Day 28 – London

Today we caught up with L’s cousin E, who lives somewhere south of woop-woop (actually in the commuting belt for London, but outside the M25 so therefore in the boonies).

We rushed down breakfast in order to make all the right trains, and got ourselves to Hampden Court, locale of the famous palace where Henry VIII liked to park his rump on occasion. Met E, and decided to check out the grounds of said palace. Not sure about E, but L and I were craving a little greenery and open space.

The greenery soon got cold, so we decided a picnic in nearby Kew Gardens would be good. We piled in to E’s car, loaded up on food from M&S, and hit the gardens. Equally cold, but we had food.

To thaw we headed for  the gift shop, where all manner of garden-related things were on sale. Saw some fabulous honey that interested me, but passed as WA Customs tend to frown large at such products. So I left L to buy the shop out of cool stuff.

Kew Gardens in winter is a fairly quiet place, and a lot of the plants take the opportunity to do whatever plants do in winter, which doesn’t seem like much. One group of plants that don ‘t get a holiday are the ones in the various greenhouses in the park, these wonderful warm spots keep the temperature cranked. Saw some interesting plants, but will admit that the most excitement was found when there were animals too, the big fish in the pond, and the marine exhibits. Even the carnivorous plants section was a bit of an anticlimax, with not a fly to be seen so no bodycount there.

Caught the train back to the hotel, before heading out for a late light dinner of sushi at Paddington station.