Today we headed out of the city to catch up with my cousin E who’s lived in England for a good few years now.
We met at Hampton Court and headed off to visit Hampton Court Palace, home of Henry VIII, amongst others. Along with the palace, they also have extensive gardens, a maze, and even an ice skating rink and a carousel! What fun!
We wandered for a while, taking in the unseasonably early flowering bulbs that were raising their heads (hello daffodils!) and admiring the formal gardens which had just been replanted for spring, before deciding that if we wanted to admire gardens, Kew Gardens was probably the best bet, since it was nearby.
We stopped off at M&S for a picnic lunch on the way, and were sidetracked by the terribly interesting TK Maxx, home of many discounted clothes and accessories. We picked up a new carry-on case while we were there, as our various souvenir shopping bouts have maxed out our current bags!
Kew was pretty cold, but we managed to have our picnic lunch under the supervision of various seagulls who were desperate for our salad leftovers, before hightailing it into the gift shop to warm up and get (you guessed it) more pressies for people at home!
The rest of our gardens visit consisted of walking very briskly between the greenhouses to get into the warmth. The Princess of Wales Conservatory had about 10 different climactic areas with heaps of different plants – from cacti to ferns to carnivorous plants! The other greenhouse we spent time at was the Palm House, which as you’d expect, had LOTS of palms, plus a marine exhibit in the basement. It’s a pretty amazing building, not least because it was built over 150 years ago!
By the time afternoon tea time rolled around, it was getting dark and close to the time the park closed, so we hightailed it back to E’s car, accompanied by the sound of a helicopter doing laps of the sky above us. We weren’t sure if this was the Kew version of flicking the lights off and on again in a nightclub to get people to leave, or what. It certainly added to the urgency of finding an exit!
Then it was back on the tube to the hotel before taking a stroll up to Paddington Station to have sushi for dinner. The Yo Sushi place was just closing when we arrived, so their sushi was a bit dated. Nevertheless, it hit the spot, and we picked up fruit and yoghurt at M&S again for dessert. Kinda getting back to usual meal habits in preparation to heading home later this week…
Two Weeks Away 