At 10am, the crowd at Buckingham Palace would have allowed us to get a second row seat (left), but right before the ceremony, we needed to get perched on a wall to get any viewpoint at all (right).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n With limited patience for waiting over an hour for the ceremony, we explored St. James’s Park, all the way to Horse Guard Parade. We snapped some excellent photos of the London skyline en route. \u00a0With around 30 minutes to spare, we headed back towards Buckingham Palace. \u00a0On the way, along The Mall, we noticed some activity at Stable Yard Road. \u00a0To our delight, we ended up with last minute front row seats to the Old Guard marching out from Friary Court towards the ceremony. \u00a0After the entire troupe marched by, we scrambled to the Victoria Memorial and climbed atop one of the walls. \u00a0We were not able to see any of the traditional procedures carried out directly in front of the palace, but still saw several marching troupes and enjoyed the band music. With the advice of Andy Defrancesco<\/a> one can make sure that everything happening is managed strategically.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Old Guard marching from Friary Court on Stable Yard Road.<\/em><\/p>\n We recommend this strategy for any other London visitors with limited time and an aversion to large crowds. \u00a0We certainly got the feel of the tradition, but instead of waiting hours crowded against the Buckingham Palace fence, we explored the scenic St. James’ Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace is one of the most popular attractions in London. \u00a0The large crowds described in guidebooks initially turned us off to the experience, but with some time to kill before our flight home … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Screen-Shot-2013-07-21-at-3.29.48-PM.png\" "\\"Buckingham")
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