Aug 16 – London Tour Day 1

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Hello from London. This is our first full day and we have a lot planned. We left a wake-up call for 6:30 AM and then tried to get a good night sleep last night. All went fine for awhile, but then David woke up about midnight and could not get back to sleep. After a few hours he fell back asleep, but altogether we both were still a bit jet-lagged this morning when the wake-up call came. We got up, dressed, and packed up the room before going down to the free breakfast at 7:30.



This breakfast was a good example of not getting anything more than you paid for. There was some juice and Janet got a cup of tea. There was bread that we could make into toast and some cold cereal, but nothing very substantial. We ate and were ready to leave when our taxi arrived at 8:00.



The driver took us over to Victoria Station fairly directly during rush hour traffic (David followed his course on a map to make sure he didn’t deviate down a scenic path). However, our tour instructions said to go to Victoria Coach Station and he was really only familiar with the Victoria Train Station. We circled the block twice and twice he asked someone for directions. Having arrived in the general area in plenty of time, we watched the clock tick down as he did these loops around the block. Eventually we agreed on a place for us to get out and we actually were pretty much where we should be, but with only about 10 minutes to spare. The place was packed with tourists trying to catch tours (all leaving at the same time on different buses) – it was kind of confusing. But we got good instructions, Janet found the right tour sign, and our guide for the day led all of us out to the bus and we were successfully off for a day of touring (just with some frazzled nerves).



First we were driven around London for an hour seeing some of the highlights of the city until Kensington Palace opened for visitors. The highlights were interesting with some historical facts included, but that wasn’t our main objective for the morning. We got to Kensington Palace and the guide walked everyone over to the entrance and bought our tickets. This portion was to be a self-guided affair and we strolled through “the King’s Apartment”, “the Queen’s Apartment”, and “Victoria’s Reveal”. We did not see the royal cottage which is being refurbished for William & Kate and little Prince George. Actually Harry has an apartment there too, as do a couple other lesser members of the royal family – but that is all off limits to commoners.



Kensington Palace has been remodeled during the past few years and they took out all the original furnishings and décor and have replaced them with exhibits and “stuff” which they apparently swap out periodically to make the show different each time. The consensus seemed to be that we would have all preferred to see the original furnishings, but it was still interesting anyway. There was a lot devoted to Queen Victoria, and then things about Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, and Princess Diana.



We got some of the typical English drizzle weather this morning, but not enough that we needed to put up the umbrella. It was fairly good temperature (not hot or cold) all day. The sky cleared a little for the afternoon and we did not have any other issues. The rest of the day was partly cloudy but no more rain. The forecast for tonight is supposed to be rainy with clearing sometime in the morning, so we will have to hope for decent weather tomorrow. But today was OK.



We boarded the bus again and drove about an hour to Hampton Court. We were all given an hour to eat at a café on the grounds (whatever we wanted to buy ourselves), so we had a couple of sandwiches and soda. The guide (Rodney) took us for a narrated tour for a little over an hour. He took us through the several courtyards and gardens, the Royal Chapel, the Dining Room and the King’s Quarters. The Chapel had been designed by Henry the VIII and the King’s Quarters by William III so we got to see some examples of different architecture. Then he turned us loose for another hour and a half to explore on our own. By this time Janet was getting a little tired of walking on cobblestones and climbing stone stairways, so we rested for awhile and hit the gift shop. There were several gift shops and one of them is sponsored by Royal School of Needlework. Janet had a tough time restraining herself but settled for several postcards and took a brochure listing the online address.



There are many interesting things to see, and especially if you know the history behind them. One of them was a huge clock in the inner courtyard. It only has an hour hand – no minute hand. But besides the time of day, it also tells you the month & day of month, the astrological sign, the phase of the moon, and the time of high tide at London Bridge on the Thames. It may have even done more, but that’s all we remember right now. Now, does you wristwatch do all that?



The tour was interesting and we saw lots more than we had 2 years ago. At that time Janet had hurt her knee earlier that day and we were not able to manage much of the tour that time. Today we saw most things and were quite glad to have gone back this time.



At the appointed time we all met and got back on the bus. They drove us to within a few blocks of our hotel and let us out within walking distance instead of going all the way back to Victoria Station. We stopped along the way at another pub and this time we had “steak & mushroom pie” and “sausage and potatoes” – both classic British meals. David had Fuller Brewery’s London Pride ale and Janet had a glass of white wine. It was very good but also very filling, despite the big appetite we had generated from all the walking.



After dinner we went back by the bank for more pounds (now we have quite a few for our cruise), got more bottled water to drink in the room or during tomorrow’s tour, and a couple of candies for a later dessert tonight. Then it was back to the hotel and to collapse in the room. Now we are sitting around recuperating (expecting a good night’s sleep tonight) and looking forward to tomorrow’s adventure.



So that is about all for today.

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Photos

Front View - Hampton Court
Janet & David ourside front gate

Dragon Sculpture
One of many guarding Hampton Court