In the meantime, we had a leisurely start to the day, taking the train to Queensway (it was going to be a good day off the bat with that being our destination) where we stopped into a small cafe for coffee and pastry. Kensington Gardens was right across the street so I knew we were in the right spot.
The amount of greenspace in this city is simply amazing, each park seems to go on for acres upon acres and Kensington is no different. My mom is walking a bit slower, so I know the trip is winding down and she's put all her energy into every hour. Compared to the speed she moved last week, it's really noticeable.
Because of that, I'm glad I saved this visit to the latter part of our trip. We took our time through the paths, admiring the trees and space and just how clean everything appeared. One of my favorite signs in the gardens is how one is not allowed into the Diana, Princess of Wales memorial playground without a child. We wondered if child snatching was big in London. There are babies and toddlers everywhere in these parks. You have to keep your eye on these little buggers every second. Add that to the bicyclists, joggers, dog owners and more, and you have quite the busy greenspace.
Of course, all sorts of fowl, including pigeons were dive bombing and running rampart all around the lake. We stopped to watch some sort of duck building a little fort. He'd drop a weed into a big pile and then paddle off to the middle of the lake to bring back more vegetation. I could see a statue of Queen Victoria in the distance, but the way there was pigeon blocked, so we walked in the other direction. Turns out that was the main entrance to the palace, so it just took us a little while to get there.
I'd bought our admittance tickets months ago so it was an easy entrance into the castle. We took advantage of the explainers who were stationed in most of the rooms as there was no audio tour. I'm a bit disappointed that with so much to see that the castle doesn't offer one. Getting my mom on the same page of the informational booklets was always an adventure, but not as adventurous as getting her to take a picture with my iPhone. At one point, I looked and saw she had taken six of me before I even sat in the King's throne and then the one that was there was blurry. I decided to give her the regular digital camera, which she had more luck with.
As the main hallway was over run by school children and the toilets being swarmed by what seemed hundreds of adolescents, a visit to the loo was postponed for her. For me, I was nearly stampeded as I exited the gentleman's WC. School vacation is definitely in session.
I highly recommend a visit to the palace if only to learn about royal history. It seems by next September, Elizabeth will have surpassed Victoria as the longest reigning monarch. I've no doubt she's got her eye on the prize. The amount of people vying for the throne was incredible. Elizabeth II owes a lot to many headless prisoners in the Tower of London and beyond.
In the first room we visited, though, I discovered that Earl Grey was a real person!
"You mean the tea I drink is a man?"
I don't think the explainer liked my humor, but I tried just the same.
Next, we ventured to the fashion exhibition. Looking at Diana's dresses, Rosemarie kept muttering to herself, what a shame, what a shame. I, on the other hand, thought that the princess should have just kept silent. From the history, hundreds of royals had affairs, what's the big deal. You have the title and the crown, who cares about the mistress. Harsh perhaps, but realistic!
Gripping the banisters up the many staircase, my mom made it up to each of the wings of the castle. Our favorite by far was the Victoria Revealed exhibition. To hear how much she loved her husband was heart-wrenching. Wearing black for over forty years? That was a bit over-the-top. If that weren't enough, reading what the Queen wrote as her husband lay dying made an old bitter queen visiting the real queens feel a little less cold and pessimistic about true love.
There were lots of couches and chairs throughout out the self-guided walk so I had my mother rest at each opportunity. The little booklets were quite hard to read in some of the dimly lit rooms, and all the information would have been perfect on a recorded tour. My favorite part of history was learning that one of the rooms we were standing in was where people came to see the King, and they would be held there for almost four hours! If they had to relieve themselves, well, let's just say, it was easier to be a man.
Some of items freaked us out - like the tooth of one of the princesses inside a brooch and the cast of the left foot of one of Victoria's children. Just one foot? Why one? Very freaky. Rosemarie could have used Albert's walking stick but it was safely protected behind the glass.
My mom rested a bit on the settee in front of Victoria's Diamond Jubilee footage, which was a really interesting piece of history to watch. And with the current queen surpassing Victoria next year, you can bet it's going to be a party in 2015.
"There's no way she's going to give up that throne," I told my mom. "She's old school, she's going to hold onto the last minute, and Charles has waited far too long for that coronation ceremony to step down."
We were about to leave the palace when we realized we had almost forgotten the other wing - The Queen's chambers. Up the red carpeted staircase my mom went again. A bit slower this time and only moving to the right of the staircase when I told her to grip the railing.
This area of the palace belonged to Queen Mary and I forget her husband. It was all pretty nondescript. The only real room of interest is where two royals had a fight about one being loose with her virtues. Quite scandalous it seems.
And, then, we were done. I made Rosemarie rest a bit before I checked to see if we could get into The Orangery for afternoon tea.
Set just to the side of the palace, the restaurant is a miniature version of a castle. Its open air main room is light and inviting with a marble bar across the front of the space. Each table meticulously set with fine china and white table cloths. We didn't have a reservation, but the cute queen behind the desk found a spot for us.
It was our first foray into the English tradition, and after ordering a black tea for myself and an Americano for my mom, we were presented with our tray: On the lower one - finger sandwiches, all with the crusts removed and two each of cucumber, salmon with cream cheese and egg salad. In the middle, four scones and on the top tray, two pastries wrapped in almond paste, two Victoria sponge cake filled with strawberry jam, mini lemon meringue, lemon tarts and one chocolate sponge cake. The entire set up made us both think of our Aunt Lil who passed away two years ago. An afternoon like this was just what she would have loved. As we ate, we were especially grateful the army of young girls who paraded through the main room had their own tables off to the side. The clatter of their shoes on the marble floor was enough to make me reach for my excedrin.
The staff was attentive beyond belief and the big queen of a host with his curly hair enveloping his beautiful face shashyed back and forth dressed to the nines in his pinstripe suit and continually checked on us throughout our visit.
"Look at these big girls," I said to my mother, and she immediately knew I was not talking about real girls who were big. "Not one of them has thighs that scrape together, you can see the space between their legs!"
"I know," she lamented."You got my thighs. I'm sorry."
I suppose she also was calling me a big girl with that statement, but I let it slide.
We finished our afternoon break and walked back through the park, stopping briefly to eavesdrop on some sort of biking tour outside the palace. Checking my iPhone for Princess Diana's resting place and seeing that it was off limits at her family's estate, we headed back to our hotel for a brief respite before dinner.
And, when we got back, Rosemarie sat on the bed and immediately fell asleep. I let her rest for the hour and a half before it was time to dress for dinner with two friends that I met on Mykonos in 2004.
Now, as many of you know, I love the fact that I have friends across the globe. When I go on vacation, if I don't meet new people, I always feel a bit let down. The world is vast, you should know as many other human beings as possible. And, when you come to Europe, looking at the millions riding the Tube escalators, the throngs of people on the street, the bodies rushing for the buses, you can't help but see that this world is full of so many wonderful people. To remain in your own world is almost
against the rules.
And as we rode to Waterloo (where yes, every time we did, I was silently singing ABBA), I was so excited to introduce my mom to my friends. She'd already met Jim the day we arrived and we all joined by Markus at Skylon, where even more food awaited us.
No pub meal here. We started with a white tomato soup as a surprise starter from the chef that was not only rich and delicious, but actually white! Served in tiny tea cups, the soup had us all wanting an entire bowl. I ordered a halibut risotto for my mom to be followed by truffle macaroni and cheese. For me, a goat cheese quiche and duck breasts.
I knew my mom loved her dish by the way she moved her fork through the food and the speed in which she devoured it. She refused to try my duck, no matter how much I prodded. It seems that some things were just beyond her palate. Dessert, however was no hard task in sharing. Her peanut concoction was basically a big snickers bar sitting on a bed of chocolate while my lime was a small tart paired perfectly with a Riesling. And if that weren't enough, the small sweet bites our server gave us sent us over the edge. (The salted caramel bites were the clear winners.)
One of the funniest portions of the evening was when I decided to go out with Markus and Jim and my friends joked about putting my mom in a cab alone. You can imagine the sheer terror on her face, that I quickly erased by reassuring her I had not changed into an evil queen who'd desert her.
Sitting on the tube, though, I quizzed her on our stop.
"All this time and you don't know?" I laughed as she pointed out the wrong one.
"It's the next one," she said and I told her that didn't count because that was not the proper name.
All attempts at showing her on the map were futile, though I was surprised when she quickly followed the signs to the way out. It was going up the steep moving stairs that I suddenly felt like I were at Kensington Palace in the days of old. I needed a chamber pot and fast. The second we got on the lift, I told my mother that if she couldn't find the room, she'd have to wait for me to come back. There were more pressing matters ahead.
As luck would have it, she easily made it down the hallway. I changed outfits quickly and was back out into the West End with her safely deposited in the hotel watching The World Cup. And that's exactly what I did later this evening. In my favorite pub with my two friends, seeing how so many were captivated by the game, I thought how wonderful it was to be here. To not be closed off in the bubble that is West Hollywood and to experience all that the world offers you.
Easily finding my way back to the hotel, I found it strange for someone not be holding onto my arm. And, Rosemarie was where I'd left her, and I knew she had fall asleep quickly. Every light was still shone brightly.
Wednesday is our last full day in London. I haven't yet decided what to do, but whatever it is, I know my mom will follow along. And, just maybe, she'll finally know the name of our Tube stop.
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