Today was our "Royal Day". Day two in London and it started off with rain, so after we left the hotel we stopped in at Marks & Spencer to get ourselves a little umbrella.
First up we visited Kensington Palace whose best known resident in recent years was Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-97).
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| The King's Grand Staircase |
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| Queen Mary's Bedchamber |
After exploring the Palace with the aid of the audio tour, we headed outside to see the gardens and to 'take tea' at the 18th century Orangery.
Continuing on the 'royal' theme of the day, our next stop had to be the one and only home of British Royalty - Buckingham Palace. We again caught the Number 9 bus and alighted at Green Park and made our way to see Liz & Phil. Upon arriving, it was a thrill to notice that the Royal Standard was flying above the Palace which meant that the Queen was at home. Not surprisingly there were many people outside the palace and we noticed many well dressed people having photographs taken with certificates that appeared to be for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
After the Palace we headed to the Queens Gallery which is a permanent space dedicated to changing exhibitions of items from the Royal Collection. It was pretty amazing, but sadly photographs weren't permitted.
Next stop was the Royal Mews which houses the State vehicles, both horse-drawn carriages and motor cars, used for coronations, State Visits, royal weddings, the State Opening of Parliament and official engagements. An audio-tour was provided and gave much information about the various coaches (not that I can remember anything about it now). One of the most spectacular vehicles on display is the Gold State Coach.
After we finished at the Mews we wandered around for awhile heading towards Victoria Station where we caught the tube back to the hotel.
Once back in Kensington we had a bit more of a look around Marks & Spencer before heading back to the hotel were we had an early dinner at the Lions Sports Bar & Grill which is part of the hotel . Once agin we had a fairly early night but with the tour starting tomorrow, we need to be up nice and early to make sure our suitcases are outside our door before 6:30am....
Next stop was the Royal Mews which houses the State vehicles, both horse-drawn carriages and motor cars, used for coronations, State Visits, royal weddings, the State Opening of Parliament and official engagements. An audio-tour was provided and gave much information about the various coaches (not that I can remember anything about it now). One of the most spectacular vehicles on display is the Gold State Coach.
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| Gotta love the name of this pub. |
(For the rest of my Day 5 photos - click here.)
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