The sun was (un)kind enough to stream into my window at 4:37am. *yawn*. I was able to snooze till almost 6am when the urge for coffee became too great. Once coffee’d, what to do on a Sunday morning at 7am? Walk!  So I went to nearby Paddington Station for a croissant, then walked along the Regent Canal to Little Venice and beyond to Portobello Road Market. It appears 9am is too early for the market as it was mostly bare metal stands.

I walked down Portobello Road to Kensington Gardens and decided to see Kensington Palace as I’ve never been and it was right there.  The parts open to the public are divided into 3 audio tours: Queen’s State Apartment (Mary II, 1690’s), King’s State Apartments (George II, 1730’s), and Victoria’s Childhood (1820-30’s).  Fairly interesting but not a lot of “wow” factor as being State Rooms, unlike a private palace, there wasn’t a lot of furnishings as generally the rooms were full of courtiers bumping into one another trying to court royal favor.

The sun was blazing at noon when I emerged and I was roasting in my hiking clothes so I popped into a TJMaxx for a cheap linen dress that sort of matched my hiking runners.🙈  This fashion maven then hopped on a double-decker across town & across the Thames to Southwark Cathedral for a quick glimpse and to pick up a credential for my planned camino in August.

I strolled with the masses along the south bank of the river towards Tower Bridge.  I bused over and back west again to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery.  They’ve recently revamped their display, perhaps a more cohesive flow now? Some favorites…..

There was a free symphony concert happening when I left the gallery at 5:30pm and all steps, seats, and grass were occupied by listening fans.  I sat for a time but it’d been a long day and I was eager to get back to my room.