The Phoenix has Finally CRASHED! But.......
Welp, I think that my prediction of sliding into home plate, in a heap is going to come true! Today is our last day in London, and I had many plans; none of which included spending hours in bed! lol
However, that is exactly what happened; I woke up, got out of bed, ate breakfast, made plans for the day, walked back into the bedroom, to get my clothes, took one look at the bed and I was down for the count! I swear I was only going to lay down for a minute; I think that turned into hours, and as Joe said, "The Phoenix has finally crashed!" lol I don't remember even crawling back into the bed, but I do remember waking up and wondering what the heck had happened; full well knowing that burning the candle on both ends, with chronic mylogenous leukemia, will eventually catch up with you!
Of course, the first thing that I did was look at the clock and groan; I had "wasted" a good bit of the day, however, IF I was able to drag myself up and out of the bed, it would be possible to do one thing that was on our list for the day, and that one thing would be to go to Kensington Palace, which is on the other side of Hyde Park, and not far from where we are.
I cannot say that my "nap" made me feel much better, and it was quite a chore to get up and out to Kensington Palace, but as usual, I am so glad that I made the effort. We were fortunate that they had handicap access, which meant I could avoid extra steps and stairs, which was much appreciated today.
As we wandered from room to room, viewing artwork, artifacts, including another awesome doll house, and clothing from ages gone by, I kept marveling at the fact that this is where Princess Diana lived, and raised her boys. Such a strange fact, and hard to envision. These places are so HUGE and museum-like, that it is hard to imagine any one actually "living" here.
I am sure that their "area" was much different than what we were viewing, but still.....it just seems cold and daunting, although the grounds were lovely.
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the old costumes, paintings, furniture and decor, but what I enjoyed the most was the tribute to Princess Dianna; they had a room that was filled with many of her iconic outfits. I was amazed at how just seeing those outfits, stirred the memories of seeing her in them. Like I said before, I was a HUGE fan!
I loved the photo they had of her in the room, and all of the quotes on the wall; as we were leaving, we walked through an area that was covered in a lovely Princess Dianna wallpaper that was done in watercolor portraits, during various stages, in her life.
After leaving the palace, we were able to enjoy the gardens, and eat our lunch under an arbor of green. We enjoyed seeing all of the flowers and gardens that were designed and inspired by the memory of Princess Dianna; as this year, marked 20 years since her tragic death. The garden were so lovely, that you could almost see small boys running through them, playing.
It wasn't long before they kicked us out; one of the drawbacks of our late start. Reluctantly, we left the palace area, I wondered if the palace was open to tourists when they were living here?
With thought stills rambling around in my head, as to what it must have been like to actually "live" in that big huge place, we left the Kensington Palace grounds and walked right into Hyde Park; all of the parks in London are fabulous, and walking through them is really enjoyable, no matter how tired, or achy you may be.
This stroll was made extra special by running across a children's playground, aptly named the "Dianna, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground"; what I loved best about the playground was the sign that said "No cell Phone us allowed inside play area" meaning, "play" and interact with your children. Brilliant, wouldn't you say? It was a wonderful playground with a huge pirate ship, right smack dab, in the middle of it. A great place for little's to enjoy.
Another magical find was the Elfin Oak; the Elfin Oak is an enchanted, thousand-plus year old, oak stump, that has been transformed into the home of frolicking fairies, elves, gnomes, pixies and even imps! Unfortunately, it has been caged, but I am sure that the cage protects it from the likes of humans, either intentionally, or unintentionally, doing it harm.
After spending a fair amount of time familiarizing myself with all of the "hidden" gems, in the old oak stump, we continued our stroll towards home. We passed a Merry Go Round, which of course, lightened my step and my heart. It turned out to be a lovely day, despite my slow start, but as much as I hated to admit it, I was ready to call it good.
I think that dinner may just have to be desert; what a great way to end our time in London; a tribute to Princess Dianna Day and Gelato for dinner; London is "in the books"!
Tomorrow we head back to the states; New York City, here we come.
However, that is exactly what happened; I woke up, got out of bed, ate breakfast, made plans for the day, walked back into the bedroom, to get my clothes, took one look at the bed and I was down for the count! I swear I was only going to lay down for a minute; I think that turned into hours, and as Joe said, "The Phoenix has finally crashed!" lol I don't remember even crawling back into the bed, but I do remember waking up and wondering what the heck had happened; full well knowing that burning the candle on both ends, with chronic mylogenous leukemia, will eventually catch up with you!
Of course, the first thing that I did was look at the clock and groan; I had "wasted" a good bit of the day, however, IF I was able to drag myself up and out of the bed, it would be possible to do one thing that was on our list for the day, and that one thing would be to go to Kensington Palace, which is on the other side of Hyde Park, and not far from where we are.
I cannot say that my "nap" made me feel much better, and it was quite a chore to get up and out to Kensington Palace, but as usual, I am so glad that I made the effort. We were fortunate that they had handicap access, which meant I could avoid extra steps and stairs, which was much appreciated today.
As we wandered from room to room, viewing artwork, artifacts, including another awesome doll house, and clothing from ages gone by, I kept marveling at the fact that this is where Princess Diana lived, and raised her boys. Such a strange fact, and hard to envision. These places are so HUGE and museum-like, that it is hard to imagine any one actually "living" here.
 |
| can you imagine painting, paintings? |
I am sure that their "area" was much different than what we were viewing, but still.....it just seems cold and daunting, although the grounds were lovely.
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the old costumes, paintings, furniture and decor, but what I enjoyed the most was the tribute to Princess Dianna; they had a room that was filled with many of her iconic outfits. I was amazed at how just seeing those outfits, stirred the memories of seeing her in them. Like I said before, I was a HUGE fan!
I loved the photo they had of her in the room, and all of the quotes on the wall; as we were leaving, we walked through an area that was covered in a lovely Princess Dianna wallpaper that was done in watercolor portraits, during various stages, in her life.
After leaving the palace, we were able to enjoy the gardens, and eat our lunch under an arbor of green. We enjoyed seeing all of the flowers and gardens that were designed and inspired by the memory of Princess Dianna; as this year, marked 20 years since her tragic death. The garden were so lovely, that you could almost see small boys running through them, playing.
It wasn't long before they kicked us out; one of the drawbacks of our late start. Reluctantly, we left the palace area, I wondered if the palace was open to tourists when they were living here?
With thought stills rambling around in my head, as to what it must have been like to actually "live" in that big huge place, we left the Kensington Palace grounds and walked right into Hyde Park; all of the parks in London are fabulous, and walking through them is really enjoyable, no matter how tired, or achy you may be.
This stroll was made extra special by running across a children's playground, aptly named the "Dianna, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground"; what I loved best about the playground was the sign that said "No cell Phone us allowed inside play area" meaning, "play" and interact with your children. Brilliant, wouldn't you say? It was a wonderful playground with a huge pirate ship, right smack dab, in the middle of it. A great place for little's to enjoy.
Another magical find was the Elfin Oak; the Elfin Oak is an enchanted, thousand-plus year old, oak stump, that has been transformed into the home of frolicking fairies, elves, gnomes, pixies and even imps! Unfortunately, it has been caged, but I am sure that the cage protects it from the likes of humans, either intentionally, or unintentionally, doing it harm.
After spending a fair amount of time familiarizing myself with all of the "hidden" gems, in the old oak stump, we continued our stroll towards home. We passed a Merry Go Round, which of course, lightened my step and my heart. It turned out to be a lovely day, despite my slow start, but as much as I hated to admit it, I was ready to call it good.
I think that dinner may just have to be desert; what a great way to end our time in London; a tribute to Princess Dianna Day and Gelato for dinner; London is "in the books"!
Tomorrow we head back to the states; New York City, here we come.
hmmmm
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