day three: a park, a palace and a flatmate

Since Kate had to leave for Geneva this morning, it was up to me to officially begin my Jennivanting in earnest. Since I didn't sign up for 3G service on my iPhone before I left the states (and in the true spirit of Jennivanting), I just sort of wandered about in Kensington for an afternoon. I walked up Gloucester Road until I hit the edge of Hyde Park. It was a gorgeous day out, so all kinds of Londoners were out enjoying the sun.

I knew that Kensington Palace was around here somewhere (again, no map), and being the Princess Diana fan that I am, I knew that making some kind of trip to her former home was going to be on the list of things I did while in London. I was walking up one of the many paths in Hyde Park, enjoying the sites around me, when I saw it. Jackpot! The unmistakable red brick of Kensington Palace. I was so excited about being so close to my first palace, but I couldn't actually call anyone because of the time difference in the states. Boo! You have to pay to get into the Palace, and it was getting late in the afternoon, so I opted to just explore the free areas of the grounds. It was quite peaceful as I walked around. There were a few kids running around in manicured lawns. Some mothers were pushing prams about. I walked to the edge of the property, snapping pics of fountains, gardens, bits of the building and eventually, the gilded gates of the Palace. I had to wait for the crowds to dissipate a bit before I could snap a clean pic of the gates, but it was worth it.

I had to get back to the hotel and get ready for dinner, because my friend Michelle put me in contact with her former flatmate, Bel, to make sure I didn't get too lonely while I was kicking around London. I met up with Bel and her friends at the Westbourne in Notting Hill. I had my first Pimms Cup of the season (yum!) and chatted with an Aussie who championed Melbourne, an American who decided to be British as well and an Italian doctor who wanted me to help him figure out what Californian city he should try practicing in. We topped off the evening with some delicious pizza down the road (sorry, I didn't catch the name), where I think I had the best prosciutto pizza I've ever had. It was a great end to my first day solo in London.

Tomorrow, I shop!