Touring of London (Day 5)

(Shall be talking as if it were three days ago. I promise I'm still alive and on the face of the earth)

Things have defiantly been slowing down as the week comes to an end. It was very nice to take it easy and slow. I went to the London Zoo today. I got to walk through Regent's Park which is so pretty! Saw lots of people going for runs, taking dogs on their morning walks, feeding the birds, enjoying the nice sunny morning. When I was half way to the zoo, the wind suddenly blew very hard. My sunglasses kept coming off my head. When I got to the zoo, there were lots of students (seriously, what is up with me touring with students almost everywhere I go?) and families. it was still pretty early so I guess all the animals were still sleeping in. Except the monkeys. They were pretty energetic. I went to see the penguin show which was super cool. The penguins were doing all sorts of diving stunts in the water while others just lost their balance and fell in (so cute). Towards the beginning of the show it started to drizzle then pour down rain. Luckily I had an umbrella (learned to always be prepared with an umbrella. In England, no matter what, there's always at least a 50% chance of rain during the day). After the penguin show I went to see the African section. The giraffes kept walking around in a line like they were in a parade. I started copying their faces and one of them looked confused by me. Several times he attempted to lower his head to me but he kept bumping into a tree. Eventually he gave up.

After I walked around the zoo some more, I decided to head up to Royal Albert Hall. After a long stroll through Regent's park and going back down the street, I passed by a "It's Only Rock and Roll" store where they sell all kinds of merchandise of famous rock and roll bands. There was The Who, The Clash, Iron Maiden, Def Leopard, David Bowie, Madness, Green Day, Coldplay, and lots more. I was pretty tempted to get a Clash and Coldplay key-chain but decided not to. When I got out of the store, I noticed right across the street there was a Beatles store. London, why must you tempt me? As I continued down the street I saw the Sherlock Holmes Museum. That explained the long line of people I saw since I walked out of the Rock and Roll store. Must be a pretty popular attraction to go see.

When I got to Royal Albert Hall, they told me that they were not doing any tours due to so many rehearsals and preparations to complete. Bummer. So I looked at the big memorials on both sides of the Hall. Gorgeous memorials. Then I went over to the Orangery (the cafe next to Kensington palace) and had afternoon tea with Juliette and the kids. I had a peppermint herbal tea and she got a wild berries herbal tea. We had four different sandwiches. One had boiled egg whites with some salt, pepper, butter, and I think a bit of basil. One had mixed egg yolks with diced egg white and thin slices of cucumber. Another one had smoked salmon, salted butter, and some spices. The last one had ham, spicy mustard, and a small bit of lettuce. On another plate there was a fruit scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream. SO DELICIOUS. Finally, the dessert plate (the best one of course). There was a pink cake cookie that reminded me of an oreo, a chocolate cover in almond shavings with coconut filling, a layered chocolate cake with cream cheese, chocolate cream, vanilla cake and topped with a piece of caramel chocolate, and a piece of shortbread. It was a wonderful late lunch.

I tried to go into Kensington palace afterwards but I had just missed the last admission at 5 (got there at 5:15 >.<). So I decided to head back since I was pretty tried from all the walking I did.

Till next time!