Tea for Three

After a fun evening out with my fabulous coworkers Friday night, I woke up Saturday ready for a relaxing day. And luckily, that's just what I had planned. Kate, an old college friend from my Daily Evergreen days, was in London to attend a wedding, and I was so excited when she contacted me to get together. I'm getting used to exploring London on my own, but it's just much more fun with you have people to share it with. Plus, we hadn't seen each other in such a long time--I knew it would be fun to catch up. I met up with Kate and her mom at for tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace, which has been a royal residence since the 1700s. Princess Diana actually lived here from 1981 until her death in 1997. I enjoyed a quick walk around the grounds before tea.

The gate to the palace.

Flowers left for Princess Diana at the gate

The palace is surrounded by the most beautiful grounds, gardens and green spaces. It turns into Hyde Park.

There are lovely communal green spaces, like this lawn and pond. Right near the palace was a volleyball court set up that a group of people were enjoying. I also saw tons of bicyclists and even rollerbladers on the pathways that wind through the palace grounds and Hyde Park. It's such an amazing space, right in the heart of the city.

Queen Victoria keeping watch

Neat garden spaces and pathways like this surround the palace grounds. It was pretty magical looking.

Beautiful gardens galore!

Finally, it's tea time! :) It took us about an hour in the queue, but it was well worth it, and we enjoyed the time to catch up on our lives and adventures.

The view behind our table 

Kate and I checking out the tea menu.

Tea for three! In your order, you choose your tea flavor (I went with a yummy berry infused tea) and then you also get your own little fabulous tray of treats. So tasty and the perfect lunch!

As the sun was setting behind the palace after tea

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed my time with Kate and her lovely mother. It was fun to hear all their stories about their week in London, especially all the neat places they discovered in just a few days time. And I was actually feeling a bit homesick and missing my family quite a lot before meeting up. But afterwards, I felt refreshed and rejuvenated. Sometimes, you just need a little time with a friend and a mom, even if isn't your mom. :)

After our tea, I had a "date" to meet up with another Fulbrighter Kathryn to do some shopping and just have a chat (in a pub, of course!). As I made my way to meet up with her, I passed a few neat places and take a couple pics. It was a crisp, cool London night! The perfect end to an Autumn afternoon.

Royal Albert Concert Hall. I'd love to go to an event here and see the inside.

Harrods! Kathryn and I actually stopped into Harrods for a quick look. There were a million people everywhere, so we didn't last very long. But I loved seeing all the crazy excess! What a place!