huskermamo

Yes, you're right the AAA motor club folks.
Kensington Palace was AMAZING! They have cleverly blocked any view of the construction for Will and Kate, but the renovations on the tourist area is complete. I think the most gorgeous display I have ever viewed in any museum or tourist attraction was the area devoted to Queen Victoria's childhood and falling in love with Albert. If you love understated, GORGEOUS displays, don't miss it. The different apartment rooms had quotes from Queen Victoria as a girl and as she grew older and they were subtly inscribed on a representative carpet where she crawled as a baby, on walls by displayed items, on lit pull out surfaces by jewelry. You had to actively participate in learning there because the quotes were golden and you had to adjust your vantage point to read them all. Quotes tucked here and there. It was quite simply a brilliant (I love how the Brits use that word more widely than we do in the States.) and innovative way to show items to the public. There is a huge "sculpture" when you enter the doors to the palace, and you'll have to decide if you like it or not. But we loved Queen Victoria's room and the small, temporary space given Diana. The hall to this area is wallpapered with watercolor paper, depicting, quite honestly a less than rosy life that Diana lived there. Very interesting.

Then the "afternoon tea" was one of the highlights of our trip. There was some type of tree or bush that was surrounding us as we ate and drank that sent a scent wafting around us that made the experience even more magical. And to see small children playing on the amazingly manicured grounds made me wonder if Diana would be happy that the public was having such a nice time on the grounds that she borrowed from the public for a short time, raising her children.

As we looked over a tall wall there by us, we understand that there were cottages over there where Will and Kate stayed recently and would have loved to have known more. Do any of you know about those structures? We assume that some of the cottages are for the employees, but we weren't sure.

At the Royal Mews we were fascinated to see flats on the second floor of the courtyard where grooms and their families lived. Our wonderful American tour guide helped us understand that many of jobs held in connection with serving the royals were those coveted by future generations of that family member and that oftentimes several generations would hold the same job within the royal service. That gave us an interesting perspective that hadn't occurred to us before. Once again, blowing us away at how young the States are in comparison to how old the UK is. The juxtapositions of old next to new fascinated us time after time.

TDudette

Nice report, huskermamo, thank you. Diana was alive when we visited London in the 1990s and I don't believe there were teas then--another reason to go again. Our hotel was across from the Royal Mews and we too enjoyed peeking at the activities there.

Agree with you about the perspective shifting for we American "youngsters". It's just another thing that makes traveling so broadening.

stokebailey

I think the fragrant hedges near Orangery at Kensington are boxwood. The really tall ones just across the yard from the patio?

What was it about the watercolor paper that seemed unrosy? Or am I misunderstanding? I don't think I'd tour that palace, but when we walked around the grounds several years after Diana's death and eavesdropped on other groups, everyone there seemed to have assigned the culprit role either to Charles or to her. Theirs was one of the interesting stories of our time, bless em both.

latedaytraveler

Huskermammo, thank you for your detailed description of Kensington Palace – very interesting….

Micheline

Did the price of tea at the Orangerie include visiting Kensington? I am going for 6 weeks in September-October and want to do tea somewhere. Your report is great.

stokebailey

It's not a lavish (or expensive) tea at the Orangery. You order what you want rather than have them bring it in waves. We prefered to sit inside and enjoy the beautiful room.

Don't know whether it's included with Palace but I'd sorta doubt it.

janisj

"<i>Did the price of tea at the Orangerie include visiting Kensington? </i>"

The Orangery is a stand-alone/public restaurant set in the grounds - it isn't inside the Palace and entrance to one doesn't have anything to do w/ the other.

carolyn

This is sort of my theme song, but try one of the Richoux Tea Shops for afternoon tea that is traditional in nature but not as expensive as the posh hotels.

Tea in Harrod's Georgian Room is lovely, too.

dorfan2

"As we looked over a tall wall there by us, we understand that there were cottages over there where Will and Kate stayed recently and would have loved to have known more. Do any of you know about those structures? We assume that some of the cottages are for the employees, but we weren't sure."

Here's a link to a photo map that shows the location of their present Kensington Palace grounds apartment (marked 1-named Nottingham Cottage, I believe) and their future, larger home (formerly Princess Margaret's home). After their move, Prince Harry will then move to the small apartment (or so I read).


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...e-grounds.html

annw

Thanks for the report. We are going second half of August and will take your observations into account!

huskermamo

stokebailey-the wallpaper generally showed her face in a somber, sad tone. (I have a photo. WIsh I could upload it here.)Then on the watercolor of her in her wedding dress, it had, right by it, a lamb, we assumed to represent her proposed quote, "I felt like a lamb going to slaughter." While we naively assumed that Kensington Palace was mainly about Diana, we learned that like everything in London, that it's SO multifaceted, and found ourselves loving to learn about former royals and took a particular interest in Queen Victoria. Boxwood? Yes, that could have been what it was but I didn't know they were fragrant. I saw no blooms anywhere so it must be coming from greenery. Whatever, it was lovely.
Micheline-No, there are separate fees to tour Kensington Palace and to eat at the Orangery. And I should also add that our 18.95 pounds was the LEAST expensive afternoon tea that you could order. However there were a la carte items that would have been less. We pondered what to do and then correctly realized that, "We're her once, we need to order afternoon tea." And we're happy we did. I would base your tea decision on the weather. While the Orangery has indoor seating, we ADORED sitting outside in those amazing gardens. If it's a nice day, go there!
Carolyn-We had a voucher for Windsor Castle which also included buffet at Harrods. Glory be! THAT was quite the experience. Five star food and service. THAT's a once-in-a-lifetime experience as well!
dorfan2-I am going to go to your link that you so kindly provided the minute I finish this post. BLESS you for pacifying our curiosity.
And for you all....as they say in London, "Safe Journey."