London, England (Changing of the Guard)

We woke up this morning and headed to Whitehall in Westminster to see the Horse Guards Parade and Changing of the Guard ceremony...

At the heart of Whitehall, it was the traditional entrance to the Royal Palaces and is still guarded by mounted sentries from the Queen's Household Cavalry. Changing the Guard takes place here every morning - 11am Monday to Saturday and 10am on Sundays - and lasts 30 minutes. It is at this time that twelve mounted troops in traditional costume arrive from their Hyde Park Barracks. At the Guard Changing ceremony, the Old Guard forms up on the north side of the Horse Guards Parade enclosure and the New Guard on the south side.

The kids really enjoyed the whole ceremony and afterwards we walked through St. James's Park...

Every year millions of Londoners and tourists visit St James's Park, the oldest of the capital's eight Royal Parks. The park includes The Mall and Horse Guards Parade and is at the heart of ceremonial London, providing the setting for spectacular pageants including the annual Trooping the Colour.

...all the way to Buckingham Palace.  We ended up seeing the ending of the horse parade there as well, talk about good timing!

Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837 and today is the administrative headquarters of the Monarch.

Afterwards we headed to a nearby pub for lunch and then made our way over to The Orangery at Kengsinton Palace for a "spot of tea" with our baby girl....

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Day 1 - Arrival

Day 2 - Hop-On/Hoff-Off Tour

Day 3 - Run to the Beat Half Marathon

Day 4 - Changing of the Guard

Day 4 - Kensington Palace