Off to the Left Luggage at King's Cross Station and onto a train to Knightsbridge. We arrive at Harrods. Founded in 1824, Harrods had the first "moving staircase" (escalators) in England installed in 1898. Sold in 2010 for 1.5 billion British Pounds the shop is now owned by Qatar Holdings. Not just a shop but and an experience we were told. Well it certainly has everything and the food hall is amazing. The memorial to Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana is still there. Touching or tacky I can't really decide.
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| Kew Gardens |
On to Kew Garden. Very extensive grounds so we hop onto the road train for a ride around the gardens. The driver of the train travels regularly to Australia. Oh did I mention, that everywhere we go in London we run into Aussies working there.
Next stop Buckingham Palace. Around at the back gate we join the group tour. After a security check to see if your face matches your passport picture.. a bit like trying to recognise someone from their RTA Driver's Licence I would think :). Inside we are greeted by a guide and led through lavishly decorated rooms where the Queen greets and entertains her visitors. No, she wasn't there to meet us, probably too busy having a fitting for her wedding outfit :). Finally back in the Lobby we are handed a glass of Champagne and taken out through the main gates at the front. No pictures allowed. Well worth the visit.
Trivia: Buckingham Palace has 800 rooms, 260 of which are bedrooms.
Marble Arch once stood as the entrance to the Palace but was moved to its present location near Hyde Park London. The location was once used for hangings and they wanted to improve the image of the area.
Next: York, a walled city in North Yorkshire.
Why do they call a building a building when it's already built?
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