A Royal Ramble - From Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey

As its The Big Day tomorrow, after work last night I decided to take full advantage of working in Central London and took a stroll along tomorrow’s procession route from Buckingham Palace down to Westminster Abbey. The sun was out, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and, although I’d forgotten my camera (doh!), I luckily had my trusty Blackberry on hand, so all was not lost.

On leaving work I made a bee-line for Oxford Circus to see the flags on Regent Street that everyone’s been chatting about. Funny how a few flags can result in so many photos being taken. People were literally queuing up and hanging off lamp posts just to get a good shot… including me!

Next stop: Selridges to indulge in a Lola’s Royal Wedding cupcake. I’d been planning to get one of these for weeks so imagine my JOY when the women serving me chirped “it’s buy one get one free today”  b-r-i-l-l-i-a-n-t! There were none left with Kate & Wills pictures on, so I settled for the Diana engagement ring… and a Red Velvet.

Then it was on towards the Palace! It’s funny how the run up to the royal wedding has completely changed the vibes of London. People are more polite, laughing more and pub-goers spill out onto the streets on almost every corner of the city… although it’s quite possible it’s been more to do with the double bank holiday weekend bonanza and the glorious weather we’ve been experiencing! Either way though, it really is buzzing with good vibes, particularly in West London, and it’s an energy I’ve not felt since that week back in July 2005 when we had Live 8 and won the 2012 Olympic bid just a few days later. Everyone’s got Royal Wedding Fever, and here’s the evidence…

So after a lovely stroll through the evening sun in Green Park, I arrived at Buckingham Palace (the flag was flying, meaning Liz was at home!) to find a crazy mix of camera men, reporters, tourists, security dudes and policemen all milling about and soaking up the atmosphere.

Opposite the Palace they’ve build a massive studio building for the world’s news channels to broadcast from and behind it is a MASSIVE area of makeshift offices, broadcast equipment and who knows what else! Crazy. For a split second I stopped and considered the damage they were doing to the park, but that quickly subsided and was replaced by “this is BRILLIANT!” I don’t know what it is about massive events such as this, but I love the buzz and energy that surrounds them, and standing in front of the media HQ made me really miss my old job, working in the real media and being involved in the world.

Onwards along The Mall, where its Union Jacks galore!

Then I decided to cheat a bit (the wind was freezing, my feet hurt and my cakes were weighing me down!) by heading across the park and directly onto Horseguards Parade. I love this place. I love the tourists who pull crazy poses with the Guards who aren’t allowed to move. And I love that it’s the venue for the 2012 beach volleyball! :)

A quick walk down Whitechapel (including a quick “’Sup Dave!” whilst passing Downing Street and I arrived at a very VERY busy Westminster.

Now, I hate crowds of tourists. Last summer I got swept up in a group of 14-year old French tourists down near The Globe and just couldn’t get out *shudder*. But what I learned in Westminster was that, when it comes to roads, there’s safety in numbers ie. If 20 people walk out into the road the traffic has to stop. Which was excellent because it meant I was at the Abbey much quicker than expected. The only downside was that so was everyone else.

Squashed up against a load of tourists who didn’t speak English and scuttling around camera crews, I managed to take a couple of final pics (whilst frantically trying to protect my cupcakes) and got out of there as fast as I could!

Baring in mind this was two whole days before the wedding, the crowds were already too much for me to take, so kudos to anyone who braves the crowds in the morning!

Tomorrow I shall be watching from the comfort of my sofa, toasting to Kate & Wills for the glorious extra day off work… then I’m off to a Royal Wedding Reception par-tay, hopefully dressed as a corgi (if all goes to plan!) where I intend to get royally drunk! Yay to being British!

Happy Royal Wedding Eve!