Make an international relocation to London and see the Disney Princesses - Hey, how did Alice get in there?! Image via Wikipedia
Author: Colleen
That’s right – Disney is coming to London, and though it’s not for a few months yet, that gives you plenty of time if you’re moving to London this summer to settle into your London apartment rental and step out into Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. No, they won’t be setting up the Dumbo ride next to the Round Pond, but this is still pretty cool—following in the wake of one tremendous royal event in London (that would be the Royal Wedding, if you couldn’t guess. Derr…) is another:
On October 2nd, Rapunzel will be inducted as the 10th Disney Princess at Kensington Palace!!!
In so doing, this little lady will be joining the ranks of Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Ariel (The Little Mermaid), Belle (Beauty & the Beast), Jasmine (Aladdin), Pocahontas, Mulan, and Tiana (The Princess & the Frog). The festivities will kick off with a procession through the park and include a welcoming ceremony, English tea, and other entertainment and activities.
If you’re making the relocation to London with a family in time for this, what a fun freaking activity in London for your children, huh? Heck, I’m psyched for it, to the extent that, because I’m going to be out of town for it (ironically, to go to Disneyworld with my family), I’m going to make my husband wear his pinkest shirt and head over to videotape the princess parade for me. I do hope Rapunzel will catch a flight back to Orlando in time to sign autographs for my nieces and nephews. Maybe Jasmine can lend her a magic carpet. Or Cinderella’s fairy godmother can make her a Concorde jet out of mushy peas.
Anyway, you might be wondering the same thing I was when I first heard the news. Why London? I could see Paris because of Disneyland there, but London otherwise has nothing Disney beyond the store. Well, it seems it’s for two reasons: 1) In light of the recent grandeur of the Royal Wedding, Disney figured if there’s any city in the world that can do royalty right, it’s London; and, 2) The Historic Royal Palaces organization, which is working in cahoots with Disney on this, views it as an opportunity to encourage the public to learn more about the real-life royalty that has occupied impressive palaces such as this and had such profound influence on society and culture. No doubt the current Enchanted Palace exhibition in Kensington Gardens has brought particular attention to Kensington Palace as a residence of several princesses—the exhibit centers on seven real princesses (Mary, Anne, Caroline, Charlotte, Victoria, Margaret, and Diana) who lived there, and another (Kate) will have an apartment with William there this summer.
So if you’re relocating a family to London this summer and looking for a fun event to unite the whimsy of Disney with the stateliness of London, Rapunzel’s royal ceremony could be a fun way to let your hair down, so to speak, and enjoy where historical and pop cultures intersect.
Moving to London – Think about Where you want to Stay.- Image via Wikipedia
If you’re moving to London and your London relocation agents are on the hunt to help you find a place, then it’s always handy if you have a basic idea of what you’re looking for. That’s assuming that you haven’t gone over to get a firsthand view of what’s available. There are a number of areas for you to move to move to suit your needs.
Notting Hill is a start. Largely because of the movie, obviously. But the area also has more to offer besides the locations featured in the movie (though Portobello Road would be a likely first stop for many Americans given how prominently it is featured as a location). Notting Hill also has many things to do during the day, it has a vibrant nightlife, and you can also visit Kensington Gardens to take in a fresh air experience if you just want to get away from the hustle and bustle of it all.
If you’re looking for something that will allow you an easy access to London’s nightlife, look to the West End. It’s certainly a more upmarket location, but if you do live there, you would have your choice of restaurants, theatre shows and other aspects of the London nightlife.
As an American, St John’s Wood might hold special appeal for you seeing as it does have an American School (the only American School located in the city of London). St John’s Wood already has an established community of Americans living there, so moving there should be particularly attractive given that the presence of your countrymen should help you to acclimatize.
Moving over with your family means finding an area to accommodate your needs. Barnes, situated right across the River Thames from Hammersmith is a suburb that has a growing community of young professionals. There are primary schools, nurseries and London city itself is easily within reach given the convenience of public transport.
That’s only four areas, but we’ll be exploring some of the most popular neighborhoods that have been identified by expert relocation companies to consider if you’re moving to London. Regardless of you final choice, always remember that you and your London relocation agents should always consider your situation and your best interests when moving.
“Little known” to me, anyway, and probably most other expats moving to London; locals probably have to memorize all this for their secondary GCSE exams. If you’re researching your international relocation to London, you might not know much about Kensington Palace or particularly care, but I find it worthwhile to bring up considering the high quantity of Americans moving to London who ask our London Relocation agents to search for London apartments on the city’s west side. And on this west side, spanning from Kensington and Notting Hill on one end to Knightsbridge and Mayfair on the other (with popular neighborhoods like South Kensington and Chelsea nearby in between), Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park comprise a prominent green space in west London. So, located on the west side in Kensington Gardens is the royal residence of Kensington Palace.
Modern generations know it as the home of Princess Diana, who continued living in apartments there even after her divorce from Charles. This is where a sea of bouquets were laid before the palace gates upon Diana’s tragic death. And though Diana’s apartments are no longer available (serving instead as offices), Kensington Palace (or “KP” as Diana called it) is where Prince William will be bringing his own wife Kate to live as Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. This begins to answer the question my friend and I had asked recently on touring the Enchanted Palace exhibit there: “Does anyone live here now?”
Before I get to that, let me mention who has lived there before. The palace began from an early 1600s mansion where King William III and Mary II took on residence in 1689 and expanded it with the help of Sir Christopher Wren (I love that the Historic Royal Palaces website calls this a “Wrenovation“). Queen Anne next lived there following her succession to the throne in 1702; she commissioned extensive work on the gardens and the construction of the present-day Orangery, where the public can visit for afternoon tea. Kings George I and II were also to live at KP during the 18th century, and George II is rumored to still haunt the King’s Gallery there…woooOOOOoooo… During his reign, his wife Queen Catherine had first opened the gardens to the public, but only one weekend day, and a formal dress code was enforced. Where historical monarchs go, KP is perhaps relatively better known as the childhood home of Queen Victoria, whose bedroom can still be seen with its original furnishings.
These days, as you can see from the handy image below (compliments of the Daily Mail Online), the KP complex continues to house members of royalty that get significantly less face-time than the ones bombarded by the media when they’re out and about making official visits on behalf of the Queen. As the caption states, residents include the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Duke of Kent, and Prince Charles’s private secretary, Sir Michael Peat. And, as perhaps the most random and least known fact of all among London expats, the stillborn baby of a friend of Diana’s still lies in an unmarked grave in the walled garden.
Source: Daily Mail Online
When your relocation company (oh, please let it be London Relocation!) has placed you in a palace of your own, you would be remiss not to pay Kensington Palace a visit. Unoccupied portions of it are available to the public, and you can enjoy a nice, shockingly quiet walk down the tree-lined street of Kensington Palace Gardens—it’s closed to public vehicles, but not pedestrians, and here you will find the wealthiest of London’s wealthy and get to view KP from another angle. Until then, good luck with your relocation in London!
The London stage for star-spotting isn't always in the theatre - it just might be on your sidewalk after your London move. Image by AndyRob via Flickr
Author: Colleen
Now, if you’re just completing your relocation in London, you’ve probably had up to this point more pressing matters on your mind than star-spotting. So now it’s time to get out of that London apartment you’ve spent so long settling into (thank goodness it didn’t take you long to find it in the first place thanks to the London relocation agents at London Relocation Ltd.!). If you literally want to star-gaze (or should I say, “lit-rally,” like the Brits), you can head over to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. But if you’re after the stars of this earth, the ones that trod on the ground with us with heavenly bodies of their own (eh, sometimes), then London is the place.
What I like about London is that it’s the Hollywood/Washington D.C./New York/Chicago/San Francisco of England, all rolled into one. People in the States will head to LA to join the paparazzi in star-spotting, but not everyone necessarily comes to London to do so, because this city serves so many additional functions beyond that. As a result, the celebrities seem more comfortable stepping out of the woodwork to enjoy a relatively more normal way of life. Not that England is without it’s share of the paparazzi—tabloids are just as if not more ridiculous here than in the States—yet somehow celebs can make it outside without being constantly bombarded.
So what I have learned in my personal experience living in London so far is that one of the best ways to spot the stars is at the cafés of trendier neighborhoods. What is also key is to not be trying to find them; they’ll turn up when least expected. So far I’ve sat right next to Maggie Gyllenhaal at 202 Café in the London neighborhood of Notting Hill on Westbourne Grove, and just last Thursday I think Modern Family‘s Jesse Tyler Ferguson held the door open for me at Caffè Vergnano 1882 (near the Leicester Square tube station on Charing Cross Road, London’s theatre district). London Relocation colleagues came to work one day telling me how they saw Woody Allen sitting right inside Notting Hill‘s Beach Blanket Babylon, where he was filming on the street right outside with Naomi Watts and Antonio Banderas—I recall having to scoot through their set really quickly coming in to work that day before they shot a rain scene (as if they couldn’t have just waited another couple hours for London to provide one of its own )! My friend recently brushed past Jason Schwartzman amidst the shops and cafés of Portobello Road, and another had seen Jude Law at a Starbucks in Hampstead (also spotted in Hampstead: Ricky Gervais). And I must say getting a glimpse of the royals during the Royal Wedding was quite exciting; those attending Trooping the Colour last weekend would’ve gotten a second chance at that, and we now know from the local papers how much Will and Kate love hanging out on the Kings Road and other locations in Chelsea, Kensington, and Knightsbridge…at least they did before when still living London, but it sounds like they’re coming back soon to live at Kensington Palace (by the way, like how I just equated royalty with celebrity? Is there a difference anymore?).
But if you’d like to have more control over when destiny brings you and the stars closer together, then definitely take in a London show where the A-listers step out on stage. So far since moving to London, I’ve seen theatre performances by Kevin Spacey, Sienna Miller, Keira Knightley, Elisabeth Moss, Ellen Burstyn, and Carol Kane, right from the first few rows where you can actually see the spit when they deliver their lines. You can also register with the Applause Store and get tickets to be in the studio audience of locally-produced television shows. Or do what one of my friends does—sign up with a casting agency to be an extra and spend a day or so on the sets of movies filmed in England (my friend has played a witch in the last two Harry Potters!)
Maybe this stuff isn’t your thing, or maybe you’re ready to be star-struck. Either way, “the world is a stage,” so your international relocation to London will put you in the spotlight of an exciting new life. Contact us if our London relocation services can help cast your fabulous new London apartment rental!
*sigh* I must admit I’m a bit sad now that the April A-Z Blogging Challenge is over – that was fun! Not that I don’t blog every day anyway, but having the alphabet as a daily prompt was cool. My inspiration for the next week’s posts will instead be a week of hosting an out-of-town guest. One of my closest friends from university is here, and aside from the many memories and qualities that make this gal special to me, this particular visit carries a lot of nostalgia because I was traveling with this same friend the very, very first time I ever set foot on UK soil. She was with me the first time I saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, the River Thames, etc. thirteen years ago, so in 2011 she’s excited to experience the more everyday side of life now that I’m living in London.
We just returned from a sunny afternoon in Windsor, where we didn’t, in fact, tour the castle, but nonetheless had a lovely time wandering the shops and sitting to lunch with a few of my mates on the Thames at RiverHouse pub.
Yesterday, we likewise had a royally great time walking through Kensington Gardens and falling under the spell of its “Enchanted Palace” exhibit, still on through spring of next year while Kensington Palace is being refurbished. Kensington Palace is most recently renowned as the home of Princess Diana, where she raised William and Harry, but it was home to several other princesses as well. I won’t mention their names, as part of the Enchanted Palace’s activity is to discover each one for yourself as you step back in time and tiptoe through their stories, room by enchanted room. Since my first visit to this exhibition a year ago, the fashions and artwork on display have changed, and it’s my understanding that they were to shift once more as of today. So I could describe exactly what I saw, but it would be different for you if you were to see it as of this week.
And I wouldn’t describe it in detail to you anyway! Not to be a jerk, but to leave some mystery to be desired… What is most integral to Enchanted Palace is that it’s an experience. It’s not about taking a stale palace tour and loading your cranium with facts that you won’t retain past the gift shop as you exit; it’s about understanding the essence of what characterized the lives of each of the seven featured princesses. Through a blend of high fashion, artwork, poetry, and audiovisual effects, Enchanted Palace presents history in an avant-garde style that leaves a lasting impression. Certainly, it’s the most unique way one could tour a historic palace.
I’ll leave it at that. If you’re relocating to London this year or just planning a visit, check out Kensington Palace’s Enchanted Palace website and the location itself for a bit of atmosphere and magic, as well as profound insight into the life of a Princess.
Living In London – London In-Depth By Area – West London Part II- Image via Wikipedia
When you’re deciding on where to live in London, you’ll need to a comparison on the prices, the transport systems and the amenities in the area. Living in London for the first time can be a challenging experience and you’ll want to get settled into your new London rental as fast as possible so you can start enjoying all that the city has to offer
West London – Bayswater
Bayswater is an extremely centrally located suburb of London. Bordered by Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, the area is a perfect choice if you don’t want to spend ages travelling to work. Having two of the most magnificent parks in London on the doorstep has meant that prices in Bayswater are rather more pricey than other central areas, but you can find some excellent London flats to rent if you’re prepared to look around. You can expect to pay from £1350 for a one bedroom apartment to about £9000 for a four bedroom home.
Council Information: Bayswater falls under the Council Borough of Westminster and annual taxes are reasonable for the city of London, ranging from £500 – £1500.
Transport: The first stop on the London Underground from Bayswater is Paddington which is one of the largest train stations in the country. The Bayswater Tube Station is found on the Circle and District Line and a journey to the city, even in peak time will not take you longer than about ten minutes. The number 94 bus runs to Piccadilly Circus 24/7 or you can catch the 390 to Notting Hill for a day out.
Shopping: All the big shopping brands are represented in Bayswater. Marks and Spencer’s and Waitrose have large stores in this suburb for all of your shopping needs. Contact the stores directly through their websites to find out about the cost of home delivery.
Doctors: The Bayswater Medical Centre is an excellent local surgery and if you’re looking for dentists then the Paddington Dental Centre provides NHS dentistry for all your dental needs.
Other Amenities: Bayswater amenities are mostly found in the Queensway area and you’ll love the Whiteleys Shopping Centre with its range and mix of food stores and fashion stores when you’re looking for some retail therapy after a hard day’s picnic in Kensington Gardens!
Relocating to London requires a lot of preparation, notably the search and rental of a London apartment. As new London expats acclimate to the city, there’s usually a lot of “oohing” and “ahhing” over its Victorian architecture, and in thinking about the actual structures of the city in terms of where you might live and sight-see, I’m paying homage today to one particular lil’ lady whose reign largely gave us the London we see today. So, for today’s contribution to the April A to Z Blogging Challenge, I bring you:
“Q” is for QUEEN VICTORIA!
As an American living in London for a couple years, the letter “Q” automatically carries my thoughts to “Queen.” Well, it’s either that or “Quidditch”…and I hate to break it to you, but that game isn’t real…Harry Potter doesn’t really exist here in the UK…(but try telling that to these guys: “Quidditch for Muggles“…and okay, while on the topic, I have to toss you this too: “Like it’s Quidditch“). Enough! I can’t believe I’m actually derailing this away from Britain’s longest-reigning monarch!
Okay, so Queen Victoria. Rather than delve into her personal history, I thought I’d point out how much a part of your everyday her era will be once you move to London. To start, if ever you find yourself strolling through the lovely Kensington Gardens, take a gander at that stately building on its west end: Kensington Palace, where Victoria grew up as a princess and was proclaimed the successor to England’s throne at the young age of eighteen. You’ll note a large statue of her as Queen overlooking the grounds’ Round Pond, and if you head west on Kensington High Street, after doing some shopping to doll yourself up like a princess, hang a left onto Earls Court Road and take a rest at the Princess Victoria pub. If you walk eastward instead, though, you’ll see two notable structures standing in Victoria’s husband’s memory: Royal Albert Hall and the Prince Albert Memorial just across the way in the park. And if you dip down from there into South Kensington, you’ll of course chance upon the well-known Victoria & Albert Museum.
Moving to London & Living in Victorian England
As Queen, Victoria moved out of Kensington Palace to stretch her legs more at Buckingham Palace. She was the first sovereign to live there as of 1837, and her statue can be seen as part of the Victoria Memorial just in front (where tourists love to sit these days to watch the Changing of the Guard). She also occupied Windsor Castle and other residences outside London.
Speaking of residences, the strips of terraced housing that we see lining many-a street in London emerged during the Victorian era. Built with shared walls, their design was energy-saving for heating and also enabled more people to occupy less space. According to Inside the Victorian Home, whereas at the turn of the century only 20% of Britain’s population lived in its cities, 80% did by Queen Victoria’s death: “One-third of the houses in Britain today were built before the First World War, and most of these are Victorian.” And the black railings that we see adorning these houses and park fences were a direct influence of Queen Victoria’s—not only did she wear black the rest of her life upon her dear Prince Albert’s death, but she had all of London’s railings painted black to symbolize her grief as well.
And, of course, the London Victoria rail station will likely figure into your commute at some point, whether via the Underground (one of the tube lines also being named for Victoria) or the overground train (I often take the Gatwick Express train to Gatwick Airport from there). The Victoria coach station is also located here if you travel by bus.
So maybe I could have easily used this topic for the letter “V” instead, but I have other plans for that… At any rate, you can get a quickie glimpse into Queen Victoria’s life by watching The Young Victoria and, better yet, study up on the woman from right here in your new London apartment or assorted authentic London locations.
Author: Colleen
Moving onward in our A-Z Blogging Challenge, if you’re relocating to London, you’ll fully experience what puts the “Kingdom” in United Kingdom, because:
“K” is for KINGS & QUEENS!
I’ve been chronicling the beginnings of the British monarchy in my Weekend Warrior Sunday: London Leaders series, but instead of walking through the annals of history online or in a book, you can literally walk the halls of royalty in any of the several royal palaces in and around London.
The Historic Royal Palacesorganization runs and maintains five palaces that are no longer royal residences. At their website, you can look into becoming a member for unlimited entry to these sites. Right within the heart of the city is the Tower of London, former fortress, prison, and execution site, which presently houses the Crown Jewels androyal armor. Just west of center in Kensington Gardens is Kensington Palace, where Queen Victoria grew up as a princess and where Lady Diana lived after separating from Charles. Currently undergoing renovations, this palace is running its imaginative “Enchanted Palace” exhibition for the time being. Hampton Court Palace is a short overground train ride from Wimbledon where you can tour the sprawling home Henry VIII had taken over from Cardinal Wolsey after the latter had disputed the former’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon so he could marry Anne Boleyn. The gardens house centuries’ old yew trees and a hedge maze. HRP also includes Kew Palace, located within the vast Kew Gardens, and Banqueting House.
Then, of course, there are the palaces where the Queen continues to reside—namely, Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. I believe you might have heard of them? Buckingham is, of course, right here in London and where the tourists throng each day for the Changing of the Guards, and Windsor is a twenty-minute train ride from Paddington Station. Within the Windsor complex is St. George’s Chapel, where not only historical monarchs like Henry VIII are buried, but the present royal family as well, so you can pay your respects to the Queen Mum and King George VI (the very one depicted by Colin Firth in the Oscar-winning film The King’s Speech). If you’re interested in visiting the tombs of other prominent royals like Queen Elizabeth I and St. Edward the Confessor, it would be worth your while to visit Westminster Abbey.
Cover of Royal Wedding
Speaking of Westminister Abbey, it bears great royal significance as the sight of coronations; you can see the coronation chair itself on display when touring the church. This was also the site of Diana’s funeral and in just a couple weeks will be hosting some other big royal event, I forget what… C’mon. Are you really going to make me say it? Really? Fine. Royal Wedding. The Royal Wedding. William and Kate. Now go buy your commemorative china and get it out of your system.
They say a man’s home is his castle, so once you’ve rented your London apartment and settled into it as a palace of your own (many come with just the one “throne room,” but maybe you’ll luck out and score two, or at least an extra half-bath ), venture out about town and give yourself the royal treatment!
Living In London – London Parks - A Royal Garden--Image via Wikipedia
Author: Belinda
If you’re living in London then you’ll want to get out of your new London rental as often as possible, especially as spring puts on her best display for you. London is home to numerous parks and gardens that are open all year round and you need to explore all of the green areas in London. One of the finest parks is Kensington Gardens and is worth really spending some time exploring all that the park has to offer.
Kensington Gardens
Situated on 111 hectares of central London, Kensington gardens has been laid out formally, with wide leafy avenues and formal flower gardens. It is the backdrop for Kensington Palace and is just next door to the magnificent Hyde Park. Kensington Palace, the birthplace of Queen Victoria, is situated right in the park and was the home of Diana, Princess of Wales. The Diana Memorial Playground is a free playground and has a Peter Pan theme complete with a pirate ship and a beach. This tribute to the princess was opened in 2000, and is loved by children across London.
The Italian Gardens located at the very top of the Long Water which leads into the Serpentine, is an ornamental water garden. It was inspired by the Prince Albert and created in 1860 by Queen Vitoria. Ornate fountains, ponds and statues, it is a perfect place for a picnic. The Round Pond has been in use since the early 1700’s and is a haven for people who sail model boats throughout the summer months. Much loved by children and famous the world over; the Peter Pan Statue has something magical about it. It was donated to the park by the author of Peter Pan; JM Barrie in 1912.
Kensington Gardens is a gentle park, it is filled with trees and it is one of the best spots to laze away a summer afternoon in the heat of London. Living in London is about exploring and finding these hidden oases amid the bustle of city life.
One of the best ways of exploring London is to book the family on one of the day tours that operate in London. Moving to London will mean that you are busy organising a myriad of details, and what you need to do is make time to really get out and explore the city that is now your home. Just as soon as you are settled into your London rental home, you need to spend a few days acting like a tourist and seeing a bit of the fascinating city of London. Day tours give you an overview of the city while giving you the opportunity to see some of the most famous tourist attractions.
Top Day Tours in London
Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk: If you are interested in Royalty and the Princess who captured the hearts of millions around the world then this is a fabulous way of seeing London on foot as well as learning more about the life of one of the most famous Royals. This is a seven mile walk so you should wear comfortable trainers or walking shoes. It talks you through Kensington Palace, St. James Park and Hyde Park as well as number of places that were closely associated with the Princess. Its perfect walk to do on a spring day when the weather is clement and you’ll be able to marvel at the parks and verdant gardens that are throughout London.
River Tours: This is the best way to see London if you have recently moved here. There are duck tours, similar to those that they have in Boston, USA or you can take a high speed RIB boat up the Thames, but one of the best is to take the London Water Bus tours that meanders up the river, exploring some of the smaller tourist attractions as well as giving you a day pass to the London Zoo, which is a highlight for the whole family.
Alexandra Palace: This is a great place for a day out with the family. There are acres of parkland as well as an ice rink, a lake for boating and a deer enclosure. Alexandra Palace has some great eateries and a supervised children’s play area. It is situated in north London and is well worth a visit for the day.
Bike Tours: Cycling is hugely popular in London. There are the daredevil messenger bikers who cycle madly through the crowded city streets delivering documents and parcels. But at the weekend, many Londoners like to get out and cycle along the beautiful cycle paths that are found throughout the city. There are a number of bike tours that you can go on that include visits to some great tourist spots as well as being good exercise. You don’t have to be especially experienced and many of the tours are guided.
Whichever way you want to see London, there is a tour that will help you do it. It is all about getting out into the city and finding new and interesting things to do and see when you’re living in London.
Today is the first of my London Bundles that ventures out into the neighborhoods outside the City, yet still considered fairly “central London” (i.e., Zone 1).
Let’s start our journey at South Kensington Tube station (which services the District, Circle, and Piccadilly lines). As soon as you ascend the Underground station’s steps into the light, you’ll find yourself at quite the center of action. Surrounding the station are endless choices of restaurants and shops, so you can dip into a cafe here if you didn’t grab breakfast at your hotel or flat (you know, the perfect abode where London Relocation Ltd. just successfully placed you). Might I recommend the darling Cafe Creperie just Northwest of the station and along the way to where your area tour will continue (make sure you bring cash, though, for those crepes…last time I was there, they didn’t accept credit or debit).
Continuing North on Exhibition Road, you will soon enough see the Victoria & Albert Museum to your right and the Natural History Museum to your left—take your pick (I am, however, partial to the V&A for its artifacts, artwork, and antique furnishings and textiles on exhibit, as well as the special Grace Kelly exhibition currently on display!) Best part of either museum is that they’re FREE.
All right then, mosey onward further North on Exhibition Road, past Imperial College, and hang a left at Kensington Road. You will see that Kensington Gardens is just across the street. You can enter the park if you stay on Exhibition Road, but by walking along Kensington Road, you can go past the famous Royal Albert Hall (the acoustically brilliant concert that hosts the annual Proms) and see the exotic Albert Memorial (that Queen Victoria commissioned in honor of her dearly departed husband in 1875) just across the way inside the park. Once you reach the Southwest corner of the park, enter onto a walkway that will lead you directly to Kensington Palace, where Queen Victoria was born and pronounced Queen and where Lady Diana lived the rest of her years (if you recall the footage of the masses of bouquets mourners piled up outside palace gates, this is the place where those vigils took place). The palace recently kicked off its Enchanted Palace exhibit to offer a bit of avant-garde eye candy while the building undergoes extensive renovation. Venturing inside does come at a price, but just touring the grounds for free is worthwhile—the blooms decking out the Sunken Garden and swans preening on the Round Pond being visual delights.
Enjoy a pleasant stroll on the main walkway (The Broad Walk) between the pond and palace as you continue North and exit outside the Northwest corner of the park. The main road you encounter here is just where Bayswater Road becomes Notting Hill Gate, so hang a left and continue into the well-known neighborhood. Just past the Tube station, you can jog over onto Pembridge Road for a couple blocks until you see the entrance to Portobello Road. Wandering the length of this road will take you past the antique, clothing, and produce stalls that give this area its character (and, yes, you’ll see sites from the movie, including the storefront of the travel bookshop in the film as well as the original shop on which it was based):
Notting Hill is an ideal neighborhood in which to close out your day, with no end to the pubs, cafes, and restaurants to grab your late lunch or dinner, or cinemas to enjoy some seated, passive time to yourself (try the Electric on Portobello for an ultra-cozy recliner as a seat or the Coronet on Notting Hill Gate for its history). From here, you can catch the Tube at the Notting Hill Gate station (District, Circle, and Central lines), or, first, pop down onto Kensington Church Street for more dinner options, including the Churchill Arms pub if you’re thirsty. Cheers!
Dame Vivienne Westwood's creation is a 'dress for a rebellious princess' inspired by King George IV's daughter Princess Charlotte and is on show in the King's Grand Staircase. Photo: GETTY
I’m giddy as a school girl and restraining myself from clapping my hands at the news of the new exhibit opening in Kensington Palace today: “Enchanted Palace.” Maybe I’m getting overly pysched about it, but on initial impressions from what I’ve seen about it online, it appears to be an artsy bit-o-whimsy to behold within the historic structure. Fanciful in design, the exhibition veils the palace in an enchanting spell of couture fashion (contributed by world-renowned designers like Vivienne Westwood). Yet the enchanted map you receive on entry will guide you through these avant-garde interpretations of the true histories of seven princesses, including Charlotte, Victoria, and Diana. You will learn the secret joys and sorrows of these royal ladies on a surreal level that ironically is to have the effect of making their experiences only more real to us. I think I need to cease reading up on it and just see it for myself…and why not on opening day? It’s just a 15-20 minute walk from our office on this nice, sunny day, so I’ll report back on my findings!
I believe the exhibition is to run for a couple years (with variations in the exhibits every few months so you can go back again and again!) while Kensington Palace is undergoing its £12 billion refurbishment. So, if you’re moving to London this year, after London Relocation Ltd. has placed you into your new London flat, take yourself shopping along Kensington High Street until you find yourself at the emerald entrance of Kensington Gardens. From there, approach the grand golden gates of Kensington Palace and step into the decadent decades of England’s royal past.
I do hope Rapunzel will catch a flight back to Orlando in time to sign autographs for my nieces and nephews. Maybe Jasmine can lend her a magic carpet. Or Cinderella’s fairy godmother can make her a Concorde jet out of mushy peas.
Anyway, you might be wondering the same thing I was when I first heard the news. Why London? I could see Paris because of Disneyland there, but London otherwise has nothing Disney beyond the store. Well, it seems it’s for two reasons: 1) In light of the recent grandeur of the Royal Wedding, Disney figured if there’s any city in the world that can do royalty right, it’s London; and, 2) The Historic Royal Palaces organization, which is working in cahoots with Disney on this, views it as an opportunity to encourage the public to learn more about the real-life royalty that has occupied impressive palaces such as this and had such profound influence on society and culture. No doubt the current Enchanted Palace exhibition in Kensington Gardens has brought particular attention to Kensington Palace as a residence of several princesses—the exhibit centers on seven real princesses (Mary, Anne, Caroline, Charlotte, Victoria, Margaret, and Diana) who lived there, and another (Kate) will have an apartment with William there this summer.
)! My friend recently brushed past Jason Schwartzman amidst the shops and cafés of 
