Buckingham Palace Selfie
The 2-hour train ride to Paddington Station was quite comfortable. Once we arrived we jumped in a cab and went to out Notting Hill hotel only 10 minutes away. This has got to be the smallest hotel room in all on London. At 7×10, I can touch the “far” wall when lying in bed. After going down to the corner pub for something to eat and a drink and a stroll around the area, I went down and got a room upgrade after a bit of complaining. You don’t ask, you don’t get.
The area around here is quite nice and we quickly determined expensive just by looking at some of the vehicle in front of the homes. It’s also nice to be a bit away from the city centre.
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Our first full day we stuck pretty close to the hotel for the first part going to Kensington Palace and Gardens. The park is the massive which intern led to a ton of walking. The Italian Water Gardens are multiple fountains and flowers where we entered the park. With paths and walkways going every direction we headed to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain which ended up being a circular shaped fountain the children play in and adults walk though. With the heat we are having, this place was packed. Near the fountain, we had a drink to cool down and a rest before going all the way across the park to Kensington Palace.
We stopped at The Albert Memorial which was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her husband. This 176-foot monument took 10 years to complete and cost £120,000 in 1872. That would be about 17.5 million Canadian dollars today.
Kensington Palace is another royal residence, at the moment, officially for Will & Kate, Prince Harry, and a few others that we have never heard about. With all the history on the building and the art and architecture, the main feature that most everyone has come to se is Princess Diana’s clothing and fashion. Ending the tour with at coffee, we went back to the hotel to prepare for our evening out tonight.
We caught the tube to Piccadilly Circus to meet up with my sister Carmen, Joerg, Jakob, & Sasha for dinner and a show…..Les Miserables. Great food, good company, and an amazing show. You couldn’t ask for more. We caught the tube back and went to bed right away as we were wiped.
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London, day 3, we didn’t get rolling until about 10:30 and straight to Buckingham Palace. This area is just loaded with people and there wasn’t even anything going on. Just a look. Not a bad little shack. We sent a bit of time around there taking some pictures then headed to Westminster Abbey for a tour. If ever in London, go see this place. The craftsmanship not only on the building but the tombs as well is amazing. The skill and quality of work is way beyond anything done today, especially in North America.
The Parliament and Big Ben were next, just to see, as you cannot go in. We got a lot of picture though. The London Eye is just across the bridge and is pretty impressive but there is no way I would pay £23 each to go around on it, especially with the line-ups. We finally looped back to Piccadilly Circus where we were last night. Some shopping and a late lunch/dinner; our legs and feet are tired. Back to the hotel, with a stop at the store or a few snacks and a bottle of wine, it will be an early night to prep for another busy day tomorrow.
Sorry no more pictures today…to tired but we will add extras later.