Of course I couldn't visit London without going to the State residence of Her Majesty the Queen. Buckingham Palace has been visited by so many famous people, including a number of our American Presidents. But right now the Queen is not at home - she's spending Christmas at one of her other palaces. How can you tell? It's easy. You see that flagpole on the very top of the portico (a very grand word for porch) - well, when Her Majesty is in residence at Buckingham Palace, the Royal Standard flies from that flagpole.
I'm sorry this isn't a better picture but Great-aunt Helen was so busy looking at all the beautiful thing that she couldn't keep still! There are so many lovely rooms in Buckingham Palace crammed with exquisite furniture and pictures and China - it really is a fairytale palace! Just look at those huge chandeliers!
This staircase is so beautiful - you can imagine great ladies and gentlemen sweeping down to a grand ball! There are pictures of the Queen's ancestors everywhere.
Yes, another picture gallery! The Queen owns so many pictures that there isn't room for all of them in her house so she made a special gallery that people can come in to and see a selection of her pictures. it has a nice little portico, much cosier that the one at the front of the Palace. Inside there's a really cool gift shop packed with beautiful things, even sweet little baby onesies with "His Royal Highness" and "Her Royal Highness" on the front!
Twelfth Night, 6 January, is the last of the Twelve Days of Christmas. By tradition all Christmas decorations are put away on this day. So I was very lucky to see one of the Queen's many Christmas trees in the Queen's Gallery the day before it was taken down. It was very tall, almost all the way to the ceiling, about fifteen feet high, and it was decorated with just simple white lights and dozens of purple and gold Royal crowns. I thought that was a wonderful sight for my last outing in London!
On Twelfth Night I started packing to head on to the next stage of my adventures. I won't tell you where I'm going - it will be a surprise! But I can promise you I'm not going to need my new winter boots for a while!
Sent on behalf of Mini Josie by her British great-aunt
Helen McCarthy
To see more of Josie’s adventures, click here to view her Travel Log!
WOW.
ReplyDeleteI know! :D
DeleteWe were fortunate to visit Buckingham Palace in 2002 during Queen Elizabeth II golden jubilee!! We were not allowed to take any pictures - so mini Josie is very lucky to have these pictures!! Sharon
ReplyDeleteHow neat! I didn't have the opportunity to go inside the palace during my stay there, so I'm glad Josie was able to. :)
DeleteWhy have you stopped posting?
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid my classes this month have been extremely demanding so I have no been able to post and update as I would like to.
DeleteI was fortunate to take this tour during the Summer of 2012. I was the highlight of my visit to London. Definitely not to be missed if the timing of a visit coincides with the Queen's absence. It's everything and more that Josie says it is.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your studies. I hope your semester is going well!!!!!
How wonderful that you were able to visit! Thank you for your good wishes! This semester is off to a rough start, but I'll make it through. ^_^
DeleteHaha, looking at all these cool photos makes me wanna buy a mini doll just for stuff like Josie! I was wondering if I should get Mini Molly, Mini Kirsten or Mini Julie? I would love some opinions. Thanks so much for reading!
ReplyDelete~AG_Lunar
Hmmm... that's a hard decision! It depends on what's important to you. Some things to consider are Julie has a Josefina face mold, so if you like that look, then that would be something to look at. Molly is the only one with brown hair and glasses. Both Molly and Kirsten have braided hair, which I found is nice because it keeps the hair from being tangled, but if you're not too adept at rebraiding hair, that would be another consideration. :)
DeleteThank you so, so much for your opinion! It really means a great deal to me. I think I might get mini Molly first, then mini Kirsten, and finally mini Julie! I definitely would like braided haired mini dolls because I won't have to keep taking care of mini doll hair every day, and Julie's hair would be very easy to keep neat as it is so straight. I definitely would get Molly first though, as she was the first AG doll I liked, but then I found out she had JUST been retired xD. And a plus side is she has glasses and I do too, and I have always been interested in the 40's time period. So basically, she has to be a winner now, haha.
DeleteThanks again for your help!
~AG_Lunar
I'm glad I could help! Molly is a really cute doll! ^_^
DeleteLooks like a wonderful trip!
ReplyDeleteYes! Josie had a wonderful time! :)
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