a great Saturday; palace and food edition

The best Saturdays are made of good food, great company and of something fun and relaxed to do. This Saturday had it all. First we headed out for some goodie burgers for lunch, that definitely deserves a small post of their own later, and from there the group was divided into two. Boys left to spend the ultimate guy day with beer and football while we girls decided to be 'cultural' and check out the Kensington Palace.

On our way to the palace, we ended up making acquaintances with an attention loving swan hanging out by the pond opposite the Kensington Palace. It was loving every moment of attention from groups of tourists and posed like a true pro. I tried to get into a picture with the fellow but to be honest..was too scared. I was certain it would get upset and attack me so this is the best picture we got..

 Very flattering..

Soon it looked like it might start raining, again, so we decided to head in to the palace. A good tip to all of you considering visiting both the palace and the Tower of London for example; a joint membership with a friend or a family member might end up cheaper than buying separate tickets for two people for these two places. With the membership you also get to visit few other Royal destinations for free and you'll also get to skip the queues!We got very lucky and got a free ticket that we were able to put forward to the membership so ended up paying £25 each and now are planning on visiting all these places we've never heard of before (should really read a book on the history of England) within a year.

The palace itself is quite interesting and impressive from the inside. I can't really say what my favourite part was but definitely liked the grand area that is the King's State Apartments..

I also found a new job from there..

Especially like the 'a bowl of chocolate every 2nd Tuesday' part. Wonder what kind of chocolate it was..

There's also a 'fashion section' for all fashion lovers and other curious people where you get to see some gorgeous dresses up close worn by The Queen, Princess Margaret and Diana. Also on the walls you'll find some old cool looking Vogue magazines.

After spending quite a while touring the palace from the inside we headed out to the garden..

..where Venla got to show off her jumping skills

..while I lurked in the shadows

Soon the weather got too chilly to stay outside playing so we began to walk towards our next stop: the Science Museum. Unfortunately it was packed and we were knackered so that visit didn't last for long. Instead, we found ourselves soon at Starbucks enjoying warm Chai Lattes and some blueberry cheesecake. Also got a new interpretation of my name once more..

I think I should start introducing myself just as M..you know, like in James Bond?

 After spending a good hour enjoying our warm drinks and doing some people watching we 'explored' few stores on Brompton Road but came out empty handed and thought it was finally time for dinner. Thus, we headed down the Brompton Road to get some Lebanese food from Al Arez. They have some very nice food with reasonable prices. It's especially perfect spot for a quick lunch!

We shared bread and some 'dips' first as starters and both opted for fresh fruit juices for drinks. I was still bit full after our massive lunch and the slice of cheesecake so decided to just go for a Spicy Lebanese salad and a mixed Shawarma sandwich, which was delicious!

Full and satisfied we contemplated whether we would have had the energy to go and drink few cocktails but pretty soon decided against it. Cinema was also not an option as the next showings were closer to midnight. Instead, we decided to lazily walk home via Waitrose and watch a movie there. That also gave us the perfect opportunity to plan for our next touristy London weekend!

FIN: Parhaat lauantait koostuu usein hyvästä ruuasta, hauskasta seurasta ja rennosta tekemisestä. Tämä lauantaikaan ei ollut poikkeus. Suunnattiin ensin lounalle haukkaamaan herkullisia hamppareita (joista lisää myöhemmin) jonka jälkeen porukka jakautui kahtia: pojat lähti viettämään ultimate jätkien päivää kaljan ja jalkapallon kera kun taas me tytöt päätettiin 'sivistää' itseämme ja suunnata tutkailemaan Kensingtonin palatsia, joka oli yllättävän näyttävä ja mielenkiintoinen paikka. Vinkkinä kannattaa miettiä yhteistä vuoden jäsenyyttä kaverin tai perheenjäsenen kanssa jos suunnittelee käymistä edes esimerkiksi. Kensingtonissa ja Tower of Londonissa. Tulee nimittäin todennäköisesti niin halvemmaksi ja pääset puikkelehtimaan jonon ohi! Tutkailtuamme palatsin ja 'leikittyämme' puistossa käppäiltiin Tiede museoon joka oli aivan täynnä eikä jaksettu siellä pyöriä pitkään. Sen sijaan löydettiin itsemme Starbucksista istumassa Chai Lattien ja juustokakkupalan kanssa. Tämän jälkeen kierreltiin vähän Brompton Roadin kauppoja, joista ei kuitenkaan tarttunut mukaan mitään ja käppäiltiin sitten illalliselle libanonilaiseen Al Arez ravintolaan, josta sai kohtuuhintaista ja hyvää ruokaa. Vaikka suunnitelmissa oli alunperin suunnata vielä parille drinkille niin väsymys painoi jo sen verran, että päätettiin sen sijaan vaan kävellä laiskasti kaupan kautta 'kotiin' katsomaan leffaa ja suunnittelemaan meidän seuraavaa turisti Lontoo viikonloppua!