Well, the day got off to a slow start. We were both tired from the previous day’s climbs and wanted to take on a slower pace. So we didn’t leave until 10:00 am, and discovered much to our delight, how close the Victoria and Albert Museum was to our flat. It took us 5 minutes to walk over there. My first impression of the museum was that it’s so…pretty. If the British Museum and the National Gallery are the two older more serious siblings, then the V&A is the strutting, carefree, younger sister with a chic wardrobe. While I enjoyed the majestic, and highly academic atmosphere of the first two museums, 
I savored the V&A’s more intimate and luscious setting. I mean, who could resist a smile when greeted by a bright, twirly chandelier in cheerful colors?
My elation was slightly dampened by the fact that part of the British Galleries was closed (1500-1700 period). Despite many tempting offers by the V&A, we wisely decided to just focus on the British Galleries. The partial closing was also a blessing in disguise as we discovered how extensive the 1700-1900 period collection was. We entered a small, dark gallery. Such a contrast in experience from the previous two days of sightseeing. There’s no intimidation, pick-your-jaw-up-from-the-floor sense here, just an invitation to look, examine, and discuss. If I could imagine having a wealthy great-grand mother with a collection of antiques she wished to show me, that was the feeling I got. 
Amongst my favorites were the works of William Morris, the model for The Wellington Memorial at St. Paul’s (it was a bit surreal to see the miniature the day after), Mr. and Mrs. Garrick’s Fashionable Living exhibits, and the “Sleep of Sorrow, Dream of Joy…” sculpture by Raffaell Monti.
Afterwards, we just wandered around the museum, trying to go floor to floor by lifts as often as possible since our legs still felt like having climbed Mount Everest. We adored the gorgeous sculptures in the bright Dorothy and Michael Hintze Galleries. After lingering there for a while, we ordered a couple of lattes from the cafe and sat in the magnificent Gamble Room. There were couple of local families, sitting nearby having some lunch. It seemed that most of them were bringing their children to the Surreal Things exhibition. After coffee we strolled around the beautiful John Madejski Garden in the courtyard. 
I loved the rows of lemon trees lining the garden, they brought a cheerful touch to the place (not that the courtyard was gloomy). After checking out a few more exhibits, like the Northern Renaissance Europe, we left the V&A wishing we could have stayed longer. We barely scratched, no…more like tickled the surface there. But we enjoyed our pace and didn’t feel like we rushed things. Again, it was so convenient to have the museum right in our door step that we just came “home” for lunch. I was so tempted to take a nap, but alas a London vacation is unlike that of a lazy tropical paradise one where I could just waste the day sleeping on a hammock. 
Still, it’s hard to beat a place where I could visit Sir Isaac Newton’s tomb (yeah I know I’m a geek).
The mercurial London weather was upon us again as we stepped out into heavy rain and wind. We were determined to go to Kensington Palace by bus, but got lost somehow. So there we were, I don’t remember which street, holding our umbrellas 45 degrees from the ground to repel the windy rain when suddenly we heard somebody yell, “$%#@!*Lovely English weather!!!” in a thick accent that sounded like Groundskeeper Willie’s. We looked behind us and saw a man struggling to put some construction materials into his van, soaking wet, looking pissed off but somehow had managed to retain his sense of humor. When we turned the corner we snuck under a canopy and just burst out laughing. That man just summed up in just a few (quite colorful) words how we felt about the weather that day and during most of our stay in London. A bit of a love-hate relationship if you will. It’s the perfect kind of weather for the lush greenery we enjoyed in parks and such, the slow steady supply of moisture and the way that the streets glistened when wet…but it’s gotta suck when you’re a construction worker trying to get your outdoor job done. The heavy rain didn’t last long, it was soon replaced by the constant light drizzle we both had become used to by then.
We finally found the right bus that dropped us off by the Kensington Palace. Our entrance included the audio tour guide so we thought we were off to a good start. Not so. The first half of the tour, which included the Princess Diana’s (photos, dresses, etc.) and Princess Margaret’s exhibits were mediocre at best. I thought they could have done a better job presenting the displays. Maybe they were in the middle of improving this part of the palace but we found some rooms that were near empty and looked run down. It only got better from there though. There were displays on the dressing rituals of the British upper class and royalty, very elegant yet complicated. The highlight for me was definitely the historical State Apartments. It’s neat being able to visit the place where Queen (then Princess) Victoria received news about her accession to the throne. I was most impressed by the King’s Grand Staircase (the inclusion of the King’s two Turkish Grooms of the Chamber in the huge mural was an unexpected touch), and the Cupola Room (loved the lavish decor and the clock). The story about King George II’s Fat Venus painting was most hilarious, nothing like a little royal domestic dispute to liven up an otherwise studious tour.
After the palace tour, we walked towards The Orangery to have afternoon tea. There was a short queue outside the building and we stood behind a couple of young mums with their strollers. They were very friendly and we chatted about the weather briefly. A couple of people jumped the queue before being redirected by the staff. I guess they didn’t realize how popular this place could be. We didn’t wait very long though, about 10 minutes or so. It’s such a nice and bright space, a bit more modern than I had expected. The husband was not very keen on tea at that time so he ordered coffee instead. I splurged and ordered champagne with my tea, plus the sandwiches and pastries which we shared. It was such a lovely experience, the food was delicious (the smoked salmon sandwich was my fave) and the people around us were interesting. There was a large family seated near us, speaking a different Spanish dialect (perhaps Castilian) than the Latin American one we’re used to. 
Two very posh-looking women sat in a table in front of us, and from their conversation I gathered that they probably lived in the area. The service was average at best, but we weren’t expecting anything more since it was a casual afternoon tea anyway. Overall I liked The Orangery and would definitely come back on our next visit.
Not long after we started strolling the gorgeous Kensington Palace Gardens we ran into an older gentleman who was sitting on one of the park benches, feeding the squirrels. He struck up a conversation with us and it quickly developed into an amiable chat. We found out that he was a World War II veteran. My partner, being an avid military history fan, was delighted with this chance encounter…asking him questions about certain battles, etc. I noticed tears in his eyes as he recounted the stories. We must have talked to him for almost half an hour before we finally said farewell. When we stood around the Round Pond, watching the various swans and ducks, 
we ran into a woman with a very friendly dog (Hungarian Vizsla). I happened to carry my cell phone with a few pictures of our dogs. Soon we struck up yet another conversation with a Londoner, and shared stories about our dogs’ hijinks. When we moved on we strolled around the park, before ending up at The Albert Memorial. We’d seen its miniature in the British Galleries earlier. It was such a magnificent structure. On each corner, there are statue sets representing Europe, America, Asia, and Africa. The figure of Prince Albert himself was gilded in gold leaf, along with part of the ornate canopy and surrounding gate. 
While admiring the memorial the husband turned to me and asked, “When I die, will you build something awesome like this for me?”, to which I replied, “Sure, as soon as the American people anoint me queen.”
We took a bus back to our flat, then freshened up to go to dinner at Roast Restaurant, located above the famous Borough Market. If Rules is a traditional British restaurant, Roast is definitely a much more modern eatery with the same dedication to British cuisine. The diners were decidedly younger, the atmosphere more casual. We were seated at a table with a view of St. Paul’s Cathedral, its grand dome lit up. We shared pressed rabbit with apple chutney for starters. Very delicate with a slight smoky flavor. For our mains I had Roast Suffolk Duck Breast and my partner ordered a Roast Norfolk Chicken, both were excellent. I was pleased to find that the restaurant carried British wines, and ordered a glass of rosé with my meal. The dessert we were sharing, chocolate pudding with rum and raisin ice cream was delicious, although I didn’t think the rum and raisin flavor came through at all since the chocolate pudding was so intense. It might as well had been vanilla. The service was average I’d say, we were brought a second pressed rabbit appetizer which we turned down since we only ordered one (generous portion by the way, sharing one was enough for us). The waiter was more absent than I’d like him to be, but he was very courteous. There were a couple of young guys, I’d say about our age, sitting in front of us talking about world politics. I felt sorry for one of them since the other dominated the conversation. Sitting next to us was a couple with their two very well-behaved teenage kids. The view below us allowed for more people watching. Feng Sushi seemed popular that night. We also had a nice view of people coming in and out of the Wine Wharf. I really liked the fact that the neighborhood was so different than the ones we’d been too…I think it’s gritty and trendy. It’s one of the many London characteristics I like, the diversity of the neighborhoods that make up the city as a whole.
