The 3 Hs: Hyde Park, Hard Rock & Harrods

If Monday was a day for my mom, this morning was for my girls. We went to the Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens. (Adults without kids are only allowed in from 9:30 - 10:00 am.) It was large with lots of neat lay areas. There was a large pirate ship you could climb all over and smaller boats that rocked back and forth. Another area had teepees, one had small huts. Yet another had musical instruments. I acted like a kid and played on everything!

I played tourist on my last full day in London. We walked around Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, stopping by the Peter Pan statue and having one last tea & scones at a cafe by the Serpentine. Next, we had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe - I split a red, white, and blue burger with Michelle. It was yummy, as were the French fries. It was fun watching the old-school MTV videos while we ate.

Then came the shopping spree - Harrods (huge department store) and Oxford Street. We went to the Adidas store looking for some London 2012 Olympic stuff, but they had very little - disappointing. My flatmate and I were looking for Manchester United stuff, but couldn't find

any. I asked and was told that it was because they were contracted with Nike (which he made rhyme with bike.) So that was our next stop.

We also went to another touristy souvenir shop before coming back to the flat to pack up. I can't believe that our 2 weeks here is almost over!

Hampton Court Palace

Since this year marks the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's coronation (you know, they guy with all the wives), England has been celebrating him big time. There is an exhibit called "Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill" at the Tower of London and at Hampton Court Palace they had actors and events centered around his 6th marriage (to Kateryn Parr.)

The audio tour of the palace leads you through all the rooms set up as the were when they were used as royal retreats. The Tudor half shows how it was in the mid 1500s when Henry VI

II lived there - featuring everything from apartments to kitchens to the velvet throne. The other side was remodeled by William & Mary in 1689 in the baroque style to compete with Versailles in France.

We kept running into Henry everywhere. I even got my picture taken with him. Luckily, I was better off than Anne Boleyn after my encounters with him. Speaking of Anne, they had portraits of all his wives and children that caught me up on my British history. His wives have a pattern: divorce, killed, died, divorce, killed, outlived Henry.

The grounds were as beautiful as the palace. There are formal gardens, English flower beds, and even a hedge maze. It was taller than I am so we got twisted around a bit, but did make it to the center and back out again.

A Story in 5 Pictures

The photography focus of the day was to tell a story in 5 pictures. Emma & I took the train to Hampton Court to see Henry VIII's royal palace. See the riveting story below about our adventure getting there.

Flowers & Kites

Today would have been a day that my mom would have really enjoyed (except for maybe the rain.)  We walked around (literally) Regent's Park specifically to stop and smell (I mean photograph) the roses.  The gardens were beautiful, and although I didn't see any daffodils, there were thousands of flowers to look at.  It was just as pretty as when we were here that March.  

Next, we walked up to Primrose Hill to picnic and fly kites like in Mary Poppins.  I thought I had lost my kite's cross sticks, but they reappeared - but did not help my kite stay air born.  Oh well, I took a turn with Nate's and enjoyed watching the others flying theirs.

Last stop was the Abbey Road crosswalk made famous by the Beatles album cover.  We must have driven the locals crazy walking back and forth across it to take pictures, but it was all in good fun.  Tonight we are all going to see the play Billy Elliott.  

 

Childhood Memories

Some of my favorite childhood memories are associated with books.  This trip has allowed me to trace their roots and relieve those stories - combining my two favorite pastimes: reading & traveling!  My first favorite British book was Paddington by Michael Bond - I even dressed up as this adorable bear for my 5th birthday!  You can listen to my podcast about this below:

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Old Friends

While sitting in a pub finishing my hamburger on the 4th of July, I received a call on my cell phone; Bill & Betsy missed their connecting flight from Athens to Chicago and were grounded in London for the night.  Betsy is my best friend that I haven't seen since last year when she moved away from Tallahassee.  Who knew then that we would be in London the next time we would see each other! It was so good to see them, I've missed hanging out with them - long distance phone calls are good, but not the same as being together.  It was just like old times and nice to catch up.  Hopefully, we will not have to leave the continent to see each other again!

Tonight I am meeting Troy K. for dinner.  We grew up down the street from each other and carpooled to high school.  He now lives in London.  I'm meeting him near his place, so I'll get to see another part of town while catching up with another old friend.

Funnily enough, a good friend of mine from college, who now lives in Denver, arrives to Paris the night I leave - ours planes will probably pass each other over the Atlantic.  Another near miss that shows just what a small world it is!

Tower of London/London Dungeon

Visiting the Tower of London is always an enjoyable experience.  It is hard to believe that it has been there for so many centuries and even more difficult to imagine some of the horrible histories that took place there (you know, like beheadings...)  It is the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's coronation this year.  They have a huge exhibit on him containing his armor (he was quite large!), a tennis ball, and jousting sticks. 

After the Tower, Alexis, Michelle, Megan, Heather and

 I walked across the Tower Bridge to go to the London Dungeon.  This is a heavily advertised attraction that is supposed to be one part haunted house, one part grisly London history - with 2 exciting rides!  I guess this is a pretty accurate description, but having grown up with Disney World, I guess my expectations for amusements is a tad high.  I would have liked it to have been a bit more historical and the gore and frights were a bit canned.  The rides were the most disappointing, as they were very short. But all in all, I'm glad we went.  It was a new experience, but not one I'm likely to repeat.