A very busy and adventurous day.

I have loads to talk about and tons of pictures to show, so let's get things started! Also, prepare yourself for fun facts. I went a little Wikipedia crazy.

I didn't have class today until 2pm so I thought I would go on a little adventure. Some of my usual travelling buddies had class this morning so I was on my own. I didn't want to go too far because I am paranoid that I'm going to be late for class or get lost. A few days ago, Jill and I went on a walk to Kensington Palace Gardens, which is just a couple blocks away. It's connected to about 3 other parks so it's just massive. As we were leaving we saw a sign for "Peter Pan". We tried to find it but some how got on to the wrong path and headed back. Today, that was my mission. I planned to go to Kensington Gardens and just walk until I found Peter Pan. I knew the general area from looking at maps but otherwise I had no real plan. I woke up this morning, took my time getting ready and then headed out at 9:50. It was beautiful out today. It wasn't too cold, the sun was shining and the green was definitely good to see. I didn't realized how much I love big open spaces and trees until now. My first stop was the Albert Memorial. I've seen it before but it was raining and i didn't see the front. Seeing it as the sun is rising is absolutely astounding. It's beautiful. It was commissioned by Queen Victoria after her husband, Albert, died in 1861.

The Albert Memorial.

A closer look at Albert.

Across the street from the park is Royal Albert Hall. It's one of the attractions that is listed in the Haunted London book Portia got me for my birthday. According to the book several ghosts haunt the building.

Royal Albert Hall.

Then, I walked along Long Water part of The Serpentine. That is a man made lake that splits Kensington Gardens from Hyde Park.  Don't let the picture fool you, it was very bright out.

The Serpentine and the Serpentine Bridge.

After a few minutes of walking I found Peter Pan! It looks a bit small in the pictures I took but it's fairly tall. The detail is really cool and there are characters all around the statue. After a bit of research, I found that in the original novels and play, Kensington Garden is very important. Peter Pan has adventures there before going to Neverland and the author, J.M. Barrie, met the Llewellyn Davies family (who peter pan is inspired by) in the park.

The Peter Pan statue.

Some fairies talking to a squirrel on the back of the statue.

Peter Pan.

Some fairies at the base of the statue.

The base of the statue.

At the top of the Long Waters is the Italian Gardens. The picture is a bit dark but they are absolutely beautiful. The gardens are a set of 4 fountains that were constructed in 1860.

The Italian Gardens.

I headed west toward Kensington Palace and found this monument. It's dedicated to John Hanning Speke. He discovered Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile.

Speke Memorial.

Eventually, I found Round Pond. You can see clear across to the Palace so, I tried to take a picture. As I was looking at my phone and pressing the button, a pigeon took off and started to fly directly at me. I am not a huge fan of birds so this was rather frightening. Luckily, it missed me and went about its business while I took a much better picture.

The Pigeon from Hell.

Kensington Palace.

I walked around Round Pond and explored outside and around the palace.

Statue of Queen Victoria.

Queen Victoria and Kensington Palace.

A statue outside of the palace. I think he looks like a pirate.

Gates outside of the palace. All of the palace gates are breathtaking.

A panorama of the garden in front of the palace.

A side view of the garden with the Orangery in the background.

The back of the Victoria statue from inside the garden.

A rather daring squirrel on a bench by the Orangery.

The Wiggly Walk. The picture doesn't do it justice.

The public entrance of the palace.

After exploring the gardens, I decided to run to Tesco and get some lunch. I grabbed a sandwich, some crisps and a drink and headed back to Metrogate. The only catch was, in true London fashion, as soon as I stepped outside it started pouring. The beautiful day I was having turned grey within a matter of 4 minutes. I hurried back and sat down to eat. And, wouldn't you know it, the skies cleared to a lovely blue. 

I would just like to take this time to bring up a slight problem I'm having with London. You would think that with the amount of rain this country gets, they would have found the best pavement to use so people would not slip and fall. On the contrary actually, cobblestone makes up most of the streets here. And today I learned that cobblestones and converse are not the best of friends. Luckily, I did not fall but there were some pretty close calls and I nearly broke my ankle accidentally stepping off the sidewalk onto the road.

After class, Jill and I decided to make a quick run to Primark. Primark is a store that sells clothes and things for incredibly low prices. We only needed a couple things so it wasn't going to take us very long. We left Metrogate and headed to the bus stop. We knew the bus we needed to take (number 10) but didn't know where we needed to get off. Caitlin had given us a little direction but told us we would just know it when we got there. We walked passed the bus stop but needed to get to the other side of the street and there was no easy way to cross. As we tried to find a crosswalk, 2 number 10 buses drove right by. We stood in the cold for a bit and waited until 4 different buses all drove up. Now, I feel it's important to note that buses here will not stop unless you flag them down. The buses created a bit of a line while people got on but the number 10 bus drove around and, as we tried to flag him down, kept driving. We stood and waited for another bus for, what felt like, an eternity. Several other buses drove by but no 10. Finally, our bus arrived and we got on. Now was the tricky part, trying to figure out when to get off. We looked up Primark on my phone and found the general area and decided to get off near a tube station, just in case we got lost. We got off the bus and tried to figure out where we were. It had gotten very dark and traffic was hectic so the whole experience was very overwhelming. After fighting with Google maps as to where we were, and being unable to find Primark, we decided to call it a night and take the tube home. We only had to go 2 stops and we knew exactly what we were doing. We approached the first stop and decided to take a detour and get some cookies, because we needed them. We stopped at Ben's Cookies which is right outside the tube station. It was a tiny place, Jill and I could barely both fit in it. As I was paying, Jill stepped outside. The plan was to take a bus (number 49, much more reliable) back to Metrogate because it would drop us off right at the end of our road. But, as I went to leave the cookie shop, the skies opened and it started pouring. (Again. This is becoming a pattern) So we got back on the tube and hoped the rain would stop. Luckily, it did. When we got off at our stop, Gloucester Road, it had stopped raining and we walked back home. 

Now that I'm home, I'm eating dinner and going to bed. Today was definitely an adventure. Tomorrow we are going to the Tower of London and I am soooo excited. Well, I'm off to do some homework and sleep! Goodnight everyone!!

JessLynn