Notting Hill, Hyde Park and Knightsbridge

An early start for our final day in London took us to Notting Hill and the famous Portobello Markets. While not as busy and full as normal, there was a wide range of shops and stands stretched for miles; with each section having a different speciality. Without many people around we are able to have a really good look an picked up several souvenirs.

This lead us into the St James area where we came across St James Palace. Surround by amazing gardens and parkland it is a grand stately manor. The pond outside the palace is full of duck and swans that took a lot of effort to avoid. 

The park merges into Hyde Park, and between both there are a number if sites and monuments to view; of which we explored only a handful. The park is part designed and part as nature would have intended, giving a really serene feel.

Exiting the park at the South end, where the Prince Albert memorial dominates the landscape we came to Royal Albert Hall. Outside it is a splendid building and really stands out.

We were now in Museum land and briefly looked at the Science Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and finally the indescribably overwhelming Natural History museum. The building alone is a worthwhile attraction but we went through some of the exhibits, Dinosaurs in particular, that were outstanding. 

By this stage we hand walked a very long way so onto our final stop at Harrods. Now this is an old fashioned, opulent department store that was heaving with people. We looked at a few floors, took some photographs and made our way back to the tube.

After a brief stop at our apartment we headed out to one of the local pins for dinner. Two things stood out: the size of the peas and a local cat that made the pub his home; including patrons giving h a seat at the bar.

Off to Paris tomorrow, but will definitely be back to London in the future.