London and 14-Day Arctic Circle Crossing: Edinburgh Evening Stay Holland America Cruise: Day 3 Kensington Palace and Gardens, Shopping, London Symphony at the Barbican May 14, 2025

 We all had a solid night and got up at 8. It took a while before we pulled ourselves together and got out at 9:18.

We'd seen a place down on the corner yesterday that caught my eye because of the name- Zeit für Brot- Time for Bread in German. We'd looked in and thought it looked good.

  

We got there at 9:30 and found a wonderful array of pastries, breads, and sandwiches. It was really hard to choose. My daughter J and I settled on an array:  Kardamom Knopf, Schokoweck, and Chocolate Schnecke, while my husband K got a Bacon and Egg Brötchen. He also got a Long Back Coffee. J got a bottle of Passion Fruit Lemonade. I got a bottle of C-Vision, which was apple, carrot, orange, lemon, ginger, and turmeric). It came to $40.52, according to Capital One. (It is a cashless store.) It was all delicious.

The place seems to be new. They weren't on Trip Advisor yet and when I googled them, the first entry said they were opening soon. We were very happy they were open now.

We headed out at 9:55. At 10:01, we were waiting for the Northern Line to King's Cross from Angel. Three minutes later, we were onboard. The ride was only 2 minutes long. We got off and hustled to be waiting at 10:10 for the Circle to Edgware Road. We weren't onboard until 10:25. The ride was only 7 minutes. Then, we were off waiting for Circle to High Street Kensington. At 10:37, we were onboard and waiting for the train to restart, since we were at the end of its line.

At 19:41, we were moving. At 10:50, we were off and all there were were stairs. Up top, there was a very nice shopping arcade.

We walked down the street and among the shops were surprised to see a Whole Foods, a very American place. We also passed an actual phone booth that had a sign saying it was being preserved for future generations.

Soon, we crossed the street and saw this sign that looked really neat to me.

We turned into a park on the other side of the fence. It was Kensington Park and had the requisite map.

This part of the park was pleasant, with old trees and also newer ones like this Princess Tree.

We didn't go very far before we could see Kensington Palace. Unfortunately, the main facade was covered with tarp and scaffolding. That meant we couldn't get a good photo of it, although we did get shots of the side.

 

We went under the scaffolding in the front to get to tickets. I got K and me senior tickets for a total of Ł40. We all then went inside, where we cut through the gift shop and café to use the restrooms before starting to tour.

We picked up headphones and audio guides that proved to be super helpful. 

The next room led in different directions. We followed the suggested order and started with the King's State Apartments. The king in question was George II from the 1700's. These were the public rooms in which the king and Queen Charlotte entertained people.

There was an elevator, but the staircase was too grand to skip. It was difficult to photograph because it was so dark. The people painted on the walls were courtiers and such commenting on the people passing by. The audio guide let you focus on certain people so that you could learn about them.

  

The first room was the Presence Chamber, although, strictly speaking, the king usually wasn't present. Oh, his throne was here, but not him. When he was off in Europe, you might run into the queen on that throne, though.

 

Next up was the Privy Chamber and the queen did most of the decorating here. She hung portraits of previous kings and queens, such as Charles I and Mary, Princess of Orange, to say that her husband rightfully belonged here. She put up busts of people like Darwin to emphasize that she and the king were English. Never mind that they were in Germany, when his father died and they had to rush back to claim the throne. George I always spoke German, but George II and Charlotte made English the language of the court, because they were English, doggone it!

 

The next room was the Cupola Room with its fantastic trompe l'oeil ceiling that made you think it was    3-D rather than flat. In the center of the room was a standing clock, whose faces were to suggest ancient civilizations of Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome.

   

In many of the rooms, there were white clothes made in the style of the period. Without color, you could really focus on the silhouette and design.

 

The next room was the King's Drawing Room. Here, the king and his guests played games. Some of these, such as the Game of Court were put out on tables for visitors to try. The audio guide also let us in on the king getting furious when the queen removed a painting that he loved and she hated while he was away. He ranted and raved at her for days, even though they loved each other dearly.

 

A narrow room next door was called the Queen's Closet. It was not for clothes, but rather for some of her extensive art collection. She'd bring special guests here to show off. Now, there is a lovely portrait of Caroline of Ansbach, aka Queen Caroline.

The Council Chamber now displayed a Court Suit and a Court Gown.

As usual in the grand houses we've seen in England, there was a long gallery, the King's Gallery. Here, he would display his favorite paintings. The ceiling sported depictions of the life of Ulysses. Over the fireplace was an unusual piece, a wind dial. You'll note that Great Britain is painted rather larger than it actually is. The contraption is connected to one on the roof and, when it is working, you can tell which way the wind is blowing.

  

I agreed to go back to the ground floor via the lift. Downstairs, we went across the room to go to the Queen's State Apartments. The hallway had benches with pillows. These pillows had the faces of various monarchs and Princess Diana, Prince William, and Princess Katherine stitched on them. They were quite good.

A slight detour took us upstairs to a photographic portrait of Diana by Mario Testino. 

The stairs to the Queen's State Apartments were seriously plainer than the King's. The queen in question was Queen Mary II, better known as the Mary in William and Mary. They were the first royal owners of the palace, having bought the house that had been here in 1688 to give William a chance to deal with his chronic asthma in the "country". Sir Christopher Wren added to the place to make it more regal.

At the top of the stairs was a needlework of the Stewart family tree. In studying it, you could tell Mary's claim to the throne when her father King James II turned out to be too Catholic for the English.

 

The first room was the Queen's Gallery. Here, she displayed her extensive collection of porcelain as well as Japanese chests. She and her ladies in waiting stitched, while her pugs played and pooped as if it were a yard. For once, the ceiling was rather plain.

  

The room also sported portraits of the king and queen. William and Mary were quite devoted to each other. Four years after they were offered the joint throne, at age thirty-two, Mary found a rash on her arm- small pox. William was so distraught, that he slept on a camp cot in her room to be near her.  Eight years after her death from the disease, William died. His servants found that Mary's ring had been turned into a locket containing a piece of her hair and was hanging on a black ribbon around his neck. Rather sweet.

 

The Queen's Closet, a small room to retire to, is actually more closely associated with Mary's sister Anne. Here, she had a terrible argument in 1711 with her dear friend Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough, about whom we'd learned a lot last year at Blenheim Palace. The Duke and Duchess were both dismissed from court and stripped of their high ranking positions. That's Queen Anne in the portrait over the Japanese cabinet.

The King and Queen- and Anne- usually ate in this small dining room. Evidently, Anne spent a lot of time complaining that she needed more money.

The desk in the Queen's Drawing Room is really lovely. In the woodwork at the crown molding, W and M are shown intertwined quite often.

The Queen's Bedroom was just for show. She slept elsewhere. It is believed that her and Anne's half-brother was born in this bed. His birth and planned Catholicism led to his father and mother fleeing with him and William and Mary being offered the joint monarchy.

There was an exhibit called Dress Codes that referred to the dress code at various times for visiting the palace. They showed uniforms and some clothes, especially ones Princess Diana had worn. Young designers between 14 and 17 were inspired by their own dress codes and the collection of clothes owned by the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection to put together the exhibition. 

Among the many clothes were this dress that Diana had worn and this dress that a young girl wore to Elizabeth's coronation and her family had treasured thereafter.

 

Queen Victoria was born in Kensington Palace and lived here until she became queen. They have restored rooms to look like they did when she was here.

The first room, though, showed off some of the royal jewels, including this gorgeous set designed by Victoria's beloved husband and first cousin, Prince Albert. They noted that she was more likely to wear a tiara around him, rather than a crown, to show herself as a wife.

I got very excited when I saw what I thought was a dollhouse of Kensington Palace. It wasn't quite that, but more of a model, with various rooms done up to look like her time here.

 

They did have a collection of her toys, including her dollhouse. And it was in a room with items that had been hers, including her writing desk that she received at the age of 4! I rather liked the inkwell figurine.

  

Victoria's father died when she was one, leaving her mother Victoire with a lot of debt. She had to sell her belongings to pay them off and later bought them back. She came to rely on Sir John Conroy. (Victoria swore he and her mother were not having an affair.) He soon was running things. These are the rules he came up with for Victoria's upbringing. Although when she was born, she was fifth in line to the throne, her mother always believed she would be queen one day and raised her to be one. Normally, the monarch trained the next one, but she was not the daughter of the king.

 

Victoria chafed under these rules as she got older and became quite unruly. A rather strict governess named Louise Lehzen was brought in and Victoria respected her. She took the princess to the theater often. As  a teenager, Victoria was often ill and upset because of the rules.

Victoria's mother wanted her to be accepted by the people as queen. Therefore, she sent her off on what were basically goodwill tours of the country. This is the collapsible bed that traveled with her and that she slept in nightly.

As Victoria's uncles, who had no legitimate children, died off, it became more and more clear that she would be the next ruler of Great Britain. In the meantime, King William IV ruled and was married to Queen Adelaide. Although William had a ridiculous number of illegitimate children before he married Adelaide, none of their children made it out of infancy.

He and Adelaide had married in a joint ceremony with Victoria's parents. Adelaide and Victoire got along well until, she criticized John Conroy. Victoire cut her off. Even though the king and queen liked Victoria, Victoire kept her away from them. More on this later.

  

And this is the hated John Conroy.

One of Victoria's teenage illnesses was not caused by strife with her mother and Conroy.

By the time she was 11, there was talk of whom Victoria would marry. Her mother's family wanted a German, since they were German, but the king wanted an alliance with the Netherlands. On her 17th birthday, her mother threw a grand ball for Victoria and invited at least 5 possible suitors. It was on this night that Victoria met Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. And, although he was not into partying like she was, she was smitten. Word has it he was, too. The little figures on top of these poles in the ballroom actually spin as if dancing.

Just beyond this room was the room in which Victoria was born. Her parents had been living in Germany, because they could not afford to live in England. With his wife 8-months pregnant, the duke drove them across Europe himself, in a bid to save money. His child had to be born in England so that no rumor could keep her from the throne. In England, there could be witnesses, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and many more.

The duke was actually in the room, when Victoria was born, because childbirth was so dangerous then and he was worried about his wife. Germany's first female gynecologist Charlotte Heidenreich von Siebold had traveled to London with the duchess and both she and a local doctor handled the birth.

Victoria was not the only one, who did not like the way things were handled by her mother. When he became king in 1830, Victoria's mother refused to allow an inconsolable Victoria to attend the coronation of King William. At his birthday party in August, 1836, a very ill King William stood up and blasted her mother in front of everyone: "I trust to God that my life may be spared for nine months longer ... I should then have the satisfaction of leaving the exercise of the Royal authority to the personal authority of that young lady, heiress presumptive to the Crown, and not in the hands of a person now near me, who is surrounded by evil advisers and is herself incompetent to act with propriety in the situation in which she would be placed." The person near him, was, of course, Duchess Victoire.

 William made it to the month after Victoria turned 18, thus thwarting her mother and Conroy. Around dawn on June 20, 1837, the Lord Chamberlain and the Archbishop of Canterbury came banging on the door of the palace with the news that Victoria was now queen. Later that morning, she held her first Privy Council in this room and it was commemorated in this sculpture and painting. In both, she is depicted in a light color to depict her youth rather than the mourning black she was actually wearing that day.

 

Victoria moved to Buckingham Palace, which was not yet finished, so anxious was she for a new start. She dismissed Conroy and banished her mother to the other side of the palace. She appointed Lehzen as her Lady Attendant, which shows how highly she thought of her. A year later, huge crowds cheered along the route to Westminster Abbey, when she was crowned. She proposed to Albert (as she was queen, he couldn't propose to her) in October, 1839 and they married at the age of 20 (he was a month younger than her and delivered by the same German gynecologist!) in February, 1840.

Kensington actually has earliest surviving dress, which is from 1831-32. It's the "Blonde Dress" named for the color of the silk used in making the lace. The girl was seriously short.

We finished our tour at 1:50 and went back downstairs to turn in our our audio guides. Then, it was time for the shop.

We'd had a wonderful tea in Edinburgh last summer and J suggested we needed to do one here in London. There were many choices, but it was decided that while not the cheapest, tea here would be the most convenient. At 2:15, we went outside via the café and headed for the Orangery, which was built in the English Baroque style for Queen Anne in 1704-5.

 

Of course, we did not have a reservation and they were full. They asked if we would be willing to sit outside. It was rather warm out there and we said it would be ok, if there were shade. (We'd seen umbrellas as we walked in.) It turned out those were only on tables for two. So, we put on hats and sat outside.

 After talking with the waitress, we decided to order just one Afternoon Tea, since we'd each have our own pot of tea. She noted that we could order more afterwards, if we needed to. So, K ordered his favorite, Earl Grey, while J got hers, roibus. I was happy to see vanilla chai, even if it was hot. While we waited, she brought us water and ice.

 

The food was delicious! J is best at cutting into thirds and handled that as necessary. We gave K the trout. I tried to improve my tea (very hot) with cream and several lumps of brown sugar, before I hit on dropping in a bit of ice. So much better, that I put some in the pot itself.

  

It was not enough food. It was too late to order lunch food, so we got another plate of sandwiches and a plate of 4 scones. The total was Ł122.40, but we figured it was our main meal. The sun got progressively hotter. We finished at 3:37.

I wanted to see the Sunken Garden. So, we turned back to the palace. From this vantage point, we could see the entrance on the side that led to Queen Mary's Apartments.

It turned out you can't actually access the Sunken Garden. You can walk around two sides of it that are under an arbor. Nice leaf-encircled "windows" looked out onto the garden. I thought it very sweet of William and Harry to get the statue made for their mum. It wasn't until we were to the side of it, though, that we could see that their were three children as part of it.

When we got up to the end of the walk along the side, we discovered that it was a dead end. In fact, there were no stairs down to the main part of Kensington Park. So, we had to go all the way back to the path down to the café to get out there.

Out in the park, with its back to the shrouded front of Kensington, was a huge statue of a seated 18-year-old Victoria at her coronation. It was sculpted by her daughter Princess Louise. The photo would have been so much better without that shrouding, but that has happened to us before.

We went out of the park the opposite side of what we'd come in. We passed a large pond that was across from Victoria, an ice cream stand, etc. Plenty of people were out and about. We had to watch out for bicycles.

When we exited, we went to Queensway Station, which we reached at 3:56. At 4:01, we were on Circle to Oxford Circus. We were off at 4:08 and made our way upstairs to Regent Street. The first thing we saw was an Ikea across the street. We'd seen ads for it and had wondered how they fit it into the city street. We saw nowhere to park and I suggested that there was a delivery service.

We went down Regent Street toward Piccadilly Circus. Oh, "circus" here and at Oxford Circus refers to a large circular open space at a road junction.

The cool thing about Regent Street is how it curves. The facades of the joined buildings make a smooth curve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were in the area to shop. J had a couple of stores she wanted to visit and I'd found out that there was a Lindt store. I wasn't interested in their chocolates, but rather whether or not they had the wonderful dark chocolate cream I'd found in Germany. We went there first. There were male greeters who could well have been guards. It took me no time to find the product. I grabbed 2 jars, but probably should have gotten 3. They were not cheap, but I will enjoy it on my bagels.

The next stop was the venerable Fortnum & Mason, which was established in 1707. They specialize in gourmet groceries, teas, and preserves. They have everything you could possibly need for a hamper, aka picnic basket. J was interested in their tea. We bought some items as gifts. It also had restrooms upstairs. The lifts were taking a while and stairs became necessary in at least one direction.

 

Our next stop was Hatchards, London's oldest bookshop, which was established in 1797.  Of course, books were purchased.

As we made our way to Piccadilly Station, I got this photo of the Circus.

We caught the Piccadilly line to King's Cross at 5:28. We got off at 5:45. At 5:53, we were on the Northern Line to Euston. We were off at 5:58 and three minutes later, we were on the Northern Southbound to Angel. At 6:05, we were off. It really was a good thing J had this all figured out. It saved our standing around.

We were in the room at 6:16 to dump our stuff and make a quick change. We did not have time for the tube now. J used an app and summoned a taxi. We were outside waiting for it at 6:31. It arrived at 6:40. Since she'd prepaid it, we just simply got out at 6:53 at the Barbican.

K had bought tickets at home, and although an email had said they would should up in an email, they did not. So, we had to stop at the desk outside of the shop and have them printed. Then, we hurried off to the correct door. 

There was quite a line and as they kept announcing that the concert was about to start, it became clear that the crowd could not be processed by the 7 pm start.

We managed to be in our seats at 6:59 for the London Symphony Orchestra and the London debut of Gustavo Dudamel conducting the orchestra. They'd just returned from a tour together. So, they obviously understood one another.
 

  

At intermission, I headed off for the restroom. Unfortunately, there was no lift and I had a lot of stairs to go down. Coming back up, I noticed the brutalist nature of the architecture. The place seems to be a school or something, with lots of people at tables with laptops.

 The really excellent concert was finished at 8:55. We decided that there were so many people heading out that we felt safe heading for the tube. We reached the Barbican Station at 9:09 and waited for the Hammersmith to Moorgate. We were on at 9:10 and off 1 minute later. Here we could take the Northern line to Angel directly at 9:15. It was only a 3 minute trip. Although I was a bit leery about the walk uphill, we reached the hotel at 9:28 with no incident.

In the lobby, we went to the snack area, where we got a Bulmer's for me for Ł6.29 to take upstairs. It was quite a spray, when K opened it down there.

My phone logged 14,986 setps for 5.6 miles  and 12 floors climbed.