Kensington Palace, Apsley House, and Parks Galore

I spent most of my Sunday at Kensington Palace, along with a short visit to the Apsley House and a lengthy walk through Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park.  The Palace was beautiful, especially considering it's simple exterior.  I had expected more hype regarding Princess Diana since this was her residence and she is heavily featured in all of their publicity, but I was still not disappointed.  The state apartments themselves were lovely (I saw the one of Queen Victoria's beds), although it is obvious that Kensington is the red-headed stepchild of the various palaces.  They had a special exhibit about the Debutantes, which I found incredibly interesting.  (And not just because of the gorgeous gowns...)  I actually sat in the final room, which featured filmed interviews with Debutantes from the last year that the season took place (1958, maybe?) for quite a while.  I was more interested in their personal stories than the artifacts, particularly the variety of opinions on the whole event (for some, this was obviously the highlight of their lives, but others laughed at how ridiculous it all was in retrospect) and the differences in lifestyles among the debutantes.  (I particularly enjoyed hearing the story of one girl who was set to go to Oxford after her coming out...she was one of only four that year who were going to university, so they were the "freaks" of the group.)

When I had toured the palace and gazed at the Sunken Garden, I consulted my guide book to see what else would be of interest in the area (it was still relatively early and the palace was the only site I had planned to see) and opted to visit Apsley House, the home of the dukes of Wellington since Arthur Wellesley.  The museum itself is small but beautiful, and the audioguide contained several fun anecdotes from the current Duke of Wellington (specifically his sliding down the bannister of the main staircase as a child).  Highlights, of course, included the giant statue of a nude Napoleon clad in a fig leaf (which apparently came off during a bombing during WWII and was the first repair job to be executed afterwards) and the sword that the first Duke of Wellington carried at Waterloo.  And, yes, they do have a pair of wellington boots on display, but they are in a display case in the basement (which is not part of the audio tour).  

In between the two homes/museums, I wandered through Kensington Garden in the hope of just walking to Apsley House.  Of course, my avid readers will guess what happened: Corrina wandered throughout the parks until she eventually found a tube station and made her way Underground.  I still do not know exactly where Kensington Garden ends and Hyde Park begins, but I made a valiant effort.  In my defense, the road I traveled along was not shown on the maps of the parks...maybe I should just blame fairies and gnomes so that I can feel better about myself and my navigational skills? :)