Horseguards, zzzzzzz.....

I had a friend in town recently.  She wanted to see the changing of the horseguards.  I was happy to oblige...

I think I had seen this once, years ago, but the memory was so bland, I couldn't really remember.  There were horses, I'll tell you that much.


While I must admit, the Horseguards palace across from St James Park, and kissing-close to Downing Street, is quite impressive.

Upon arrival, we stared wide-eyed in wonder at the grass growing.

There might be psychedelics you could take to gain introspective and liven this up a bit.  

The horses were standing there.  Then more horses came.  Then they stood there.  Then the original horses left.  There was some loud shouting, and some pretty spiffy uniforms, and presto, changeo!

Some of the horses dozed off obediently, while others stomped and fidgeted, awaiting for the clock to chime.  All were impeccably groomed and practically glowed with health, but they were almost all very plain, practical cobs.

All this British pomp and ceremony.  I just don't get it sometimes.  Although, there were a whole lot of women guards.

Oh, the Ministry of Silly Hats callled....

I was kind of hoping they would at least be up for a joust at this point.

After they changed out, the crowd slowly realized that the show was over, and shuffled away.  You heard the echoes of, "That was it?" in several languages.  This happens every day at 11 at the Horseguard Palace if this has piqued your interest in any way.

Which, I repeat, is lovely, and St James is one of my favorite Parks in the city to have a stroll and bird watch.

Afterwards, we went off to Notting Hill, where we had a fabulous lunch at Ottolenghi.  There were crunchy, well-presented vegetables!  Also, really fantastic pastries.   It's a little pricey, but it's by far the most dependable place to get good vegetable-based cuisine that doesn't involve a deep fry.  You leave feeling healthy and like you are virtuous enough to deserve that pastry!

Notting Hill is a great neighborhood to hit the paving stones in.  It's got a lot of junk markets, but also some fun finds, all in a cute pastel-house streets.  It's good for off-the-beaten-path shops as well; there is a bookstore that sells only cookbooks and a wonderful spice shop across the way from it.  Lots of vintage and up-and-coming boutiques.  It is a madhouse on the weekends, but during the week it's fairly chill.

Question:  How many is too many?

In the northern part of the street, you get a lot of really interesting street art.