It was a grey day when we visited Buckingham Palace. Its design and luxury were close to Palace of Versailles, but not quite as extravagant. Still, King Charles I was beheaded for it, like several French kings and queens for Palace of Versailles. There was an apparent correlation between the splendor of one’s home and losing one’s head. By comparison, the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh looked plain and ordinary. No wonder every English queen in history complained that it was “cold and bleak” and kept adding tapestries there. As you probably have guessed, no photography inside, so you get to enjoy the audio guide.

Tip for those interested, the palace is open only during summer months when the royal family is away at their Balmoral residence in Scotland. Despite being a palace, there is no washroom open to the public inside. You’d better be prepared before the visit, which lasts between 1.5 ~ 3 hours, depending on how much time you spend on their paintings. Of course, if you’re really desperate, you could have a few secret words with the secret warden, who would sneak you into a secret washroom, which would be secretly fancy. 🙂

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace gate

Victoria Memorial

Green Park

Canadian War Memorial

We walked across Green Park (pictured above) and had an early dinner at a British restaurant called The Little Square (pictured below), near Green Park (repetitive!) underground station. As usual, the food was great!

Scallops (appetizer)

Duck Confit

Haddock Risotto

Bread & Butter Pudding (dessert)