05/09/09 6:08PM I am sitting near the Round pond right next to Kensington Palace in the Royal Hyde Park, located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. In other words, right across the street from my residence. There are large swans, ducks, and pigeons being fed by the public. Some even land on their shoulders to be closer to the food. Walking by Kensington Palace, There are hundreds of memorials to Diana after 12 years of her passing. It was quite moving, and funny at parts, making fun of Charles and hoping Camilla never becomes Queen. This was where Diana lived while she was the Princess of Wales. Also where Victoria was born and lived.
This afternoon, we went on a Coach Bus tour of Central London. The most interesting fact that I discovered on this tour, (and there were many) was that there is a City of London within the City of London. A square mile, marked by silver dragons with the shield of St. George, is the original Roman City based around the river Thames. It is now the Financial District of London, where 30,000 work during the week, but only 8,000 actually live within it's boundaries. They have their own Lord Mayor of London, who the Queen has to ask permission to enter at the Dragon on Fleet St. The rest of what we know as London, is actually The City of Westminster, where the Queen lives, just west of the City Border
Aren't we near to the Diana-death anniversary? Did you see the film, "Queen"?
ReplyDeleteAugust 31st, and it's 12 years now so 1997. I havent yet, but check my pictures. there is a picture scolding the Queen
ReplyDeleteYeah, that is a fun little bit of history right there. It dates back to the days when the City of London was a walled city and Westminster was where a lot of the nobles and the nobility lived. Southwark is also a separate locality, and the playhouses developed there because they were technically outside of the city boundaries and so they weren't under the jurisdiction of the conservative city magistrates.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you're looking for a really good Evensong, the one at the York Minster is absolutely amazing. Beautiful and people are really into it-- at least into it for British people!
Also, we found some interesting (often cheap) restaurants just off the Strand, if you walk away from the river like a block or so.