Day 11 - Back in London

Two more days left in London. So much yet to see. This city is huge and so busy. We picked up a two-day London pass and a travel card. The travel card gets you on to all the trains, tubes and buses. We walked through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Beautiful and the place to be on a weekend in the city. Since most people don't have backyards here, the park is their back yard. So it was filled with people! There's a lake with rowboats and paddle boats. There's even a swimming area. The gardens were beautiful! Everything grows here with minimal care. It's incredible. I pamper my plants with organic potting soil and fertilizer and they die, while a plant can grow and flower in the smallest crack in the concrete here in England. The English do love their gardens and it shows. After we walked through the parks, we went to Kensington Palace. it was the home of Princess Margaret until she died and also Princess Diana. It was very pretty, but not on the grand scale as some French palaces. Some interesting facts. Lord Snowdon, Princess Margaret's husband, loved going to garage sales. He actually bought some things for the palace from these sales. Both he and Margaret didn't spend too much on redecorating the palace. In fact, Lord Snowdon did some remodeling work of his own in order to save on costs! After our tour of the palace, we headed on the tube to the Westminister Pier to catch a ride on a catamaran cruise on the Thames River. It was nice and relaxing, and no steps! After the cruise, we came back to the hotel, relaxed in the lounge on the top floor (table on the balcony with nice view - we love the views!), then went off to find a place for dinner. We were looking for some place quiet since the noise of the city was with us all day. London's been a lot of fun, but we are looking forward to coming home and staying in one place for awhile.