Kensington Gardens

Our Bed & Breakfast in Hammersmith was within a short bus or underground ride to everything that was on our must-see-in-London list.  That first day we arrived at Heathrow, we checked into the B&B to drop off our suitcases, get the key, and go out exploring--- rather than sleep, which we really wanted to do after getting off of that plane. So many people coughing and sneezing on that flight, we're lucky we didn't both get sick.

We went to Kensington Gardens, but knew we were too tired from the long flight to walk the entire Gardens, so we didn't pay to get into the Botanical area..... we walked instead around Kensington Palace, walked into the Palace to get some information (only a couple of rooms open to the public, and those rooms not fully furnished) so we didn't pay the entrance fee for that.  We took pictures of the Palace, I bought beautiful postcards in the gift shop there, and we walked around part of the gardens around the Palace itself. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day..... families were out walking and bicycling with their children and their dogs, and it was such a happy atmosphere no matter where you looked.

Dogs are very much loved in England, and are allowed on the buses and the underground trains (they have to be on a leash, and if they're not well-behaved, the driver can ask them to "depart the transport.")  I talked to some of the dog owners, who were appalled that dogs are not allowed on "public transport" in the U.S.  One of the dog owners asked me "Well, whatever does one do if one can't bring the dog on a bus?"  When I said that the dog would be left at home, the look on that dog owner's face was pure disbelief and horror.

We had an early lunch at a small neighborhood pub that day... fresh salmon cakes with a fried egg on top of it, served on top of "wilted spinach," which was very good. Every neighborhood has at least two or three pubs, which are family cafes, really, and they all allow the family dogs to come and share the meals with their owners.

We went back to the B&B late that afternoon and took a much-needed nap..... then walked around the Hammersmith neighborhood again and found a tiny Chinese restaurant for dinner.  I kept looking up, up, up as we walked..... and the higher up you looked, the more beautiful the architecture of the homes..... all that decoration way up near the top of the roof....... and mostly everything you look at over there is hundreds of years old.  Built to last, that's for sure.

The double-decker buses were a treat for the eyes..... as the bus wound around the streets you could see all of the shops (very small ones, specialty shops) and then there are apartments over the stores.... and you just knew that those buildings had been there for at least a few hundred years.  Traffic goes very slowly in London, so there's plenty of time for sight-seeing...... too many cars and buses for fast driving, and it took us a while to get used to seeing everyone driving on the 'wrong side' of the road. We didn't rent a car there...... we took the underground or the buses..... didn't even splurge on a taxi because the public transportation was so easy for my husband to figure out.

Crossing the streets was an adventure.... you have to remember to look to your left, not to your right, because of the way the traffic is moving (on the wrong side of the road!)  There are plenty of cross-walks for that purpose, and it's best to use them, rather than trying to cross in the middle of the street.

I kept looking at all of those old buildings and homes, all the tiny shops......it was just hard to believe that after all the years of reading stories about England, and memoirs of British writers, that we were really in London.

And speaking of tiny shops..... we actually found "The Old Curiosity Shop," made famous by Charles Dickens....... it's still a shop... they sell very expensive European shoes now.... the shop has changed owners many times over the years.... it was teeny-tiny-tiny..... and it brought tears to my eyes, just seeing it there on that very narrow street in the middle of busy London.

My first cup of tea in Hammersmith, at The Grove (neighborhood cafe)................ it also brought tears to my eyes..... Twinings English Breakfast tea, with sugar and milk....... tasted just like the tea my grandmother used to make.  I took one sip of that tea and my eyes just puddled up with tears.