London: The Perfect Last Day

I write this blog post of our last day in London with nostalgia.

It was Sunday and after a late sleep in, we checked out at 11am in search for brunch! We strolled down Kensington Church Street stopping only to check out the apartments displayed for sale in the shoebox real estate office windows. Unless you have at least £2 million you can forget about buying anywhere near Kensington! We continued down the road and turned right into Kensington High Street. After dodging other pedestrians and a quick stop in a health food store for some dried papaya, we found a trendy café for brunch!

I had a full English Breakfast with a Latte and Shaun the Eggs Benedict with a smoothie. With full bellies we took to the streets towards the Natural History Museum where we saw the only complete woolly mammoth carcass ever found in London, dinosaur skeletons, the tiniest birds I've ever seen as well as natural stones and gems! To Shaun's disappointment there were no mummies.

We took a detour via the Science Museum before walking back up through Kensington Gardens. With a quick stop in Holland & Barrett to grab a few picnic essentials we decided to end our day in our favourite place in London - Hyde Park! With tired feet we plonked ourselves under the shade of the nearest tree with our feast spread before us. But the wind soon pierced through our jumpers so we moved out into the sunshine soaking it up as well as the our surrounds. It felt as if 3/4 of London was in Hyde Park - there were flocks of people everywhere each with their own agenda; some lounging on the grass, others running, riding bikes, playing cricket as well as big dogs, small dogs and those in between running around. There were Kiwis catching up in a circle next to us, people rope walking between two nearby trees, some playing cards, and others making out blissfully unaware of those around them. Some even had the same idea as us by picnicking and others liberally poured their champagne. We talked and listened to conversations around us and eventually lay down, watched the birds flirt in the sky, clouds pass above us and noting the dozen of distant cotton streaks left by jets hanging in the air.

It was possibly the most serene ending to our trip to London. It was indeed, the perfect last day!

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London: Day 3

After exploring London on foot for the past two days we decided it was time to see the sights from a different angle, so we bought our tickets and hopped on The Original Tour - a double decker guided bus tour. It takes you to all the main attractions but we chose to see the places that were just that bit too too far to walk to on foot like Westminister, The London Eye, St Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge and the Tower of London.

The wind was icy this morning, particularly sitting in the open air on the double decker so Shaun and I stopped off at the London Eye for a £5 English Breakfast (bacon, sausage, eggs, mushrooms, baked beans and toast) which included a hot coffee... Mmmm!

These tours guaranteed buses every 10 minutes which made it super easy to get around. We found the Tower of London remarkable with it's fortress and towers still in magnificent shape for such an old girl and marvelled at the Crown Jewels. The Queen's sceptre holds world's second biggest diamond - The Cullinan I - a pear shaped 530.20 carat diamond!

We got stuck in traffic throughout the day because of three different protests that were being held around London but we made it back to our apartment eventually. After a quick shower our feet hit the pavement towards Westbourne Grove. We grabbed a bite to eat and headed towards the cinema to watch the much anticipated Fast and the Furious 6 (filmed in London). It didn't disappoint! However the screen we watched it on certainly wasn't worth £22. The cinema screen was small and the seats were all on the same level. This is a movie that needs to be seen and appreciated on the big screen!

It was midnight by the time we made it back. Another full day had left us exhausted... I barely had one arm through my PJ shirt as I fell on the bed and into another deep sleep.

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London: Day 2

What a day - a BIG day!

Feeling refreshed after a blissfully deep and comfortable sleep in our Pembridge Gardens by Mondo apartment (which I highly recommend by the way!) we headed off for a stellar breakfast at Granger & Co. in Notting Hill. The café was buzzing with locals which is always a good sign! Shaun ordered the Aussie Breakfast with poached scrambled eggs (which the English got very right I'm sorry to say - it exceeded even the best of Aussie standards!) and I had the Corn Fritters with grilled tomato, poached smoked bacon and baby spinach. It was every bit as scrumptious as it looked which was topped off with the best coffee in London!

We hit the pavement; stomachs full and with no pre-planned direction, just the wind rustling leaves swirling around our feet. That's one of my travelling mantras... sometimes you have to go wherever the wind blows you; down back roads, against the grain and off the beaten track to find true local gems!

I felt wonderfully lost in my surrounds soaking up the shops, people and movement. We passed and admired beautiful flower stalls on the streets which had a delicate array of roses, foxgloves, daisies, lilies, ceanothus, hyacinths, peonies and many more blooms whose names I don't know. If I lived in London I would be sure to have fresh flowers in my house not only because the variety is greater than in Australia but because they're so cheap!

We eventually hit Bayswater Road with Hyde Park opposite us and decided to pop back to the apartment to change into more suitable clothes - the sun was beaming above us, quickly warming us through our layers of clothes. We returned to Hyde Park to once again visit and feed our squirrel friends. We seemed to be getting more familiar with one another as one shimmied up my leg to steal a hazelnut from my hand!

From there we strolled through Hyde Park and hit the pavement on the roadside about half way through - a great move! We were waiting to cross the road when a Police motorbike stopped the traffic with a few short sharp whistles and hand movements. Another two Police motor bikes turned into the road and sped away, followed by none other than Her Majesty The Queen! It all happened so quickly but I was just able to sneak a photo (look closely in the back seat and you'll see her wearing a pastel mint suit and hat!). London certainly seemed to be warming to us - giving us a royal welcome!

Buckingham Palace seemed to be calling so we consulted our map and took off down the road in its direction. We passed Harrods, stopping in to check out the luxurious yet overpriced knits, dresses and trousers, as well as a stop to use its amenities which included electronic censored flushing toilets and hand wash facilities as well as hand cream and a selection of perfumes (I chose Chanel). We continued on the main road, passed by the Marbella Arch, wandered through St James Park until we reached our destination. The square was packed with people but it was a great site to see - the palace appeared much bigger than I imagined it to be. It's a pity we couldn't tour the Palace; tours are only open for a few weeks in the hart of Summer (July). I did, however, snap a photo of a guard in his traditional get up!

We continued down The City of Westminister, passing St James Park towards Trafalgar Square. The Park's striped beach chairs were out as Londoners made the most of bathing in sun's rays while it lasted. We passed through the Admiralty Arch in Pall Mall and into Trafalgar Square which was filled with tourists. Here we found Nelson's Column, toured the National Gallery and saw St Martin in the fields. In the Square street performers danced and rapped as 6 o'clock hit. We took a turn towards Piccadilly Circus where we saw the famous advertising screens and the Statue of Eros. The legend is that if you sit in Piccadilly Circus long enough someone you know will pass by you.

By this time our feet were aching as we had walked more than 15km by foot. We trudged back through the crowds towards Hyde Park and rented a Barclays Bicycle which are available for £1 for a half hour journey. These self serviced bike stations are scattered throughout London and make getting around easy. We watched hopped on one and took off towards our apartment, back through Hyde Park and took a few back roads to admire the buildings.

We must have walked over 17 kilometres that day and what makes the day feel so long is that it only starts to get dark at 9pm! Exhausted we docked our bikes outside our apartment, grabbed a bite to eat and turned in for the night. I told you it was a big day!

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