Day Five

It is a sad state of our Internet affairs that I can have our vacation photos printed and in an album before I can get my blog updated. Rain and satellite Internet service just don't mix.

We started Day Five with the goal of seeing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. On the way from the tube station to the palace, we had a lovely stroll through Green Park. When I tried to take a picture of the serene beauty, here's what I wound up with:



Amazing what a good night's sleep will do for a kid!

When we arrived at Buckingham Palace at 10:15, folks were already 2 deep at the fences (for the 11:30 ceremony start) and it looked like it was going to rain buckets at any minute. Since the Queen neglected to come out and welcome us:



we opted for a walk through St. James' Park:



As we were leaving the park, we saw the horses arriving at the Horse Guard Palace:



My daughter got her daddy and horse fix all in one:



Before we left for London, we made a giant list of sites we might like to see. On my personal top five list was the Rosetta Stone. One of those things that I've heard about forever and have never seen. I just had to see it in person. And today was that day:



My friend was not kidding about knowing where it is in the museum because of all of the people. Indeed! When we had patiently pushed our way to the front, I snapped an awful picture of the kids with the Stone, and then I snapped this one. I almost deleted it before I realized that my son's reflection and hand are in it. Kind of cool. My kids still don't understand what the big deal was about seeing it. But isn't making your kids do things because you think they're neat the responsibility of parents? Didn't want to disappoint! But they were good sports:



And as a special treat, we hit the Tesco on the way home to stock up on junk-food souvenirs.



What's a Tesco? I have no idea. I think it is a grocery store chain, but the "Express" is like my idea of heaven. Lots of junk food with just enough milk and bread thrown in to make you feel like you are actually buying food. I was ready to fill out my customer loyalty card by the time we were ready to leave for home.