Today the first part of my guide to London! London is famous for its numerous sights (=atrakcje turystyczne) and monuments (=zabytki). I feel that Samuel Johnson's words reflect London's great variety and abundance of tourist attractions (=różnorodność i obfitość atrakcji turystycznych) the best:
"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life"
I am going to present London's greatest highlights (=główne atrakcje), starting with the focal point (=punkt centralny) of the city - Buckingham Palace.
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| Buckingham Palace |
The palace was built in 1705 for the first Duke of Buckingham, a British poet and politician, John Sheffield. In 1761 the building was acquired by George III as a private residence for his wife, Queen consort Charlotte. During the 19th century the palace was enlarged mainly by two architects - John Nash and Edward Blore. Buckingham Palace became the official residence of the British monarchs in 1837, when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne (=wstąpiła na tron).
In front of the palace there is a splendid sculpture - The Victoria Memorial, dedicated to Queen Victoria who ruled the UK from 1837 to 1901. The monument was created by an English sculptor, Sir Thomas Brock. Queen Victoria's effigy (=podobizna) facing the Mall (the road running from Buckingham Palace to Admiralty Arch and Trafalgar Square) is surrounded by white marble (=z marmuru) and bronze statues.
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| The Victoria Memorial |
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| The top of the memorial |
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| One of the statues surrounding the memorial |
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| A flag always flies on the mast |
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| The Victoria Memorial in all its glory |
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| The balcony of the palace where the famous newly-wed William and Kate's 'double kiss' took place |
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| One of the guards of the palace |
A few more curiosities (=ciekawostki) :
There are 775 rooms in the palace - 19 State rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 personnel bedrooms (over 800 staff live at the palace !), 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. The palace has its own chapel, doctor's surgery, post office, swimming pool, cinema and staff cafeteria. The largest room in the palace is the Ballroom, where state banquets and investitures (=pasowanie na urząd) take place. The hall is 36.6 m long, 18m wide and 13.5m high.
More than 50,000 people visit Buckingham Palace each year, being guests at banquets, receptions, lunches, dinners and garden parties. The residence's kitchen is able to serve a sit-down meal to 600 people at a time!
The 40 acre garden of Buckingham Palace includes a helicopter landing area, a lake and a tennis court. It is home to 30 various bird species and 350 different plants, some of them being very rare (=rzadkie).
The first appearance on the world-famous balcony took place in 1851, when Queen Victoria stepped on it during celebrations for the opening of the Great Exhibition (magnificent exhibition in Hyde Park from 1 May till 15 October 1851).
What's interesting, during the Second World War the palace was directly struck by nine bombs.
A flag always flies on the mast of the palace. When the Queen is in the residence, the Royal Standard flies, whereas her absence in the palace is marked by the Union Flag.
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| the Royal Standard source: the Internet |
Tourists can see some chambers (=sale) of the palace with their own eyes - the Royal Gallery and the Royal Mews (=królewskie stajnie).
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| The Gold State Coach |
Apart from the Royal Gallery and the Royal Mews, the State Rooms of the palace are open to the public in August and September when the Queen is absent from the residence.
Close to Buckingham Palace there is a splendid St. James's Park...
It is a very good idea to have a pleasant walk through the park in order to arrive at the spledid Trafalgar Square...This spot will be the topic of my next post.
Source of the photos : private collection
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