Hey all, back at the internet cafe to check my map for a few things. Yesterday we took the tube out a bit off the beaten path to the Hammersmith region. The reason? I wanted to see the street that was used at the start of this Monty Python sketch sketch (and another that that I couldn't find on YouTube). 🙂 Pretty fun to see, and Kelly noted that it looked a lot smaller in real-life than it does in the sketch. It did get us out of the normal part of London though, even if only for an hour or so. We walked past the BBC Television Centre on the way to the White City stop to catch the tube over towards Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace.
The palace was very interesting to tour through, with loads of period costumes and history of the palace. Queen Victoria was was born there, and Princess Diana lived there right up until her death in 1997. Only recently has portions of the palace been opened to the public. It was a fun tour. The palace sits at the far west end of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, and the weather was again beautiful, so we were able to relax a bit and stroll around on our way to and from the palace.
We'd decided to take the tube to Covent Garden, a popular destination for shopping and theatre. We spent some time wandering around (doing a bit of pub-hopping) and found the cheese shop that Kelly wanted to find. It was a very worthwhile visit too, the gentleman who worked there was more than happy to give us samples of cheeses, making many suggestions along the way. Some of it was fantastic too, some was a bit out of my taste range (such as the blue).
There was another football match tonight, Manchester United versus Milan, so any pub with a TV was packed full. Once we got back to our neighborhood (after a nighttime stop at Piccadilly for some photos), we ended up at the Prince Regent for a pint or two, then walked back to The Globe at the end of the match, Manchester had lost and the place was fairly dead. Except for one table, there were 7 or so people sitting around loudly singing along with the showtunes that were playing on the pub's stereo. It was pretty funny to watch.
Anyway, today we're going to try and take a river transport service to Hampton Court Palace. Gotta run.
4 replies on “London Report 5 – Kensington Palace & Covent Garden”
I haven’t mentioned this for a while Ryan, but I just wanted you to know that I think you’re a bit of a bastard. That’s all. Not you, Kelly … you’re a sweetheart! Hope you guys are having fun, it really sounds like it. Although, I have to say, I wasn’t even sure if it was possible to go to as many pubs as you guys seem to in one day… but then again, you are in England.
Dammit I can’t wait to go. Hopefully Arsenal will be in the Champions League semis when we go. That would rule!
Hey – if you guys happen across a Hatful of Hollow or This Charming Man t-shirt (in medium) – please buy and I\’ll pay you back – they\’re much more abundant over there than here!
Martin – I think you’re just jealous. 🙂
GD – hehe, yeah, I’m sure you’d get a kick out of the packed pubs and how ‘into it’ everybody gets.
sean: if I find one I’ll pick it up.