On day 12 we visited Borough Market, London Walks Kensington Tour, and Kensington Gardens.
We started our day by exploring Borough Market, after my friend loaded up on coffee at the Monmouth Coffee Company next to the market. It was neat to see the food stalls and that each one had a particular specialty with beautifully presented food. It was a visual and mouthwatering treat for the senses!
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| Borough Market |
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When I asked if their tea was sweet the ladies said, "Well...a little."
Needless to say I passed because I like my tea so sweet your spoon stands up in it :) |
We tried toasted cheese sandwiches from a vendor for lunch. They were good, but I would have liked them better if they didn't include a surprise onion and garlic combination in the cheese. Also, I bought some chocolates for dessert that were amazing!
There is not a place to sit and eat in the market, but there is a church next door with a pretty courtyard that many people used for their impromptu picnic.
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| Yummy toasted cheese sandwich for lunch |
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| So many flavors of Turkish Delight! |
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| Chelsea Football Club Stadium |
After we finished exploring the market and shopping, we went on a walking tour of Kensington with London Walks. It drizzled on us on and off and there was a huge protest going on outside of the Israel Embassy, but our tour guide expertly led us around it so we could continue our tour.
We saw Kensington Palace (where William, Kate, and their adorable children live), Kensington Gardens, where the Prime Minister's children attend school, several buildings where famous artists, poets, playwrights, and other historically significant figures (such as William Churchill) lived. Our tour guide was going to show us The Roof Gardens as well, which is supposed to be spectacular, but it was reserved for an event.
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| Kensington Palace (people still place mementos for Princess Diana at the gate) |
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| Kensington Palace Gardens |
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| Princess Louise Duchess of Argyll, Queen Victoria Statue, 1893 |
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| George Gilbert Scott, The Albert Memorial, 1872 |
We also learned why the west part of London began and remains the wealthier part of town. The people of London used to dispose of their waste in the River Thames which flows east. So the east side of town was stinkier and dirtier than west side. Therefore, if people could afford it, they preferred to live on the west side of London. That preference is still in place to this day, with a few exceptions.
After the tour, we went back to the Kensington Orangery to have tea (we passed by it on our tour). However, we did not make it in time because we had to take a 40 minute detour around the massive protest. Instead, we wandered through Kensington Gardens, which is huge! We found the Peter Pan sculpture, fed the ducks and swans for awhile, and then we went back to our room.
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| Sir George Frampton, Peter Pan, 1912 |
It was a relaxed day filled with great food and historic sites. Our London Walks tour was informative, entertaining, and just amazing! If you like going on tours and learning about the place you are visiting, I highly recommend going on a London Walks tour :) .
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