Kimberly Emerson

DAY TWO

Out of my hotel at 11:30am.  I could blame this on jet lag, but I don’t get moving on your average Saturday until 11:00ish.  Actually, if I’m out by 11:00, I figure I’m doing well.  One of the perks to singlehood and “lack of kid”-dom.  Plenty of things about both statuses make me sad, so I feel no guilt in enjoying the odd plus sides.

Setting up some kind of itinerary for my day seemed like a good idea, so I picked the Victoria and Albert Museum, Harrod’s department store, and the Houses of Parliament.  It didn’t take long to figure out I was trying to fit too much into one day.  I also decided that instead of taking the Underground, I’d walk to my destination.  My hotel was located in Kensington, a lovely neighborhood (if a little pricey).  It reminds me of Westwood or Santa Monica here in Los Angeles.  Perhaps one of you all can let me know the equivalent in other cities – friendly, clean, where you hear many different languages spoken and see lots of people with cameras and maps.  It was more or less a straight line from my hotel to the Houses of Parliament, with the other two places conveniently located in between.

Figuring that I’d rather walk the longest part first, I went all the way out to Westminster, where the Houses of Parliament are located.  It turned out to be about three miles from my hotel.  Longer than I thought, but okay.  Traveling by myself was a learning experience, and some parts of it were a pain (being in the airport and having to tote all your things to the bathroom with you).  On the other hand, there is no one to say “I’m tired/that’s too far/I didn’t bring the right shoes” etc.  (Oh, wait – in New Orleans last year, I think that was me.  Oh, well.)  Don’t bring shoes to London that you can’t handle at least three miles in.  These people walk a lot.  They are learning to accommodate people with disabilities, although I think they still have a ways to go.  They don’t, however, accommodate laziness. En route to my destination, I walked past Buckingham Palace.  In my last post, I alluded to the fact that I have been to London before.  It’s been (gasp) twenty years since I last set foot on the Sceptered Isle, and this is how Buckingham Palace looked when I saw it:

Only I would come to London the year Buckingham Palace got its first makeover in twenty-five years.

Here’s how I found it in 2012:

  Hooray!  No scaffolding!

This year, London hosted the Olympics and the Queen celebrated her Diamond Jubilee (sixty years instead of seventy-five, because monarchs are special that way).  I couldn’t help thinking, Seriously?  You’ve lived here sixty years and you still haven’t done anything with the yard?  Of course, when this is across the street

and this is down the lane –

why would you bother, really?  So many beautiful park spaces in London, it’s almost overwhelming.  Los Angeles has Griffith Park, which is nice, but you’ll never run into it by accident.  Depending on the traffic, it might be hard to run into it on purpose.

A few blocks on, I stumbled across the Houses of Parliament, or so it felt.  Internationally recognizable things have a tendency to pop up around every corner here.  (To illustrate the point, that’s the London Eye in the background, and when you turn your back to the H. of P., you stare at Westminster Abbey.  London believes in packing a lot into a square mile.)  Security was tight at their nation’s seat of government, as evidenced by the large weapons held by a guard about every twelve feet.  (Sorry, forgot where I was – four metres.)  As part of the tour, you can go into the rooms where all that governing is done, but you may not sit down on any of the benches.  (This is better than the U.S. Capitol Building, where if memory serves they don’t let you go in that section.)  The largest section, Westminster Hall, was built in 1097.  Don’t worry, the roof is relatively new, having been commissioned in 1393.  An architectural marvel at the time, it manages to keep the rain off everyone without a single pillar in the hall.  Which begs the question, of course, of why we must have them in every McMansion here in the 21st century, but that’s a topic for another day.

As I walked along the streets of Westminster, echoes of the song, “I Want to Remember This,” from Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown kept floating through my head.  I really, really do.

Turning back towards my hotel, I thought about taking the Underground (or the Tube, as they call it) back.  However, it was such a nice day I decided against it, and headed back on the same route towards Harrod’s.  In a word, it’s big.

Really big.

I want that purple dress – and somewhere decent to wear it.

Give that store name a prize for truth in advertising.

The Victoria and Albert Museum was abandoned for another day.  It was time for dinner. I took the suggestion of the desk clerk from the previous night and went to Da Mario’s.  It’s a little Italian place, big on pizza.  Evidently Princess Diana used to get takeout there for herself and the boys.  As in most things, she had great taste.

Her picture is still all over the place here.  (Here being both the restaurant and the city.)  Many things around London make me think they like Kate, but they don’t worship her the way they did Diana.  (The attention to Pippa, for one.)  It gives me hope that Kate’s life will be more peaceful.  That devotion worked against Diana at least as often as it worked for her.

To bed, with tired legs and a very full stomach.  Order the pizza at Da Mario’s, but only if you have someone to share it with, or very strong will power.

Tomorrow: out of the city to see how the other half lives (or at least used to).

• Kimberly’s Can’t Miss Moment:

Da Mario’s – Bright, cheerful atmosphere, friendly staff, and of course, delicious food.  Save room for the tiramisu.  This will be difficult, but try.

Kimberly better hope no one buys her that lovely purple gown until she loses a few pounds.  Will power for pizza was something she forgot to pack.

Tags: Buckingham Palace, Da Mario's, Diamond Jubilee, Duchess of Cambridge, England, Harrod's, Houses of Parliament, London, Olympics, parks, Princess Diana, Westminster