Day 3 - London City

We awake early before 5am and sip coffee before our morning showers. A quick catch-up with news on BBC where there is lots of footage of Diana, Princess of Wales, because it is the 20th Anniversary of her tragic death. Hard to imagine it is 20 years ago.
We enjoy our included breakfast and the gluten-free bread they provide is really delicious - a hand-made loaf. We choose a table near the window and look out at the view of Princes Square, the beautiful buildings opposite which mirror our own side at Bayswater Inn and the lovely green garden in the 'square'.
We set out to find our nearest Tube station which is Bayswater, a cute little old station with two flights of stairs leading down to the platforms. I approach a uniformed guy standing at the window to ask about how to buy an Oyster card. This is a cheaper option for using most transportation in London.
We take the Tube from Bayswater to Victoria, then we head off to Buckingham Palace on foot. We join the throngs of people to 'purchase' a ticket -a much more commonly used word in London ('Would you like to purchase a ticket?') to see the State Rooms of

Buckingham Palace. It is an awe-inspiring experience as we stroll from one grand room to another and listen to the taped commentary on our headphones. Plenty of employment at Buckingham Palace too for the Commoners, as we pass dozens of smartly uniformed young and older guides and security personnel. They are even standing at intervals along the garden paths, some of the women with their Harry Potter style long black capes with red trim, each with headphones connected for instant communication.
The State Rooms are very comfortably furnished and as Tony muses, 'I could live here'. We are comparing it with the palace rooms in Russia which are furnished so richly, yet lack warmth and appeal for living. The Buckingham Palace State rooms house collections of artworks depicting portraits of Royal Family members dating back hundreds of years, as well as exquisite furniture pieces. Some rooms display myriads of gifts given to the Queen from high-ranking people

in the Commonwealth countries and other countries she's visited. There is a custom-made woven hat from Tonga, amazing ceramics from China and a solid gold setting from Saudi Arabia of three languid camels dozing under palm trees. Outside is a gift from Australia to commemorate the British landing in Australia in 1788 - a magnificent coach with the Commonwealth Coat of Arms on the door, made with Australian hardwoods.
Tony and I admire the perfectly mown lawns where the royals host afternoon tea parties. We order and enjoy our coffee in the Garden Cafe but refrain from buying a 'royal' ice-cream on the garden walk.
The Buckingham Palace Gardens are exceptional, with ducks on the lake, a vast array of trees and plants, some wild grassy areas with wild flowers growing and some immaculately kept lawns. There is one delightful little squirrel playing with a chestnut under a tree. We are lucky that August and September are the months when these gardens are open to the public.

Later we lunch not far away at the Bag O' Nails, an interesting name and we wonder about its origins. We learn that many English pub names are centuries old, using pictorial signs when most customers were illiterate. The Bag of Nails name related to the ironmonger occupation in the town or village. Tony orders a beef pie and I have a steak.
I am fascinated by an old 1900's photograph of the Palace on the wall of the pub, taken from nearly the same spot where we were today on the garden walk, but no boats in sight for us.
After lunch, we walk to Kensington Gardens and though it is a weekday, we see crowds of people, families, couples, business people during their lunch breaks, relaxing on the grass under the trees or out in the sun. There is a merry-go-round too with lots of happy kids and adults on board. I want a ride too!