What we did:
On our first day in London, we went to Kew Gardens. This was one of my
favorite stops while we were in London. I love gardening, so going here
was very interesting to me. Kew Gardens originated in the exotic garden at
Kew Park formed by Lord Capel John. It was enlarged by Augusta, Dowager
Princess of Wales. Later George III enriched the gardens. The old Kew Park
was demolished in 1802. The Dutch House was purchased by George III in
1781 as a nursery for the royal children. Now it is known as Kew Palace.
In 1840 the gardens were adopted as a national botanical garden and
increased to 30 hectacres. Eventually, the garden got to be the size it is
today, 121 hectares.
Kew Gardens has many different greenhouses including: the Palm House,
Princess of Wales Conservatory, Temperate House, and the Waterlily House.
It also has other exhibits such as: the tree top walkway, Shirley Sherwood
Gallery, Sackler Crossing, Queen Charlottes Cottage, and the Rhizotron.
Kew Gardens is definitely not a one day event if you want to see all of
the exhibits. My aunt and I got to Kew in the morning, and we did not see
all of the gardens by the late afternoon. Our feet were so tired from
walking that we had to head home. I wish that I was able to see all of the
exhibits that Kew Gardens offered.
Here are a few of my favorite images from my time at Kew:
On day two we did a lot of sight seeing. First we went on the London Eye.
It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, located on the banks of the
River Thames. While on the Eye, you can see the whole city of London.
After we went on the Eye, we went to see the changing of the guards at
Buckingham Palace. The changing of the guards occurs happens every other
day at 11:15am, finishing at noon. After we saw the changing, we walked to
the Queens Gallery. My aunt wanted to see some of the artwork there. The
Queens Gallery is filled with works of art from the Royal Collection. Only
works owned by the Queen are shown. The artwork is there on a rotating
basis -- if they are not in the gallery, they are in the Queens home.
After we had a late lunch, we went to Westminster Abbey. Westminster Abbey
is a large Gothic church. It is the traditional place of coronation and
burial site for English, then British, and currently the monarchs of the
Commonwealth Realms. There are many people buried in Westminster Abbey
including: Geoffrey Chaucer, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Jane
Austen. If youre interested in who else is buried in Westminster Abbey,
click here.
Here is a video I found of the changing of the guards at Buckingham
Palace.
Click here to read about what my aunt and I did on days three and four of our vacation!