Life's Simple Pleasures

We visited Kensington Palace on Saturday (14 Oct). But rather than wax lyrical about the 100th 'Presence Chamber' or 'King's Quarters' we saw - because once you've seen one, you've kinda seen them all - I'd prefer to share the other wonderful scenes I captured on camera, outside the Palace grounds.

But first, a mini factoid - the most 'famous' royal to have inhabited Kensington Palace was Princess Diana. She lived there till her untimely death in 1997. A small exhibition dedicated to her memory was set up in a few of the palace rooms - a collection of photographs taken of the Princess by celebrated photographer, Mario Testino . The exhibition featured some never seen before pictures of the Princess in a very laid-back, casual setting. I must say, she looked absolutely stunning. Not her usual prissy, bejeweled self but barefoot, using nothing but tiny hairpins to style her hair. These were the very same photos that glossed the pages of Vanity Fair all those years back. Think the mag sold out for that issue...

Anyway, as I've titled this entry, 'Life's Simple Pleasures', here's a look at some of the things that put a smile on my face on Saturday:

English Tea
A delectable spread of tea munchies at 'The Orangery'. Located on the grounds of Kensington Garden, this, in my opinion, is THE epitome of mid-afternoon English Tea. Buttery croissants, carrot cake with thick cream cheese frosting (exactly the way I like it), zesty lemon pies, trays of hot fruity scones served with dollops of clotted cream and strawberry jam, perfectly twirled meringues...even Dee mentioned Skiver A. would fall in love with this place! Will try to take Clara there when she's here for a visit, if time permits. :)













Squirrels!
Must've seen a whole legion of them at Kensington Gardens! And am a tad bashful to admit that I was chasing after them as enthusiastically (if not more) as Danielle. Kekeke! Never seen these furry little critters that close up before so was absolutely thrilled! And I love this shot (left) of the elderly gentleman feeding one of them. To me, that was a 'Kodak moment'.

Wide open spaces
Something I really appreciate about being in the UK. I love seeing Danielle run and jump around, kick fallen autumn leaves - completely no holds barred. The abundance of parks here is something I will sorely miss when we return to Singapore.

A very lazy Saturday afternoon
Watching my other half & the 'wee' one lounging on sun-deck chairs at the park - taking in the sun's rays, watching the clouds roll by. The view they had before them was a huge pond filled with swans and geese swimming gracefully over the water surface...relak.