#HurnEuroVacay -- Day 5 - London

On our second day in London, we started the day with a visit to Kensington Palace – the former residence of Queen Victoria, Princess Diana, and William & Kate. The Palace was interesting and the audio tour was very informative, but it was not my favorite attraction in London.

Jeff trying to look like Albert (Queen Victoria's husband)

Kensington Gardens

Jeff was so sleepy.

After our tour, we were walking through the huge public garden out to the street, when I noticed a mother undressing her young son (under two years old). The next thing I know, the mom pulls a small training potty out of the stroller and sits the kid down on it. The little boy was just going number two in the middle of the fancy gardens! Jeff and I could not believe what was happening and laughed so hard all the way through the gardens.

We then took the underground over to Westminster Abbey. The church was beautiful and the audio guide was great. It was amazing to see the site of such famous weddings, coronations, and other historical events. You can also see the Coronation Chair, which has been used in every coronation ceremony since Edward II in 1308. 

 

We took the underground over to Notting Hill for dinner. Apparently, Europeans do not like to use the word “sandwich,” so I had a “chicken burger” (not a chicken sandwich) for dinner. Jeff finally had some fish and chips, which looked (and tasted) a lot like Captain D’s according to Jeff. The restaurant we ate at marked the men’s and women’s restrooms with pictures of Julia Robert and Hugh Grant. So cute.

Because we were staying so close to Kings Cross station and passed through there 3-4 times a day, I couldn’t not get a picture at Platform 9 ¾. Jeff was too cool to take a picture, but he loves Harry Potter more than me.

Peace out. Going to Hogwarts.

Jeff found Snape's wand.

Remember how I mentioned that the London buses are impossible to figure out? Well, the underground is also pretty complicated. I am usually pretty good at navigating subways, but I must confess that we got the wrong train a few times in London. [Sometimes, multiple lines and directions use the same platform, so if you are not paying attention, it is easy to hop on the wrong line. Oops.] At some point in our day, the doors closed on the train, and I realized we were not on the right line. I looked at Jeff and said, “Well, we are on the wrong train.” The train started moving, and Jeff looked at me with the most optimistic and upbeat look on his face and said, “Wonder where we’re going?” It was just the best possible reaction to realizing that we had no idea where the train was taking us. We eventually figured it out, and got over to our intended destination.