The *AP Report: London--Day Two

Day Two in London...a very full day! (The pictures are not in order of our day, as you'll see "morning" in Hyde Park at the end!)

Fortnum and Mason is a huge, famous department store in London. (I think it was London's first department store.) When we think "department store" in America, we think of going to the mall, but Europe's high-end department stores are an entirely different story! On the top floor of Fortnum and Mason is a beautiful restaurant, where we had "high afternoon tea." We were kind of going just to say we did it, but we actually loved it!

Everything was served on beautiful china...just fantastic! I wish we did this in America; it was so relaxing!

Outside Harrod's...the famous department store! Seriously, this place was so incredibly massive! We both really wanted to see it, but we saw and left...so expensive! We did get an adorable "Harrod's" teddy bear for Payton, though!

The children's section in Harrod's was incredible. This dollhouse was quite impressive, so we snatched a quick picture. It is modeled after an estate in London. I can't imagine actually playing with it...almost too pretty!

Westminster Abbey is just beautiful. The architecture is amazing.

Outside the entrance, over the doors, this carving represents the 12 apostles.

An incredible number of famous people are buried in Westminster, including some famous musicians (George Frederich Handel for one!), and many literary figures, including Charles Dickens. It is also the burial place of most of the monarchs. We grabbed just a few pictures. This one is a musician that isn't terribly famous for his own music, but he was responsible for bringing Haydn to England, which is very impressive.

David Lloyd George was a Prime Minister of England. This was particularly interesting to me, since I give private piano/voice lessons to his great-grandchildren!

The courtyard at Westminster Abbey was just stunning. So hard to capture in pictures.

Top of the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral

Main doors to St. Paul's Cathedral. This is where Charles and Diana were married!

Samson, here, just wasn't quite strong enough!

Even after being married for five years, I still kinda like this guy... :)

Outside St. Paul's Cathedral

Royal Albert Hall was constructed by Queen Victoria in memory of her husband, Prince Albert. It is a very famous music site, as many important musical programs have taken place here.

Pond at Hyde Park

Hyde Park in the morning...it was just beautiful there! It is kind of like Central Park in New York City, but I think it is much prettier. Even in the winter, the grass stays this green because it is so well taken care of.

Pavilios area outside Kensington Palace...one of my favorite places!

Old guard gate outside Kensington Palace

Gilded gates outside Kensington Palace. If you followed any of the Princess Diana tragedy, this is where the flowers and memorials were stacked 5 feet high all along the fence, after her death.

Back of Kensington Palace

Again, we couldn't take pictures inside, but it was very interesting. Queen Victoria was the last monarch to live here, as Buckingham Palace became the official Royal Residence during her reign. It was absolutely beautiful. We only saw the Queen Victoria apartments. The rest of Kensington is still the residence of some of the royal family, including some of the Queen's first cousins. Princess Diana also lived here until her death. It looks small from the pictures, but it is absolutely massive!