Beautiful Sunday Morning, Everyone :)
Grabbed some fruit and scurried on over to the Cenotaph in London to observe Remembrance Sunday. As I mentioned in previous posts, this weekend is the Armistice holiday this weekend, which honors WWII veterans and their heroic service, both the living and the dead. This is a weekend of poppies and celebration.
We were about to be in the vicinity of Her Majesty the Queen since she was laying the wreaths on the Cenotaph. So was a MILLION other people! Our group made it there an hour before 11am when it started to get a good spot in the crowd. We were looking our very best in case Prince Harry glanced toward our direction. You never know what might happen at a wreath-laying ceremony, right?
We made it through the scanners!
The Royal Family's "perch" looking down on the commoners (i.e. us)
AND KATE MIDDLETON IS THERE.
for real.
At 11 o'clock, silence was kept for two minutes, beginning at the first stroke of Big Ben.
Wreaths were laid on the Cenotaph (see pictures below) by the Queen, but since we weren't VIP, we couldn't see her through the crowd.
The Lord Bishop of London then offered prayer, followed by a hymn sung by everyone, more prayer offered by the bishop, then the Lord's Prayer said by everyone, then the bishop's blessing, and finally God Save the Queen.
Now came the march of the veterans. It was very moving to see all of these men from WWII in their regalia and marching together in camaraderie.
The march lasted about 1-1/2 hours, so get a GOOD look at these next two photos!
I did the standing, you do the admiring.
This is the Cenotaph. It remains here throughout the year in the middle of the street as a reminder of the service of WWII veterans.
Today it is all dressed up from the ceremonies.
What a beautiful ceremony! I forgot to mention, the royal bands were FABULOUS. They played so many songs and marched so many marches. They were absolutely flawless.
After the ceremony we were hungry and needed some good ole' Southern hospitality.
What better place to go in England then the
TEXAS EMBASSY CANTINA?
Yes, they really have one here. Photos for proof.
No, they are not an actual embassy.
Now I know.
I wrote my name on the wall (you're allowed!). Can you find it?
Maybe the British think this is how we like to decorate...
Yum Mexican food! Sorry I didn't get a picture. I ate it all up before I could.
Deep in the heart of Texas (Embassy Cantina).
Ooh, I'm sorry dahlings, I got carried off there.
On to our royal tour to Buckingham Palace.
It's in the fall so the road toward the palace looks quite lovely
Off to say "Hello!" to Her Majesty the Queen
Obviously, I'm advising the queen to not worry about the problems of today, and Lauren is a begging commoner.
Irresistible.
Just walking around, seeing what is going on. Here's Parliament, which is just down the road from Buckingham palace.
Us with a guard in front of Parliament.
More parades! All day!! We're waiting to cross the street, but I don't mind watching them go by. Almost put my hand to my heart hahaha
Took the tube...
....to the Tower of London...
...and the London Bridge!
Also enjoyed a very delicious Gingerbread Latte
and some fun conversation.
As the evening approached, we headed down the tube again to a new part of London to see
Hillsong at the Dominion Theatre.
Hillsong United.
This is a CHURCH! It felt more like a concert, but it was great to be in some fellowship with other Christians in London.
I will admit, I might have fallen asleep during some point of the service. It was such a full day of activities.
London on Sunday was awesome!
-Winston Churchill
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