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Royal Wedding

A question we were often asked when we told people about our upcoming move to London was whether we’d go to the royal wedding. Over thirty years ago, I spent most of the night on a sidewalk outside Buckingham Palace before the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. In the morning, we had a prime spot to watch the cars and horse-drawn carriages coming and going from the Palace as well as the newlyweds and the rest of the royal family on the Royal Balcony after the ceremony (a few photos I took then are below). I told some people that I did it then, and I’d do it again.

However, the reality is that my sleeping-on-a-sidewalk days are over, so we’ll be watching from home with millions of others. Since it’s such a big occasion though, we decided to make a trip to Windsor in advance of the wedding to see the preparations and find out how the locals feel about the spotlight shining on their corner of the world.

We still don’t have a car, so it took ninety minutes, two buses, and two trains to get there. It was worth it. I had forgotten how magical that town is. The train station we disembarked at dates to 1897 and has been largely converted to a lovely shopping mall (which says a lot coming from me because I’m neither a shopper nor a fan of malls). The town was already decorated, as expected, with Union Jacks. Almost every shop window had either a display celebrating the wedding, wedding souvenir merchandise, or both. Most of it is creative, beautiful, and clever. Some of it, predictably, verges on tacky. The Windsor & Royal Borough Museum is running a special exhibition on weddings in Windsor, royal and otherwise.

On the practical side, there was already an abundance of security personnel and precautions in place, with additional barriers and precautions being installed. Speakers, fencing, and media grandstands were going up along the wedding parade route. The route was obviously chosen to allow the greatest number of spectators to view the newlyweds as they leave St. George’s Chapel to pass through Windsor and up a portion of the Long Walk leading to Windsor Castle. They’ll travel about two miles to arrive less than a quarter of a mile away from where they started.

The locals are excited about the wedding but not about the crowds. Workers we talked to are still figuring out how they’re going to get to and from work between road closures and the crowds using public transportation. They all acknowledged that it’s good for business even though it will be a very hectic weekend. Pubs throughout the UK will be allowed to serve two hours later than usual the nights before and after the wedding, and pubs in Windsor will surely be some of the busiest on those nights. We noticed help wanted signs posted at many of them.

We had a charming encounter with a fudge salesman who clearly has a bright future. He lured us into Fudge Kitchen with the promise of a free sample. Before we knew it, he had sold us four slabs of fudge including the available-for-a-limited-time-only Lemon & Elderflower, which was inspired by Claire Ptak’s Lemon & Elderberry wedding cake chosen by Prince Harry & Megan. We also brought home Eton Mess (for nearby Eton College), a white chocolate (for Kurt), and real chocolate (for me). Before we left, he cautioned us not to put it in the fridge, and told us not to worry, that it would last three weeks without being put in the freezer. (Clearly, he doesn’t know us. Three weeks. PFF!)

We had set out early and were on the way home by lunchtime having successfully avoided the crowds for the wedding but not those for the Royal Windsor Horse Show. Windsor is a quaint and historic town tailor-made for tourists, but it doesn’t lose any of its charm for being somewhat of a tourist trap. We can’t wait to go back in the off season.

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Our First London Outing

Our first foray into London included a bucket list item (at least for me). In all the time I lived in England, I never went to Abbey Road and took a picture in the zebra crossing made famous by the Beatles. (Did you know that there are also puffin, pelican, and toucan crossings? More on that another time.) We took the Tube to St. John’s Wood station and walked southwest along Grove End Road about a third of a mile to the crosswalk. It was easy to find because there were already people there taking pictures (and impeding traffic). It occurred to me how weird this little exercise is and that locals must hate it. Sorry, locals.

The crosswalk itself is unremarkable, and since it was a cold Sunday in early March, the area didn’t look much like the album cover. Some kind of work was in progress on the adjacent curbs and gutters, which didn’t help. We took the obligatory pictures anyway. Individually, because it was just the two of us; we need to go back with a group. To imitate the album cover, the photographer has to stand in the middle of the road, which is not a good idea these days. I’m guessing the road was far less busy in the 60s. If this is on your bucket list, my recommendation is to get there early in the morning before traffic picks up.

From Abbey Road we walked to Baker Street to see if the Sherlock Holmes Museum wasn’t insanely busy. It was. The museum is fairly new; it didn’t exist when I lived here before. I suspect the many modern reboots of Sherlock Holmes inspired the money-making scheme, er, I mean museum. It appears to be working. We stopped by when we were in London a few years ago and there was an even longer line then. That time, we skipped it and instead figured out where 221b would be if it existed, which it didn’t and doesn’t. This time, we went to The Volunteer pub a few doors up the street.

It was British Pie Week—the US has National Pie Day in January, but the UK has a whole week for pie! There were several kinds to choose from, but we both had steak and ale pie with a pint of ale, you know, for balance. We recommend The Volunteer if you’re in the area (for Sherlock Holmes and/or Madame Tussaud’s, which is around the corner). They have good pub food at reasonable prices (we spent just under £25), and the service is friendly. It was fairly busy for a Sunday before noon, but we had no trouble finding a table.

If we ever make it into the Sherlock Holmes Museum, we’ll report back and let you know if it’s worth it. Who knows? If we show up early for an Abbey Road photo shoot, maybe we’ll beat the crowds on Baker Street as well. Now, there’s a plan!

After lunch, it was on to The British Museum. Which is practically a world tour in itself. Highlights include the Rosetta Stone, a statue from Easter Island, numerous marble sculptures from the Parthenon, remains of a Viking ship, and Egyptian mummies. And there’s so much more than that. We cracked a few jokes about ‘plundering the empire’ while we were walking around and ran into statements where the museum defends itself against such sentiments. It’s not all plunder, of course, but it is all magnificent and worth seeing. We plan to go back regularly (mostly during the off season) and hope to see it all over the time that we’re here.

What you need to know about visiting The British Museum:

  • Free entry, but there’s a line for the security bag check (which moves efficiently). We recommend not bringing bags or minimizing what you carry. There’s a size limit on what you can take in the museum.
  • You can’t possibly see (and appreciate)  it all in one day, so prioritize and make a plan before you go. The museum website is a great resource for this.
  • Grab a map when you walk in—it’s easy to get lost in, say, ancient Egypt, and you’ll need the map to find your way back out (or to a restroom).
  • Coat check available inside the museum for a fee.
  • Restrooms available, but often crowded (avoid the first ones as you come in and don’t wait until you’re desperate).
  • Food and drink, including kid friendly options, available for purchase inside.