European Vacation: Sunday, August 4, London, England

After breakfast we walked through Hyde Park, heading to Kensington Palace. Hyde Park is one of the Royal Parks which covers 350 acres. On our first day in London, Tom & I had sat on a bench here and saw some riders on horseback go by as well as people on bikes or just walking. That was neat.

Today we came up to a street sign "Notting Hill Gate" which made me think of the movie "Notting Hill" with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. Apparently filming was done in this area.

We came across the "Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground", which opened in 2000 in memory of Diana. However, we were not allowed in, because you have to have a child with you.

Here is a carousel that was in Hyde Park, not too far from the Memorial Playground.

Tom & I sitting on a bench in Hyde Park, taking a break, before continuing on to Kensington Palace.

Kensington Palace flower gardens. So pretty with the fountains and many colourful flowers.

There was a new exhibition at Kensington Palace, which displayed dresses worn by Queen Elizabeth in the 50's, Princess Margaret 60 & 70's and Princess Diana 1980's.

The Queen wore dresses in cream or beige colour, so she would stand out in a crowd.

This dress was worn by Queen Elizabeth when she visited Nova Scotia in 1959. The gown in the background was worn in Pakistan and had the colours of that country's flag. Interesting how much thought is put into not only the style but meaning in colours also.

In the room where Princess Diana's gowns were displayed, there was also a video being played showing Diana wearing these gowns. She always looked so radiant in a shy way.

I read that Diana was 5'10" tall. No wonder she always looked so elegant. None of her dresses would do for me.

It was neat seeing all these elegant gowns up close.

Tom looking out one of the windows in Kensington. See how high the ceilings are? Below are some of the rooms we walked through.

As you walked through this room, Queen's Gallery, you could hear "whisperings" of court gossip.

This room was the ballroom. I could just picture people dancing so many years ago, women in their full skirts swishing around, while dancing with a prince in his elegant attire.

In the game room, a couple of costumed young ladies, were inviting people to play a game. So here I am. I had to wager something first, so I offered the services of our tour guide, Michael. They recorded the bet. I did lose, and they told Michael he would have to come back. It was all in fun.

This was a room depicting a child's birthday party but with a sad story behind it. Queen Anne, of the 1700's, had 18 children of whom only one survived beyond the age of 4. He died shortly after his 11th birthday. It is said he overheated after dancing too much at his own birthday party. These 18 empty chairs represent Queen Anne's children. So many stories at Kensington.

The ceiling artwork was amazing in this room, also with a beautiful fireplace and exquisite paintings on the walls. One of the guides in one of the rooms was talking about Prince Harry. He said he's "cheeky". He'll stick his tongue out when people take his picture. The guide said he saw him recently stick his head out of the vehicle and make faces at the crowd. He's fun. I could tell this guide liked Prince Harry.

I took this picture, with Tom standing by the door, to show how tall this door was and how high the ceilings were.

This is a statue of Queen Victoria with Kensington Palace in the background. Inside the palace there is a permanent display about the life of Victoria. It was quite interesting the way they used her own words in writings --- on the walls, mirrors, carpet ---- especially about her love for her husband Prince Albert. It was as if you could hear her speaking the words as we walked through the rooms.

Kensington Palace has been a residence for the British Royal Family since the 1700's. This is where Princes William and Harry were raised, and where Princes Diana lived until her death. Renovations are taking place now in preparation for Prince William and Kate, as this will be their official residence. I really enjoyed our visit here.

As we walked to our next destination, we did stop for ice cream refreshment.

The Royal Albert Hall is an amazing concert hall best known for the annual Proms concerts, which is orchestral classical music. But many other venues take place here also. We went for a tour but could take no pictures. Our tour guide was very bubbly and interesting to listen too. The James Bond movie "Skyfall" premiered at the Royal Albert Hall. After climbing many steps we got to go into this famous concert hall. So huge and so beautiful with all the red seats. We got to see the Royal box seats too. There was a harpist practicing her music, so we had to be very quiet and we got to sit and listen. The sound was so crystal clear. The acoustics were phenomenal. It can seat over 5,000 people. Very enjoyable and interesting tour.

Well it's been a pretty full day. We're hungry and it's time for dinner, so we took a subway to take part in "The Medieval Banquet", near the Tower of London.

Tom & I in front of the Medieval Banquet restaurant.

Michael & Sandy descending to the cellar where our dinner takes place.

Here we all are in our Hanover section. There were about 25 people in each section.

Sandy & Michael with King Henry VIII (I think)

Tom & I with some of the Medieval characters.

Sandy & I delve into the spirit of the evening with our Medieval attire.

The evening festivities are about to begin when one of the waitresses calls out "everyone out"! So outside we all go, thinking this is all part of the act, until we see fire trucks pull up and firemen go into the building. Apparently there was a fire in the kitchen.

                                           After the all clear is given, we head back in.

                                                          AND THE FUN BEGINS!

Sarah is our waitress. She directs us on procedure and has us practice. If we need more wine or drinks we have to holler "wench", to have it brought to us. If we like something, we bang our fists on the table, hard and fast. Noisy and fun.