London: Funny hats and scary walls.

So the other day (my last day of dull unemployment), I went out for a walk. Where should I go, I wondered. For no particular reason I headed south a few stops on the tube, and ended up in front of Buckingham Palace. For me, the first thing to register is: dear lord, that's a lot of camera-waving, map-checking tourists.

Lots of 'em.

There are also a number of men in very silly hats. I know that a favorite material for fancy military uniforms is wool, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's what their wearing. In that case, I respect the crap out of a man who can stand still for hours at a time, in 90-degree weather, wearing a heavy wool jacket and a bear on his head. (Note: my respect multiplies tenfold if the bear is still alive. British slackers.)

I my visit to get there shortly after the Changing of the Guard, figuring that the crowd might be slightly less then. I think I was wrong, but one thing did strike me: considering a big ceremonial parade thing with horses had just gone through there and there were a few thousand people milling about, it's a very clean area. When I first walked up there was one big gob of horse excrement in the street. It vanished within thirty seconds. Go British cleanliness!

This, apparently, is a monument to a former queen, though I forget which one. It's really pretty, though.

There are flowers, too, and the palace is right next to one of London's many parks.

While I'm certain that trying to climb the pretty, ornate front gate is frowned upon, I must admit there's a slight temptation to try.

Then, you leave the tourist swarm, go around the corner, and discover that the pretty, ornate gate abruptly turns into a "Piss off and don't even think about it", seven-foot-tall brick wall with spikes and a few feet of barbed wire (which looked like it could have been electrified) on top. This is a wall that does not say "Hello, I am protecting the very proper queen and her silly hats." This is a wall that says "I would be much more at home in, say, a Nazi concentration camp than across the street from Green Park." (I did not try to climb any fences.)

Then I headed down towards Westminster. The regular police looked a bit more comfortable, but they too wear silly hats.

The first time I went to New Mexico, it rained for three days. The first time I'm in London and it's sunny all the time.

I have no idea who this fellow was - he came out of the parliament building, stood around for a bit, and went back inside. He was rather uniquely dressed, wearing a excessively red blazer and a top hat. An actual top hat!

Westminster Abbey, which is big and apparently a collection of a couple churches, or something. It's also very pretty, and very old. All together, I think that London's capitol area is more interesting, in terms of architecture and history, than Washington DC. On the other hand, if I'm recalling correctly, DC feels less congested (due mostly to the Mall, no doubt).

And that, folks, is that.