Hyde-Away

This week in London Town, it's the mid-term break, and school is in recess til next Monday.

It doesn't really suit me- I'd much prefer to be earning a few quid- but because I really don't have much of a choice in that department, I've decided to try and do as much as I possibly can with my time.

I had some calls to make and a few little jobs to do this morning, but shortly after lunch I decided to catch the 345 bus over to South Kensington to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum. I didn't realise just how close we are to the Royal borough of Chelsea and Kensington, but the bus trip round past Battersea Park and over the Thames, took very little time.

We made our way over to Cromwell road, and passed the National Science Museum, before reaching the Victoria and Albert Museum- and like with the British Museum and the National Gallery, the buildings themselves are incredible structures. Given that I was calling the shots on the content that we were going to be viewing that afternoon, I decided to hit up the European Galleries and history sections. The most important things to note were the Cast Courts which were remarkable, and the dress up section, where you could try on an Inverness coat, hoop skirts from the 17th and 18th century and corsets.

By the time we had finished straining our brains at the V&A, we decided to make our way past Royal Albert Hall, through the Kensington Gardens and across Hyde Park to find a Tesco sandwich or two. When we entered Kensington Gardens, we passed by the Albert Memorial which is an absolutely amazing piece of work- it is a huge, largely blue and metallic gold, Gothic inspired structure that takes your breath away. It is a remarkable memorial, facing the Royal Albert Hall, and is equally as impressive as the Queen Victoria memorial fountain that stands outside Buckingham Palace.

As we walked through the beautiful gardens with the huge leafy trees (which would be great to climb!), we passed Kensington Palace, saw two people having a fencing-dual with large sticks, stopped at a large pond to marvel at the large white swans, and check out exactly how much it costs to rent out a deck chair in the lawns (2 quid for 4 hours, in case you were wondering).
We finally found a metro-Tesco, purchased some food and found a little spot in Hyde Park to sit and eat.

Hyde Park and it's surrounding gardens are absolute gems- and I only really walked along on two paths on the western side, and am completely taken by the lawns, the trees, the gardens and the general energy of the place... if you can't get onto me from late July til September, just letting you know now, that's where I'll be :)