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Day 6: April 21, 2022
We had a really busy day today!
We left the hotel earlier than usual to make our entry time at Kensington Palace, now the London home of Prince William, Kate and their children, as well as some of the Queen's cousins. Previous residents include Princess Margaret (the Queen's sister), Prince Charles and Princess Diana during their marriage (and Diana stayed after their divorce), so it was the childhood home of Princes William and Harry. Queen Victoria also spent her childhood there.
Of course we didn't visit any apartments that are still lived in, but we saw magnificent rooms used by previous inhabitants, including a picture gallery, and an exhibition of photos of the Queen's life to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee this year (70th year of her reign). We spent some time in the gift shop, and then walked round the sunken garden, where Princess Diana liked to sit.
Then came the highlight of the day (of the tour?) - afternoon tea in the Pavilion Cafe of the palace. Due to re-scheduling we had this at 11.30, but it was no less magnificent for that! We had tea in beautiful palace china (which we later found is sold by the Palace shop for £55 ($70) for one cup and saucer!). Then came lovely cake stands of little sandwiches (no crusts), cakes and scones with jam and clotted cream. We were treated like royalty and it felt very special.
We then left Kensington Palace and took the tube to Westminster to join our boat for a cruise to Greenwich. We had a very amusing guide on the boat, who gave us a personalised commentary, including lots of anecdotes, rather than the official recorded one. The journey down the river to Greenwich took a bit longer than normal, as the River Thames is tidal, and there was a strong incoming tide pushing against us. When we arrived in Greenwich we had a walk through the old buildings there, then the group had free time to visit the other historic buildings if they wished, and the town, with its market. Some of us walked up the hill to see the view from the Observatory, and to stand over the Greenwich meridian, from which Greeenwich Mean Time is measured.
We left Greenwich a couple of hours later, and took the Docklands Light Railway (one of the newer parts of the London transport network) back into the City, where we were eating tonight. We had a bit of drama leaving the tube station, as there were emergency announcements, and everyone was evacuated from the station. Lots of fire engines and police arrived, but we later found out it was a false alarm, as a fire alarm had gone off in error. It's reassuring to know they can evacuate everyone quickly and safely when they have to, although many office workers had their journey home disrupted!
We had a Pie and Mash dinner, and then walked on to the Millenium Bridge (a foot bridge featured in the Harry Potter films, where the Dementors swept into London!). There was a cold wind tonight though, so we took some quick photos, then hurried back into the warmth of the Tube to go back to the hotel!