Words fail me. What an entirely lovely day.

From beginning to end, just the friendliest people at the castle and everywhere else.

Even the drunken soccer fan who fell asleep on my shoulder was such a dear lol.

I can’t say enough nice things about the employees at Windsor Castle. My tour guide Neal was so informative! For the first time ever, English history came to life for me. 

From the checker at Waitrose to the buskers in the metro, everyone was just delightful. 

I may be high on scones and English sunshine…and that’s okay!

Have the best of Saturdays yourselves!

Mary

The Victoria and Albert Museum was my first itinerary stop today. I’d been before but this place is just so great. Many new exhibit to see. The standout was a jewellery exhibit. Would highly recommend. 

When slow walking got old, I stopped in to the closest Catholic church for some religion. Luckily for me, it’s Good Friday. Very nice place but not many people.

Time for lunch means a short walk to Harrod’s department store. The first time I went here, the small town hick inside me was blown away.  Well, I’m older, wiser, and more well-travelled now and…..still amazing!!! What a dazzling display of ostentatious!!!!! I only bought snacks from the bakery lol.

Hyde park was really close and a good place to sit and eat. Always so peaceful and the sun was delightful.  I’ve been super lucky with the weather. Thanks, somebody!!

I felt like a walk,  so tripadvisor told me to go to the Chelsea Physic Garden about 1 mile away. It was spectacular. Admission was high, but so worth it. It’s a medicinal botanical garden dated from 1673. Free tours and a cute restaurant/gift shop make it worth several hours. Just stuffed full of plants from all over the world. So many cute old ladies!!

Another long ramble brought me close to Buckingham Palace. At the end of the day the crowds thin out, thank goodness. 

Piccadilly Street is good for window shopping and people watching. I spent the rest of the day in the West End, watching theater goers eat and drink. A bunch of stuff to see is close together there.  Covent Garden, the Royal Opera house, Trafalgar square, lots and LOTS of people to watch.

I only went home when my feet started hurting. I don’t want to be crippled tomorrow.

I look forward to Windsor tomorrow.  It’s an hour away by train.

Have a great day!

Wow. Just wow. 

So much to see, but also just the right amount. Was able to see it all in one day.

The neatest displays were the hoards of Roman treasures. In England, found treasure belongs to the government. People get reimbursed,  I guess. The hoards of coins and precious metals are carefully conserved and cleaned, then museums bid for the right to buy and show off the mostly Roman treasure. So neat to see what people hundreds of years ago kept as heirlooms. Wikipedia has some good entries.

The most controversial pieces are the Parthenon marbles. Since I’ve been to Greece and seen the other perspective, I can see for sure, for absolutely sure, there’s no way the BM is giving *anything* back. Lol. TBH, go to Athens instead. The Acropolis is worth it. And the new Parthenon museum in Athens is (gasp) much better than the BM in this regard.

After 4 hours of culture,  I desperately needed a long walk. 

Camden Market is a flaming tourist attraction. Having said that, I enjoyed my afternoon there. If you avoid the mass produced crap, it’s neat and full of plain old folks having fun. When you’ve had enough, walk along the canal away from the market area; the Thames lies in one direction and the zoo and Regents park in the other. Just strolling along is very pleasant and you’ve got the place basically to yourself. Mostly saw bicyclists heading home.

One last little bit of walking got me up the hill towards home and peanut butter sandwiches.

Only 20,000 steps today, I’ll do better tomorrow!

Have a great Thursday 😄

Well, I had a great flight on British Airways. Only about 1/2 the seats were full, and the gentleman sharing my row was very quiet. For the first time in a loooooong time, I slept a little. Heaven!

The Underground ride to my hostel was uneventful and cheap. Palmers Lodge is cool! Free tea and coffee all day, and a little kitchen to make food in. My room is a converted attic. We have to go through a shower room to get to the dorm lol.

The neighborhood I’m in is called Swiss Cottage. There’s actually a cottage (It’s a bar).

Up the hill (where I took my nightly walk) is a neighborhood called Hampstead. So neat! Lots of shops, bookstores, restaurants, etc. A Hungarian bakery was calling my name but closed as soon as I crossed the street. 

It looks like most of these small neighborhoods grew up around a metro station. Maybe vice-versa and the station was built in a village? Anyhoo, each 20 minute walk brings you to a new bunch of stuff to look at.

Dinner was sandwich fixings from the grocery store. Three meals for 5 pounds. 

Looking forward to the British Museum tomorrow. Lots to see there!

Hope everyone’s day was grand!