London (Saturday) - We woke up sufficiently less jet-lagged than the day before, and it made a world of difference. Whereas the day before we simply were attempting to exist, today we were ready to explore, and that is precisely what we did. We started our day touring the Tower of London, walked across Tower Bridge, and then made our way across the city for Afternoon Tea. We saw Green Park, Buckingham Palace, and took in a delicious dinner at in a treehouse (kinda)!

Tower of London

The Tower of London was a sight to behold. A fortress sitting on the Thames River, it was significant throughout history, giving London a stronghold with which to collect wealth and power. We walked through the outer walls (battlements), chapel, the White Castle, and more. One highlight was the Crown Jewels, including crowns and regalia worn by monarchs over many years. It was surreal being in a place and learning about a time where the quality of life and freedoms we have today were much more limited.

Tower Bridge

Outside the Tower of London we visited Tower Bridge, and headed across the city for our afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason. There are many places you can get Afternoon Tea, but after much research from Camille, we settled on this as our first one. Fortnum & Mason is a department store offerring delicious and interesting items, and well known for their afternoon tea in their Diamond Tea Room on the top floor. We enjoyed delicious tea, finger sandwhiches, scones, and little pastry deserts. It was delightful, and we left feeling satisfied. The department store itself had so many interesting things, from a decadent array of chocolates, meats, cheeses, to perfumes and custom made gift baskets (called hampers). They were even getting ready for Christmas and had a human sized advent calendar and beautiful glass ornaments.

Afternoon Tea

Once we left, we took a short break at the hotel before heading back out. We visited Green Park and wandered to Buckingham Palace where the monarch officially lives. The park was beautiful, lush, and well… green!

Buckingham Palace

Across the park was a restaurant called Hide. It was designed to feel like you were eating in a tree. The top floor was airy and open, with a view looking out into all of trees of the nearby park, meant to feel like you were amongst all the branches. They even had broken egg shell lamp coverings as if there were bird nests all around you. The ground level felt like the trunk of the tree, and the basement was incredibly cozy with lots of little rooms, as if you were amongst the roots of the tree.

Hide

The dinner there was delicious. One highlight was the variety of delicious breads they served with soft salted butter, a starter with roasted corn and filled pasta in a delightful chicken broth, and desert. Camille got a refreshing peach tarlet, served in a nest! I enjoyed a warm acron cake with smoked caramel served in a cast iron pot that caused it to sizzle and bubble when the caramel hit the bottom. Needless to say, after that we went back to the hotel, quite satisfied.