Make-A-Wish Trip - London Day 5 - Chocolate and a Myriad of other things.

Monday was our last full day in London. We hadn't purchased any souvenirs yet and we knew that if we were going to, today was our day. Since we had missed the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, we decided that we would head back that way. Silly us didn't realize that in order to really see anything, you needed to be at the palace quite early. They allow people right up to the gate. Those who get there early see the pomp and circumstance. Those who get there late get to see a few guards, a few horses, and the band. It really is hard to make sense of what is going on otherwise. We decided that we didn't want to stand around for 40 minutes hoping we might see a few men in tall black bear hats.

Do not mess with the Police on horses. They have no problem backing their horses bums right into your face if you are not where you should be.

As we were leaving the palace we heard some loud bangs. At the park adjacent to the palace was another celebration. I walked up to the police officer that was blocking off the park and asked her what was happening and if it had to do with the changing of the guard. She kindly told me no, and that they were celebrating the coronation of the queen by having a 41 canon salute. It was quite impressive. There were people dressed in military type uniforms and they rode in on some beautiful horses that were adorned with armor. I asked her where the queen was and she told me that she doesn't come to things like that anymore. Fascinating. I'm pretty sure I would resent the Royal Family if I lived there. Everywhere you turn there are plaques letting you know that the gaudy statues are brought to you by the common taxpayer. Thanks England Peeps for being taxed to death so that we all can see statues. Oh yeah, and thanks for paying for celebrations to honor your queen, even though she doesn't feel that is important to even show up to her own party anymore.

When our friends were in London on Saturday they told us of a store called Primark. It is a clothing store and the prices are quite reasonable. We decided that we would find a snack and then make our way over to Primark to see if there was anything there that we could bring home with us. By the time we got to where the store was it was lunch time. We ate at a great sandwich/salad/wrap place. I got a salad that had hummus and quinoa on it. It was delicious, although my family didn't agree. My palate is definitely different than theirs.

We also found a convenience store where we began to stock up on chocolate. One cannot go to England without coming back with a boat load of chocolate. It is the rule.

Primark did not disappoint. We were able to get several t-shirts and a great Father's Day gift for Brett. We made our way back to our hotel to put our chocolate away and then we made plans to visit some noteworthy sites to take pictures for Ry. We were able to take pictures at Harry Potter's 9 3/4 platform, and Sherlock's door. We ate dinner at the train station and we headed back to Picadilly Circus to finish up purchasing the souvenirs that the kids had picked out the day before.