So the day started at 8h. I got up, woken my my roommates getting ready for their day of sightseeing. It was late enough so I got up. I had breakfast at 8h30. The breakfast is everyday the same. Cereals, cold croissant, chocolate muffins, juice. The only thing I can vary is the kind of cereal and the jam on my croissant. So I am getting a bit tired of this breakfast! But it’s good because it’s “free”! Then I used the net for half an hour and headed out to the city. I took the Underground to Notting Hill Gate station.

From there I started walking around the neighbourhood. I went the wrong way because it was ugly. So I came back to the station and went another way! This time, walking along Portobello Road, it was pretty. I saw antique shops, nice clothes shop, expensive bed stuff (sheets and such) shop, and so on. After that I walked along Notting Hill Gate towards the Kensington Gardens. Along the way I finally found a place to buy stamps! I bought 15 for 8£ something. I then put them all on the cards. And I found a mailbox. It had two slots. One marked as “stamped mail” and the other as “franked mail”. I had no idea what franked mail was. And my cards had stamps. So I put it in the stamped mail box.

Then I arrived at Kensington Gardens. I saw the Diana Memorial Playground… It seemed like such fun for the little kids! But also the perfect place for pedophile lurkers. I hoped kids were well supervised! I walked towards the Kensington Palace. It was quite expensive to get in, 9£, but in the end it was worth it. They gave you an audioguide to tour around. It’s much more informative! So each room you pressed in the number and got a TON of info! After the visit in the garden near the Palace a squirrel came running up to me. Usually squirrels are scared and run away. But not this fellow! I was almost scared of him, charging on me like that! I then walked to the big impressive Albert Memorial and left the Kensington Gardens.

I saw the Royal Albert Hall which looked like a neat place to go to for a concert. I passed along the Albert Court houses where I’d like to have a flat! Then I passed by the V&A Museum (which I had already toured) and the Science Museum. My guidebook presented that museum as an interesting one. So I went inside. But by now my back was aching (maybe because of the crappy mattress at the hostel?)… And I was feeling sick a bit again. So I didn’t feel like walking in the museum. Instead I went to the cafe and had a bit of food. I felt like having a soup but they only had cremes, so I got the mushroom creme, with a breadroll and a glass of juice, all for 4.20£. I ended up not liking the creme much so I ate just a bit of it. I also walked around the museum’s store, maybe to find something for my brother’s birthday but didn’t spot anything worth it/that he’d like.

I then took the tube from South Kensington station to Covent Garden. I saw the Royal Opera House (from the back… but didn’t know it) and got my ticket for that evening’s show. The man had a bit of trouble locating my ticket. And when he did he wouldn’t read out my name, maybe by fear of saying it wrong. So he asked “what’s your name”, looking at the enveloppe hesitantly. I pointed to my name and said it out. He then smiled, said “oh ok, here’s your ticket then” and handed it to me. I then browsed around in two stores, one with gadgets/nicknacks and the other with papers/cards/notebooks (I love these papeterie stores!!!). After I walked a bit in the area, seeing the Covent Garden market, St Paul’s Church (where there was a public amuseur) and pack to Leicester Square tube.

I took the tube to the hostel. I first stopped by a grocery store to get some food I had been craving… Fruits, veggies, milk products. Usually at home I eat a lot of these but haven’t been during this trip. So I bought a tomato, an orange, a piece of cheese, a YOP (yogourt) drink and a tiny baguette. It cost me 3.67£. At the hostel at 16h I rested a bit, ate my snack, got ready for the show and left around 18h.

I took the tube back to Covent Garden. I walked another route to get to the Royal Opera House and that’s when I discovered the facade! It looked much nicer than what I thought was the front…! I was there a bit early so I went up to the Amphitheatre bar area and watched the people on the lower levels. It was a neat view! Then I walked up more stairs to get to the Upper Amphitheatre and where my seat was. The Sleeping Beauty ballet started at 19h30 and finished at 22h30. It was very very very pretty! I loved it. It’s good that I knew the story a bit so I was able to follow what was happening. I liked the solo of Aurore on her birthday (simply amazing) and the boat ride with the Lilly Fairy and the Prince the most (because of the neat decor). But it was all awesome! The costumes! The decors! The music! The atmosphere! The theatre itself! Some parts were funny too, like the duo ballet of the cats and red riding hood with the wolve. In the booklet it was written that ushers can provide cough drops. I wondered why at first. But then it was clear! People coughing during the show is really annoying/distracting! Too bad photographs were not allowed… I still sneaked in a few but could have made really pretty pictures if I didn’t have to be quick! At the end the “best” dancers got flower bouquets while they were bowing. And the crowd clapped a lot! Growing up as a kid it is something I would have liked… Classical ballet lessons. I did do dance. But it was nothing like this. I would have also liked piano lessons. Anyways… After the show I took the tube back to the hostel. I was there at about 23h. I got ready for bed and slept.