London day 3 - English vs French

This morning, like hundreds of other tourists, we waited an hour before the gates of Buckingham Palace to see the much-famed Changing of the Guard: how can they stand for so long, immobile, impaled as logs, in the cold morning , waiting for a change that seems never come? I guess the reason why they march up and down without resting has nothing to do with patrolling the court, it’s just to stretch their legs and avoid collapsing! Eventually, after much waiting, the change came: the Commander of the guards yelled incomprehensible orders like a madman then, after several walks up and down the yard, he marched straight up to Josh, who had his nose stuck to the gate, and said, with a very serious expression on his face, a polite "Good morning". The kid, at first intimidated by his uniform, finally relaxed and enjoyed the show. Shortly after the order arrived and the newcomers took their place. End of the show. Pretty spectacular, still. 

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--> So we walked to Trafalgar Square, where we had a closer look to Nelson's Column, which is very reminiscent of the Vendome column in Paris. Another symbol of the British victories on their historical enemy across the Channel, as the magnificent obelisk on the Thames (Cleopatra's Needle), the Royal Air Force Memorial just close to it (the eagle's head is turned to France...). It seems they never forgive William the Conqueror to invade them, so they kept reminding themselves (and the rest of the world) that it won’t happen again.  

--> What about the the British Museum? The Rosetta Stone, originally taken by Napoleon, came into British possession after another French defeat!!! Now is the most visited object in the Museum. They may be neighbors and allies, but the British never miss a chance to to point out the defeats and differences. Even in food: worldwide French fries are called "French" fries, but here, they are simply called "chips". Forget about the French.... 

They may be neighbors and allies, but the British never miss a chance to to point out the defeats and differences. Even in food: worldwide French fries are called "French" fries, but here, they are simply called "chips". Forget about the French.... 

We obviously spent a couple of hours at Hamleys, from now on Josh's favorite toy store

then we went to the Westminster Abbey to listen to an organ concert. No recording allowed. Sorry. Well, Giuseppe  fall asleep and that tells all about how extraordinary the concert was....Josh had crayons and papers and he just kept drawing through all the concert. What about me? Impressed by the building, not by the music.