We had a great time walking around in London. I noticed, for whatever reason, that they have a lot of clocks on display. Here are a few of my favorites.
Friday
21
Jun 13
Buckingham Palace
We watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace today. The queen was in residence, so we’re basically standing in her driveway. That doesn’t get old, I’m sure.
Also in the driveway is the Victoria Memorial, which was dedicated in 1911 by George V and his first cousin, Wilhelm II of Germany, to their grandmother, Queen Victoria. There is a statue of her in the fountain:
This one is meant to be the Angel of Truth:
This one is meant to be the Angel of Justice:
This one is meant to be the Angel of Charity:
The symbolism of these seems to be lost to Wikipedia, but the top feature is thought to invoke Peace and Victory.
There is a marching band playing at the changing of the guard. They did martial tunes, traditional English songs, a bit of Over There and some Adele.
What you didn’t see in this video is the cavalry. And all cavalry should look like these guys. No one’s storming the gates on them. (Also they got their own police protection, which seemed odd. But this is Britain these days.)
Enjoying one last afternoon tea before we continue our travels.
To the train! To another train! To the airport! To the terminal! To the wrong part of the terminal! To a hike, with luggage, so long that they hang signs that tell you how many more minutes you have to walk!
14
Jun 13
The blues of Bermuda
Our three day visit to the island of Bermuda is over. We talked about how it is easy to stop seeing the fantastic things just in front of you, how it sometimes takes a stranger to remind you of the beauty of things with which you are most familiar.
There is a lot of blue in Bermuda. The ocean is incredibly salty there. Both of these things are blamed on the lack of fresh water sources on the island. Whatever the cause, it makes for a great setting.
This is the mooring point just below our cabin:
Since we’ve cast lines and pushed away, we’re thinking about the ocean again. Here is a series of 10 photos showing off the many shades of blue we’ve seen the last few days. Enjoy.
14
Jun 13
Horseshoe Bay, Bermuda – day three
Our last day in Bermuda for this trip. We returned to Horseshoe Bay, where the sands are beautiful, the winds are peaceful and the ocean is still stirring with powerful energy. We found a quiet place to snorkel. There is a video of that later in this post.
Thinking of passing this place off as one of my summer homes. What do you think?
Our cab driver today. Nice fellow. He explained how the Bermudians come to the U.S. to do all of their shopping.
Here’s the video of our snorkeling, on our new GoPro camera. The Yankee, as always, shot the best parts:
Empty chairs in one of the cruise ship’s lounges. You should be here!
The aerialists were back on stage tonight. I ran into her in the elevator somewhere. She is a bit taller than you’d think. They are impressive, if you’re into this sort of thing. I think her main job is to not eat food on a cruise ship.
As we left Bermuda for the U.S. today I’ll have a special post coming up dedicated to the ocean. It’ll be … blue.
7
Jun 13
Friday throwback
I just made up a reason not to write a lot this week. My reason: June. So this week is full of older pictures. Some of them have been in this space or elsewhere on the site or in some of the regular social media places before. So they might be old to you — and bless you for still visiting — or they might be brand new.
Enjoy.
We were travelling somewhere, Boston I think, in 2011 maybe, when she reached over and grabbed my sunglasses. She looked far better in them than I ever have. And so I seldom wear them anymore:
