London in January - Hampton Court

As anyone that knows me will tell you, I have long been obsessed with the Tudors. I especially love the BBC seried The Tudors with Jonathon Rhys Myers. If you haven't seen it, go and watch it NOW. It is breathtaking. So it was only a matter of time before I visited Hampton Court, the place where King Henry lived when he reclaimed it after building it for Cardinal Wolsey. Oh and guess what? I get to teach the Tudors at my special school this term!! Enjoy the pictures, including a sneaky one from Kensington Palace of me on a throne.

London in January - Natural History Musuem

Hello everybody! Here are some pictures of the most beautiful Natural History Museum in London, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. (My favourite place in London) They also have a huge outdoor ice skating rink out the front with fairy lights and a carnival! There are a few places like this in London, I iceskated here and at the ice rink out the front of Hampton Court. (More on that later!)

A New Update - December 2011

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't posted for a while but I have been so busy and so much has happened! I will start today's blog by going back to the first thing I did when I arrived in the United Kingdom....went to Harrods. And it was everything I imagined and more! The most beautiful building that, when it is dark, is currently lit up by over 180,000 fairy lights and each window display is creatively dressed by Swarovski with the most impressive displays. Inside it is like a giant maze and my map was of little help as I went from room to room, my favourites being the Harrods gift shop and of course the designer accessories section on the ground floor. I fear I barely scratched the surface and have not been brave enough to return without a few more paydays. I left on the 29th of December with Harrods pens, keyrings and bags, a bracelet and some Chanel sunglasses.

On the 30th of December I thought it would be great to see all of London, so I bought a ticket to the London Big Bus tour, where you can sit in the open top of the red bus and see all the major sights of London and some not so known sights with live and audio commentary. As cliche' as it sounds I found it the best way to see London for all the reasons I grew up loving it; the history, palaces, Baker street, Paddington, Notting Hill, the Eye of London, Big Ben, Kensington, Buckingham Palace, Leicester Square just to name a few. As part of the Bus tour, walking tours were included so I bet you can guess which tour I jumped at? Of course the Harry Potter movie spots tour! hehe

Above is the movie snapshot and above that the picture I took of exactly where that film was shot. They shut down the entire place for 48 hours, one of the busiest travelling spots in London, and they didn't fix the sign before, during or after filming.

This gate is the gates of Kensington Palace, the place where most recently Lady Diana lived. This is a famous palace in London where many royal princess' lived and grew up. What added to it's beauty is that I knew it was there, but I stumbled upon the entrance by chance as I was riding a bike through the famous Hyde Park. It was a cool day and I saw that it was open until January 3rd before it closed to the public for a 12 million pound refurbishment. Inside I can barely describe. They had set up a tour for the public with the theme of Enchanted Princess and each room was dedicated to a princess (some who became Queens) that had lived in the castle. Eerily beautiful, it was breathtaking with every step that I took.

It is currently being refurbished for reopening in March 2012 where, once again it will be open to the public. It is said that this is where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate will move into!

I will try and post over the weekend about my new job in a Special School as I have been there 3 days and am loving every second... Particularly dinner and pudding!