Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…

NOT! Our Hyde Park trip this AM got rained out. Kind of ironic, inasmuch as our photo focus for today was water (check out my pic on our Facebook page)! But we all met instead for our afternoon outing to Kensington Palace and high tea at the Orangery, don’t you know? 

Pretty thrilling to think we were in William, Kate and the BABY’s palace, AND that the baby and mommy and daddy arrived home mere hours after we left! The palace history is fascinating . . . Victoria, Georges, et al.  Very tastefully done displays, which included animated projections, synopses of stories, and displays appropriate to various chambers.

etched glass Crystal Palace representation

quote by Victoria about meeting Albert:
"I said I couldn't think of marrying for three or four years, but seeing Albert has changed all this"

I especially liked the royal wallpaper and signage....

 At 3 o’clock it was tea time. I cannot tell you what a delightful experience this was! It was so . . . CIVILIZED! 

row leading to Orangery

A thread I've found running through my posts during this all-too-brief stay has been an increased sense of appreciation for the Brits and their culture. I've talked about how studious they are in maintaining a connection with their history, and how cavalier they are about the arts. Contrasting yet complementary characteristics. As a people, they are endowed with a sense of perspective, I think, which is another theme I've been examining. They seem to be able both to take themselves very, very seriously, AND make ridiculous fun of themselves. They are sometimes stereotyped as very reserved, and there are things about which they are quite solemn, such as their royal family, and understandably so. They recognize that they got to where they are today only because of the peculiar set of circumstances, good and bad, which came before. Yet they have such a lovely sense of humour about it all. We need only think about Monty Python to see how silly they realize others must on occasion perceive them to be. But they welcome the hordes of perennial tourists, because they have a genuine joie de vivre (forgive me my French, your Majesties) which makes them curious, gregarious and a lot of fun to get to know. I’m so glad I’ll be staying on in the UK after my FSU experience!