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Friday - We decided to just go for a walk and caught the tube into Bond Street and walked down Oxford Street into New Bond Street . This street has all the best designer shops for men and women as well as fantastic jewellery shops. The street then changes to Old Bond Street and out then onto Piccadilly Road. Walked into Burlington Arcade with the ?Burlington Bertie' guards in costume making sure patrons behave properly. Walked through the beautiful Piccadilly Arcade and then onto St James' Street down to see St James' Palace . St James' Street has very traditional English Gentlemen's Shops eg Cigar Merchants, Gun and Rifle Shop with ?Lord of the Manor' clothes, Shaving Shop, Yacht Shop, Drambuie Shop, Print Shop and a wine shop where they store your fine wines in their cellars. Continued walking and found ourselves in Shepherds Market opposite Green Park with lots of quaint pubs with patrons overflowing onto the lanes ? lots of good cafes/restaurants in the little side streets too. Admiring all the expensive looking townhouses and luxury European cars when we realised we were actually in Mayfair. Tonight we had tickets for Grease at the Palace Theatre in Victoria.

Saturday ? We decided to go on a walk around the Government area of the city . We started from Westminster Station and headed towards Whitehall, the Cenotaph, No. 10 Downing Street, Banqueting House with ceilings painted by Rubens in 1630. It was also the place where Charles 1 was beheaded on a scaffold outside the 1 st floor in 1649. Stopped to take a close look at the Horse Guards and walked through the archway to the Parade Ground where the Trooping of the Colour is held every June. Then up to Trafalgar Square, The Strand at Charing Cross, past the Savoy Hotel, Somerset House, St Mary-le-Strand, Nell Gwynne Pub next to the Adelphi Theatre, Australia House. We walked down Fleet Street past the Griffen outside the Royal Courts of Justice which marks the entrance to the City of London at Temple Bar. Continued up to St Paul's Cathedral which it seems is always covered by scaffolding and down the Thames Path past Blackfriars Bridge and back to Westminster Station . Quite a nice walk for a couple of hours and it was relaxing just to wander at our own pace looking at these places of historical note.

Sunday ? Thought we would take our daughter on the towpath walk from Little Venice to Camden Lock . It is such an easy walk with lots of interesting things to see on the way but also relaxing walking by the river watching the many narrow boats gliding past. This time on the way, we went up to the top of Primrose Hill with its spectacular view of the City of London. Strolled through the main street with its many outdoor cafes/bars etc and continued on our way towards Camden Loch. We stopped at a very attractive pub Princess of Wales on Chalcot Road. Continued our walk to Camden Lock Market and walked around the stalls and shops and watched private boats negotiate the locks ? which can be very entertaining. We caught the 4 pm canal tour boat back to Little Venice and walked back to Warwick Avenue Station. A very pleasant way to spend a Sunday in London.

Monday is a Bank Holiday ? the busiest long weekend in the year. The Notting Hill Carnival, which has been going for 39 years, is on this weekend but we have been warned that it is terribly crowded and difficult to get around. So we us headed off to Kensington Palace . It is exactly as expected ? lots of beautiful furniture, painted ceilings, huge artworks on the walls etc. The best thing about it though was the 2 exhibitions of the Queen's evening dresses (15 in all) which were absolutely beautiful, and also a special exhibition of some of her hats and handbags. The other exhibition is the permanent one of some of Princess Diana's evening dresses (16) which were bought at a charity auction by a woman who wanted to exhibit them at the Palace. We walked around the gardens and saw lots of tiny squirrels in the gardens. We thought they were cute but the English think they are pests because they are so destructive.

We then walked up to the Royal Albert Hall (the Proms are on at this time) and across into Hyde Park to see the Prince Albert Memorial and the Italian Ponds . We walked beside the Serpentine which had lots of people in paddle boats as well as swimming in the water because of the hot weather. Walked down Park Lane and saw the Rolls Royce showroom with the latest model (£255,000) and Mini's and BMWs. Past the famous Dorchester Hotel and down Gloucester Street to Gloucester Square where the United States has its Embassy which is heavily guarded and has security fences around the perimeter ? even some of the roads were closed. Opposite in the Square Garden is the September 11 Memorial. Walked back down Oxford Street and caught the tube home from Bond Street.

Tuesday ? We decided to try again and go to Kew Gardens . Caught the tube into Westminster and then changed over to the District line for Kew Gardens. After entry we had lunch in the café at the Victoria Gate, cost of 2 sandwiches and 2 teas was £10 ($A25) which we thought a bit expensive. Went into the Palm House which is a beautiful glass and white ironwork building built in the 1840s. It contains palms and tropical plants so is very warm and humid. We walked up the spiral staircase onto the walkway around inside the roof top but it was too hot to do the full circuit. Next we went into the Lily Pond House with a water lily in the centre of the pond with 8 pads measuring 1 to 2 metres in diameter. The water lily is an annual plant grown from seed and planted in February. Then into the Princess of Wales Conservatory which has 10 different climatic zones displaying tiny orchids to a giant water lily and cacti etc.

The grounds are beautiful with huge trees, lots of oaks, some trees planted over 200 years ago. Sir Joseph Banks worked here in the late 18th century. The lake outside the Palm House has a beautiful fountain in the middle. The Orangery is now a very nice but expensive café. Went into the Temperate House which was built from 1899 and another white ironwork and glass house with lots of plants we were familiar with. Walked past the Pagoda which we thought you could walk into but you can't and then into the Japanese Garden which we didn't think was a very good representation ? messy and not enough water features. The Japanese Garden in Cowra NSW is so much better.

Then onto the tree top walkway through the Redwood Trees. The tallest tree was 36 metres which is a baby compared to the trees in California ? about a third of their height. Walked around to Queen Charlotte's cottage built in 1759 but it is not opened to the public. Really enjoyed our day walking through the Gardens and the weather was warm and sunny but not too hot. On our walk back to the station we noticed how nice the houses were ? so probably quite an expensive area to live.

Wednesday ? Consulted our Eyewitness Guide book and decided to go walking around the Chelsea area. After lunch we caught the tube into Westminster and changed for Sloane Square . Using the book we followed their suggested walk down towards the Royal Chelsea Hospital designed by Christopher Wren in 1682 for a retirement home for old and wounded soldiers, known as the Chelsea Pensioners. There are still 400 retired soldiers there and they wear the famous uniform still! Over the pathway past the Obelisk commemorating a 1749 battle and this obelisk forms the centrepiece of the main marque at the Chelsea Flower show held late May and out onto the Chelsea Bridge. Walked through Battersea Park and along the Thames. Walked over the Victorian Albert Bridge built in 1874 which is painted in pastel pink, lemon, blue and white with hundreds of light bulbs which look spectacular at night. Over from the bridge is the famous sculpture of the Boy and Dolphin (1975) and then walked along Cheyne Walk past the statue of Sir Thomas More. Continued down some interesting back streets with unusual houses ? some Georgian. Then down the main street Kings Road . Had a drink at a quaint pub in Sydney Street opposite St Luke's church where Charles Dickens was married. There is supposed to be a ghost in the hotel and there is a secret tunnel connecting the church and the pub so that the clergy could go for a drink without being seen. Did some window shopping in the designer shops along Kings Road and had dinner in a beer-garden and then walked back to take photos of the Albert Bridge at night.