~ An excursion to Buckingham Palace with Margaret ~
This morning after breakfast I was thinking about going to either the Tower of London or Harrod’s…when I met up with Margaret in the hallway, who seemed like she wanted company, so I decided to go with her to Buckingham Palace…by bus! Because she is vision impaired and prefers buses to the tube. Personally, I learned the tube is the fastest way to get around if you want to get the most out of your day. But it was a nice slower paced day with a nice lady. (I seem to be going out with the Aussies!)
On the bus we met a nice couple (Aussies!) who were leaving the Highbury Centre that day, so gave us their weekly tickets which had one more day on them. I didn’t plan on using the bus the next day, so didn’t take the ticket. I let Margaret keep it to give to somebody else.
On the bus we met a nice couple (Aussies!) who were leaving the Highbury Centre that day, so gave us their weekly tickets which had one more day on them. I didn’t plan on using the bus the next day, so didn’t take the ticket. I let Margaret keep it to give to somebody else.
We spent the WHOLE day at Buckingham Palace and surrounds...didn't expect that! AND our feet were KILLING us by the end of it! We weren’t allowed to take any photos inside the Palace….so I bought a postcard pack… so sorry, no photos!This is the best I could do ;) We were also security checked before entering the palace. Our bags were scanned and I was asked to take a sip of from my water bottle… because 3 weeks earlier the Heathrow terrorist plan was stopped, I wasn’t too upset by all the security points. Each part of the day included a bag check… Palace, Gallery and Stalls.
We went into the palace and had audio guides (headphones) which were actually really good… then we raced (like tortoises :p) to the Queen Mother's Art Gallery...wasn't as good as the first part, then we went to the “Stalls” where the horses and cars are kept. I found that more interesting than I expected! Our tickets included a session time for the Queen Mother’s Art Gallery. The Palace and Stalls had no time limits. The ticket stated we could NOT arrive late and admission would be refused if late… well, we were late! But not late enough to be refused entry :) It was hard because once we walked out of the Palace, we thought the walk to the Gallery wouldn’t be very far…it took us about 10mins to walk there! But we made it.
Although a slow day, I found Margaret to be so full of information! It was like I had my own personal travel guide… while we were inside Buckingham Palace she gave me extra information… When I mentioned how much she knew, she said she is a Monarchist. So naturally she would be interested in such things ;)
I remember before joining the line to purchase our tickets, she asked a girl where the toilets were…she told us something like “around the corner, about 2 blocks away” and we walked and walked and walked…. And walked… until we found public toilets…which cost 20p! I guess sometimes you just can’t complain when you need the service :p
Then, after our long walk, we ended up back at the ticket area and the lady said,
“Oh, they were much closer than that!” after Margaret told her of our adventure!
It is different walking around the city with a vision impaired person. I felt more aware of the cars, and even a little responsible in the sense that when we were crossing at the pedestrian lights, or even just zebra crossings, I was constantly aware of my position and making sure we could cross without having cars want to run into us!
It did feel like a slow day, but I was grateful for the interesting company.
After the palace adventure, we rode the Double Decker bus back to the Highbury Centre, but stopped at the kebab shop around the corner. We ordered kebabs and then brought them back to eat. We sat outside the centre and watched the possums jumping between the roofs of other buildings surrounding the centre. I have to admit I wasn’t impressed with the hygiene of the food preparation, but I ate it anyway. The man held the wrap with his bare hands and filled it with his hands… and they put something like sauerkraut (red cabbage and vinegar)! I’ve never seen that in a kebab before! I did try it, but ended up picking out the rest because I found the taste too strong.
It was a nice day, even though we returned with aching feet…like REALLY ACHING feet! It was so good to be able to stop walking :)
Then, after our long walk, we ended up back at the ticket area and the lady said,
“Oh, they were much closer than that!” after Margaret told her of our adventure!
It is different walking around the city with a vision impaired person. I felt more aware of the cars, and even a little responsible in the sense that when we were crossing at the pedestrian lights, or even just zebra crossings, I was constantly aware of my position and making sure we could cross without having cars want to run into us!
It did feel like a slow day, but I was grateful for the interesting company.
After the palace adventure, we rode the Double Decker bus back to the Highbury Centre, but stopped at the kebab shop around the corner. We ordered kebabs and then brought them back to eat. We sat outside the centre and watched the possums jumping between the roofs of other buildings surrounding the centre. I have to admit I wasn’t impressed with the hygiene of the food preparation, but I ate it anyway. The man held the wrap with his bare hands and filled it with his hands… and they put something like sauerkraut (red cabbage and vinegar)! I’ve never seen that in a kebab before! I did try it, but ended up picking out the rest because I found the taste too strong.
It was a nice day, even though we returned with aching feet…like REALLY ACHING feet! It was so good to be able to stop walking :)
Oh, I think I had a spearmint “Polo” (lifesaver) lolly for lunch! Which was why I was soooooooooo looking forward to dinner! It came with my plane snack pack, and I thought by the wrapper that it was chocolate…I was very disappointed it was only a lolly! I had a packet, but you can’t just eat lollies! We found ourselves so busy moving between exhibitions we didn’t have time to stop for food!
I wrote in an email to my family: “It was a bit freaky being here on my own, but it's been 3days now so I think I'll be fine to go off on my own tomorrow...am hoping to get to the London Eye and Harrods's... and apparently the Tower of London and Madame Tussauds are worthwhile... “In a few days I'm off to Rome, then I've booked another night at the Highbury Centre before going to Ireland. I found out the prices for Train and Ferry which are quite cheap at the moment - was told to book soon because they're actually cheaper than the bus! (which isn't normal). My only problem now is trying to remember where the info centre is where I spoke to the person! But it shouldn’t be too hard.”
I started to notice the cut on my thumb became infected… David sent me a text asking how Beverley and I are going… Suddenly I remembered BEVERLEY!?! OOPS! She had been hiding in my suitcase and I forgot all about her! Haha! So I pulled her out and asked her for suggestions of what to do next in London!
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