I have zero interest in the Royal Family, despite the recent spotlight on the Royal Wedding and the Jubilee. We usually don’t hear that much about the Royal Family in Canada anyway, except for a few dedicated gossip magazines and some commemorative merchandise, such as stamps, issued for major royal events. I tend to stay away from the debate between monarchists and republicans in Canada—I’m indifferent to monarchy because it has so little meaning to me as a Canadian.
But hey, in London you pretty much have to walk by Buckingham Palace—the official London residence and principal workplace of the British monarch—at least once. That’s what we did, after a torrential downpour (hence the dark sky in the pictures).
We crossed the aptly named Green Park (gee, no wonder the grass is green with all that rain!) and walked towards the Palace and Victoria Memorial. An Olympic event was taking place, women’s cycling I believe, and for once, tourists were more interested in watching it than trying to snap a shot of some old lady behind the palace’s gates.
No wonder the streets are barricaded, because of the cycling. Sometimes, I wonder whether I prefer big events happening in the city because it’s something out of the ordinary, or whether I disprefer big events because it potentially disrupts my routine, by having bigger crowds, blocked roads, and such. I guess I’ll find that out when I get in Berlin, as the Berlin Marathon will be held a couple of weeks after I arrive.
No doubt it was disruptive but it was also the chance for people to see an Olympics event… no small feat considering how hard it was to get tickets to events! So I think most people welcomed the opportunities, even if it was a bit crowded.