London: Day 3
We set aside Day 3 as primarily a palace, museum, and library day.
Took the tube to the Marble Arch station. We visited the Marble Arch because this is the area of London I stayed in when doing my study abroad. Then we walked to Speakers’ Corner.
Marble Arch, London
After that, we walked the length of Hyde Park on the side bordered by Park Lane, enjoying the spring flowers that were already in bloom. Then it was down to Wellington Arch where we saw a small guard changing ceremony.
Next, it was back to Hyde Park where we strolled along The Serpentine, then through Kensington Gardens, on our way to Kensington Palace.
We toured the rooms of Kensington Palace, home to Wills & Kate, and the former home of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Having warmed up considerably on our palace tour (another cool & rainy day here!), we walked to the Queensway tube stop to go to the British Museum.
Exiting at Goodge Street, it was a short walk to the British Museum–a “must do” on any London itinerary. What a spectacular collection!–and again, it’s all free. We took several hours to wander through the various rooms and see the major pieces: the Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone, Egyptian pharaoh busts, mummies, sarcophagi, and more. Some items are controversial and countries in which the items were taken from want them returned.
British Museum, London
Famished, we ended up eating lunch at the museum. Then ready to do some more sightseeing, we got back on the tube and exited at King’s Cross St. Pancras. At King’s Cross railway station, we passed by the famous Platform 9¾ from Harry Potter, then walked past the beautiful St. Pancras railway station, and then on to the British Library.
In my professional life, I’m a librarian. So, I had to drag my mom to the British Library. Luckily she enjoyed the visit as much as I did. And hey, it’s another free site!
British Library, London
We toured around the exhibits room and saw a Gutenberg Bible, a copy of the Magna Carta, Shakespeare works, and handwritten Beatles lyrics. Amazing stuff!
All done in with touring, we returned to our hotel and had a nice dinner nearby at About Thyme (Tripadvisor review).
Here are a few photos from day 3 below. For the full set of London pics, check out my Flickr album.
