which these buildings are located are steeped in history and there is plenty of people watching to do if you get tired of looking at the buildings.
We then walked along the Thames before heading up to Covent Garden, which is always milling with tourists and locals watching the various street shows. We stopped at Scoop, just off of Neal Street and got a few gluten free gelato cones. Then while the grandparents and child rested, Neil and I snuck off to Forbidden Planet and grabbed some comics for the trip, most notably a nice Batman comic for Michael to read on the plane on his way back to the States for his summer holiday. We then caught the train home, having had a very full day.
On Tuesday we drove south to Brighton, which is one of my favorite places on earth. We ate at Frank and Bennies, the family favorite, and queued for the Brighton Pavilion tour. The Pavilion looks as if a tornado picked it up out of India and plopped it down on the English coast. It is totally out of place and ridiculously conspicuous. Inside, a bit of a cheesy audio tour offers lots of insight into the lives and times of the royalty of the day. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed in the pavilion.
On Wednesday we rested and packed for the trip. Michael was very excited, and we were excited for him, but it was not easy to see them off at the airport. It was reported that the flights were fine, and Michael had a nice few days with my mother and Patrick before his dad picked him up. He is now happily swimming and playing video games in Virginia.
Til next time.
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