Today we had tickets to see the museum inside Kensington Palace. And then reservations for afternoon tea. We started with an Uber to the palace, a quick 5 minute car ride brought us to the nearest entrance to Kensington Gardens. Our driver pointed across the park and told us the palace was that way. We had to walk the rest of the way because cars were not permitted. Ok we can walk in 80 degree heat it doesn’t look that far!
Well we went the wrong way and ended up walking along the outside of the park down “embassy row” to the opposite end of the park. There we asked a policeman how to get to the palace and he said we had to go back into the park and walk back the way we came to the Palace. Below is a screen shot of the walk. The pink X is where we started and the black X where we ended. Truth be told it was fine. A lovely shaded walk most of the time. But it did sap a lot of energy and walking stamina.
Finally we came to the castle and made our way inside. It was just a few rooms open, the state rooms of King George and Queen Caroline from the 1680s and a nice history of Queen Victoria.
Ally and I got ice cream for the walk back outside the park where we hailed a cab to take us to tea.
Above is the view of the backside of the LONG walk we had around around the front of the Palace.
Becky - in front of the palace - we finally found it!
The King's staircase inside of Kensington Palace.
I thought it was pretty funny that when the King was away the Queen took over his closet.
The ceilings and mouldings were incredible.
They had actual games to play in the "game room" of Queen Caroline and King George.
We played Go Fish.
I won!
Examples of the fashionable clothes of the time. We all agreed we would NOT want to wear that dress. You would have to side shimmy through doors.
Turns out Becky has larger shoulders than a man from Queen Victoria's age.
Becky thought the crowns on the bathroom people were hilarious.
Ally waiting for her ice cream cone.
Twinning a bit in our striped dresses and mint chip cones in front of the palace.
Kensington Gardens was a beautiful park. It was such a beautiful day (hot) that we did not linger. We flagged down a cab and headed to Tea.
Selfies in the cab.
Afternoon Tea. We looked pretty hard for a tea location that wasn't too dressy or formal and after much research on Pinterest I read about Bea's of Bloomsbury. We ate at the Marleybone location. (Which is extremely hard to pronounce and since Becky was in charge of the reservation she was corrected several times and we still couldn't get it right.) Bea's was a really cute cafe in the Marleybone neighborhood. Tea was half the cost of other locations and we still got the full tea and it was so much fun. A high light of the trip for me.
Ally and I waited patiently for our tea.
I detest tea - so I ordered the iced tea option. (I don't like iced tea either)
Ally got pink lemonade.
Becky ordered hot tea - it was some thing peach flavored I think. She really enjoyed it and had two pots while we were there.
That is Ally's child tea; 4 open faced brioche sanwiches, a scone with jam and clotted cream, 3 small cookies and brownies, a full size cupcake and a raspberry marshmallow. She was so excited.
Becky and I received a similar tray - but ours was to share.
Ally tried the peanut butter and banana sandwich. She also ate the chicken one (after she took off all of the lettuce, she ate roasted chicken on the roll.) And started in on the scone next.
She wasn't sure what to think of the scone - was it bread? or was it sweet? She of course she smelled it first.
Delish!
Tongue smackin' good
Thumbs up delicious.
So good she ate all of hers and half of mine.
Then she started in on the sweets. We gave her all of our meringues and one of our brownies.
She ate the 3 meringues, 2 brownie bites and a blondie bite. She tried the marshmallow but decided it was too raspberry flavored for her.
Becky had a fruit tart with an emoji face!
Ally LOVED tea.
We took our cupcakes back to our hotel for later.
Then back at our hotel room an hour later she ate her cupcake:
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