London, West End

On Monday we did a walk through of the neighborhood and then headed to Queensway Station where we were to meet the Montez fam.  Shannon and I talked about this trip so much it was crazy cool to be walking through Kensington Gardens together.  Surreal.  

 We walked past Kensington Palace, then to the Albert Memorial, the Flower Walk, the Diana Fountain, then on to Exhibition Road. 

 "softing the water" at the Diana Fountain

Next up was a quick run through of the Victorian copies of the plaster replicas at the V&A

The Chihuly was a bitter reminder of our upcoming move.  There was just no escaping Santa Fe.  The Tate Modern had a huge Georgia O'Keefe retrospective...rub it in London, rub it in. 

 The costume exhibit at the V&A was a highlight

 The Bromptom Oratory, a catholic church, was next.  Photography was illegal, but someone snuck a shot. 

It was on to Knightbridge and Harrods.

 The Harrod's food halls are pretty nice.  We got ourselves some lunch here.

 We raved to the Montezes about how delicious pasties are.  We ordered first and ordered all the pasties. Some friends we are. 

We walked through St. James and Green Park, stopping at Buckingham Palace.

Next up: Westminster Abbey.  This place is chock full of history and it was grand.  Loved it. 

 Again, photography was illegal, but we managed anyway. 

 We stopped for a potty break.  Lines were super long.  But we found a secret bathroom with no lines.  But then, just when we were celebrating, we discovered there was no toilet paper.  It was tragic.  Totally tragic.

We walked past Downing Street.  This was perhaps the very day David Cameron said he was going to bail.  Then it was onto the Banqueting House. 

 The Banqueting House was a much needed resting place.  The bean bags were the best.  And the lack of crowds was grand too. 

The apotheosis of King Charles (or maybe James, or some king) was hilarious.  I'm coming to the conclusion that most art is ridiculous. 

 Next stop was the Horse Guard.  Poor Horses having to deal with all the tourists that come up and scare them to death despite the signs.  Sometimes people are the worst. Often, actually. 

The final stop was the Churchill War Rooms.  We waited in line for awhile to get in, but it was well worth the wait.  I wish we would have had more time.  Super cool.  

 Churchill's bedroom

We parted company with the Montezes and headed to Holland Park neighborhood to meet Matt and Kim and little Brig for dinner.  It was so fun to see them.  Pretty jealous they live in England. 

My feet were exhausted, but it was a FANTASTIC day.