My European Exposure: Kensington Palace

Being the big fans of the British Royals that Laurel & I are, one of the most exciting things about our trip to the UK was the opportunity to visit so many of the places that we associate with the Royal Family. We love the Queen, William and Kate, Harry, and Diana (Charles & Camilla - not so much)! I vividly remember waking up at 3 a.m. in 1981 to see Charles and Diana get married, and then doing the same thing with Laurel by my side 30 years later when William and Kate got married.

Our first royal stop in London was Kensington Palace which is William and Kate's official residence when they are in London. They obviously live in a section of the palace which is gated, walled, and not open to the public. The State rooms, however, are open for touring. The Palace dates back to the late 1600s and is where Queen Victoria grew up. Her statue now sits in front of the place she called home, and many of the displays inside are about her life there.

Before we started our tour of the Palace, a wonderful treat awaited us. We had afternoon tea at the Orangery, a restaurant which is located on the grounds of Kensington Palace. It was originally built for Queen Anne as a garden pavilion, but is now a beautiful place to have breakfast, lunch, or tea in a setting that almost makes you feel like royalty.

Can we just talk about how gorgeous their china is? You can buy your very own in the gift shop if you're willing to part with some serious pounds.

So wonderfully fancy!!

Now the best and funniest part of our experience was that Austin was with us. Yes, we dragged the poor boy to afternoon tea at Kensington Palace. If you've never had tea with a teenage boy, I highly recommend you do so. His commentary kept us laughing the whole time we were there. From the size of the sandwiches to the size of the handles on the teacups, he just couldn't figure out why we thought this was such a great experience. Please note the empty glass of Coke in front of him! His face says it all.

After being forced to have tea with us, he was done with all things royal. He had seen a hot dog stand just down from the palace in Kensington Park, so while we toured the State Rooms, he went and got himself a "real lunch" and happily waited for us at the pond in front of the palace.

Laurel & I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the inside of the Palace. We learned a lot about Queen Victoria and the time she spent there.

The highlight of the tour for us, however, was a special exhibit of some of the fashions of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess, Margaret, and Princess Diana. How amazing is this gown that the Queen once wore? I think I sometimes forget that she was once a young princess and not always a grandmother in brightly colored suits.

My favorite thing was seeing some of Princess Diana's gowns. I can remember seeing her on television in all of these dresses. I was a little bit starstruck by this exhibit!