Kensington

11/01

It was a rough morning in the flat.  We had to be up early for a walking tour of our Kensington area and adjusting to the time change has been harder than expected.  The morning got much better as we started the tour.  Our guide, Simon, was a very nice Brit who seemed to really enjoy his job.  We started at the Imperial College, all we really did was walk through a court yard to see the only original structure to the College. For some reason they tore down all the old Victorian buildings in the 1950s and only one tower remains. 

(We learned a lot and I forgot a lot, so this might get fragmented!)

Memorial Fountain

From the Imperial we went to Hyde Park.  We walked through a ridiculously muddy field that has some significance that really didn't seem all that special.  But we did learn about a force of guards on horses that William and Harry belong to.  In the park is the memorial for Princess Diana.  It's a natural fountain that flows into a lake.  There are rough parts and smooth parts to represent the different stages of her life.  It's very nice and the way Simon spoke of her you could tell the people still mourn her loss.  Next to her memorial is a bronze statue of a swan, not sure what it's for.  That park lead us into Kensington Gardens, which is the one we live across from.  Simon said it was more "sophisticated", but in my opinion it didn't look very sophisticated.  The grass grew long and people had their dogs off the leash, but whatever!  Hyde Park has a statue of King Albert and another statue of a man on a horse...as I'm writing this and asking my roommates for help we're getting confused on which park is behind Kensington Palace, but the Palace is more interesting so moving on...

Kensington Palace is part museum, part royal residence.  There is a garden that is very neat looking and I'll have to go back once the flowers are in bloom because I bet it would be even better!  In the back there is a statue of a queen-not sure which one.  This palace is where Diana lived up until her death and where Kate, William and Harry live in/are moving into.  In the front, separate from the museum is their residence.  I was very tourist-y and got a couple pictures of the guards and what you can see of the front.  The following pictures are all from Kensington Palace:

Royal Entrance to Kensington Palace

Kensington Garden

We also walked all around Kensington to lots of random places.  After two of my roommates and I went to an Italian restaurant that was okay and the service was awful.  The lady must have known she sucked because she included the tip for us!  After we had more orientation at the Foundation House, which is where all of my classes will be.  It is about a 10 minute walk from my flat and very near central Kensington.  The most important thing I learned is basically if a Brit is being especially nice to you, they are probably trying to pick pocket you.  And that we should use sarcastic humor in order to get on the British populations good side.  For dinner we went to a restaurant called Garfunkel's and I devoured a cheeseburger and chips.  We have hardly eaten since getting here! But I bought some noodles, butter and salt and Rosé so I'm set!  Here are some pictures from the rest of the tour!