Wow, what an AWESOME trip we just had!! It’s hard to believe we’ve been half way across the globe and now we’re back home again!
It’s time to share!!
First, I’d like to say the trip was amazing. We booked our tour through Virgin Vacation tours (you can also book through Gate 1 Travel) Let me tell you, there is a lot of joy in doing tours – especially when you’re traveling with a group! We had 6 people in our group and going to England/Scotland on the tour made it possible for all of us to enjoy ourselves and not get bogged down with figuring out the details ourselves.
If you’re thinking tours are for wimps, well then I know you haven’t been on one before! There’s nothing wimpy about taking a tour – trust me you’re busy most of the time going here and there. You’ll come to enjoy the time on the bus traveling to the next destination as it gives you a much needed chance to rest!
Ok, here goes day 1 of our trip. We started in London and stayed at the Thistle Kensington Gardens hotel…which is, as you probably guessed, near Kensington Gardens right across the street from Hyde Park.
We were a bit fatigued from the traveling, but couldn’t possibly consider spending the afternoon in the hotel resting! So, we walked through Hyde Park towards the Victoria & Albert Museum.
As you can see, the afternoon weather was beautiful!
There is so much beauty to see in Hyde Park (not to mention great people watching). On our way to the museum, we passed the King Albert Memorial in all it’s glory. Yes, that’s 24 karat gold leaf covering the statue.
I love all the old stone buildings in London. We also passed the King Albert Hall on our way to the museum.
Later in our trip, our tour guide told us all the “greats” have played here including The Beatles, Tom Jones, Elvis, etc. We noticed, on the outside sign listing upcoming concerts, one of our new favorite artists Laura Marling is playing here soon. It would’ve been simply amazing to be able to see her play in this hall! The sound is supposed to be amazing.
Walking a little bit farther and we arrive at the Victoria & Albert’s Museum.
Now, please keep in mind that this walk was a bit longer than any of us knew we signed up for as we were already a bit tired and beginning to experience a bit of jet lag. Needless to say, I was starting to get a bit bleary-eyed looking through the exhibits. I’m a bit bummed about this now as I don’t feel I fully experienced all the museum had to offer. In any case, here are some of my favorite exhibits I took photographs of:
There was also a whole exhibit on fashion that was wonderful. There’s a part of me that truly loved this “Punk Lolita” style (brings back the 80’s and High School for me I guess).
Of course, Pops and Mimi couldn’t resist goofing off and trying on these Roman costumes:
There was a lot more to see, but honestly, we all started to feel very, very tired so it was time for our walk back.
We noticed this sign on the outside wall of the museum as we were leaving:
Awful to think about being in a city that’s being bombed during WWII!
We caught this view of the London Eye and the Shard on our walk back through the park.
Can you see them there off in the distance?
We got back to the hotel in time to meet up with our friends Greg and Dianna who were joining us on the trip and for our tour welcome meeting. Then it was off for a quick meal so we could get some rest for the fun to begin.
To see more of my photos from day 1, check out my Lita’s World Flickr page.
Hope everyone had a great week while I was away. Many more trip details and photos to come….
