Easter Sunday morning was dry so I went to Kensington Gardens again, this time taking a route passing the Peter Pan statue and the Princess Diana memorial fountain (I was just a bit too early so it hadn’t opened unfortunately). I saw some ducks and swans which was nice, I definitely think that even I would become a regular jogger if I had a park like this to go!
From there I walked to Knightsbridge, passing the huge Harrods and Harvey Nichols as well as other designer stores like Dior, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana. I hope someday I can be in London in December, the displays must be wonderful to see. There was a pretty big construction site at one point which made me feel back in Montreal.
Per my photos I transitioned from the Borough of Chelsea into the city of Westminister. As I kept walking I passed a lot of very stately buildings (my photos say I was in Chesham Place) and a number of embassies or institutes around Belgrave Square. (There were others surrounding Hyde Park earlier as well iirc.) Not something I can see that often since I’ve never lived in a capital city!
Finally I reached my intended destination, Buckingham Palace in time for the 11am Changing of the Guards. The crowds were big as expected, but I managed to squeeze into the front of one of the side areas (being short can pay off sometimes). I’m honestly not sure exactly how much of the ceremony I actually saw from my position, but the guards did march by to music which was definitely cool.
After it was over and I’d taken photos of the Palace, I saw that there were hop on/off tour buses outside so I figured I’d get a ticket as my parents had recommended. It ended up heading to Westminister Palace, which worked out well since the ticket unexpectedly included a river Thames boat tour. So I got off and headed down to the boats at Westminister Pier on the South Bank. Fortunately the weather was just decent enough and it was a fun ride with good views. We went under Waterloo Bridge, Millenium Bridge, Westminister Bridge, London Bridge and then arrived at Tower Bridge which I was especially excited to finally see in person. The boat gave the option of continuing to Greenwich or getting off, which I did.
I hadn’t specifically planned on it but I wasn’t going to pass up the Tower of London when it was literally right there! So I got a ticket and joined a Beefeater giving a tour. A bit ironic to be hearing about executions (some particularly horrific) on Easter, but it was certainly interesting and I loved the old buildings. The line for the Crown Jewels wasn’t too terrible, so I went to see it after. Beautiful!
Then I went to get a closer view of the Bridge and finally caught the tour bus again. It passed some main areas like Trafalgar Square/Picadilly, not too new at this point but the live commentary was fun. We circled some of Hyde Park and I got off at Victoria Station for the tube back. At this point it was so late I skipped lunch and had an early dinner at an Indian restaurant nearby (not spectacular but pleasant, I liked the butter chicken and it didn’t hurt my stomach which was the important thing!)
It was getting to be dusk when I finished, and while there was still light I took a walk around the neighborhood which I really enjoyed. I especially liked the handful of Mews I stumbled on, and there actually was a stable at one point (which I saw a moment after I thought it smelled like horses lol). Then I got to a block with some restaurants, including a pub called The Victoria which looked especially inviting from the outside. The downstairs was nice, but I loved their “Library” room upstairs. Dark green trim, wood paneling, portraits on the walls, a beautiful fireplace, built in shelves with hardcover books. And quiet despite the other tables being filled. It was everything I could wish from an English pub and I’m so glad I happened to come across it.
That was it for day 3 - I think I’ve written enough for now, if you made it all the way through I’m impressed! I’ll try for day 4 tomorrow.
Bath is even farther so likely a no-go, hopefully I'll have more chances in the future.
Will check in soon!
if something is plugged into the socket while the switch is on.
Victorian houses I definitely got a San Francisco vibe. I liked that many of the houses had pretty pastel colors and then every so often you’d hit red or blue or purple ones that really stood out.
