Guys... I finally made it to Kew Gardens.
Today was so much fun.
Zoey and I met around 12 p.m. for church. We decided to attend spoken Mass at the London Oratory, which is just a quick walk from Manson Place past the V&A. The church was stunning. Here's a photo from when we first discovered it a couple of weeks ago - it doesn't even capture all the intricate side chapels and shrines that span the length of the church.
After Mass, we hopped on the District Line westbound toward Kew Gardens - YAY. We decided last-minute to also grab tickets to climb the Great Pagoda.
Kew, in Richmond, was a quiet little neighborhood. We walked through rows of quaint cottages on our way to the Gardens (I love how common sunrooms and greenhouse windows are here) and stopped at the square farmers' market for some pastry fuel! I tried my first sausage roll. Yum.
When we got past the check-in gate, we learned that all the greenhouses were set to close at 5 p.m., so we did not have as much time as we thought. Good thing we're both speed-walkers.
Our first stop in Kew Gardens was the Great Pagoda, a ten-story tower designed by Sir William Chambers for Princess Augusta in 1762. It was inspired by Asian architecture and decorated with dragon statues. We managed to climb the 253 spiral steps to the top and got a great view of London.
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| Great Pagoda |
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| View of London (peep The Shard and London Eye in the distance!) |
We knocked out the Great Pagoda steps in about 15 minutes (Manson Place & Metrogate staircases trained us well) and were off to the greenhouses. In strategic order, we saw the Temperate House (world's largest Victorian glasshouse), the Palm House (the humidity felt like we were back in Gainesville!), and the Princess of Wales Conservatory (my absolute favorite).
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| Much better than the Home Depot hot-glued plastic flowers. iykyk. |
We visited The Hive, an art installation with one thousand LED lights that glow according to the vibration of bees living in the Gardens. It also plays music according to this activity, in the key of C (the key bees buzz in), so it sounds like a musical buzzing symphony. We got to walk inside and it was surreal - there were even people meditating in the center. We left feeling very zen.
All that zen left our bodies during the Treetop Walkway. Gorgeous views, but a very questionable suspended walkway.
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Treetop Walkway.
We climbed WAY more stairs than I ever would have expected (Great Pagoda = 253, greenhouse spirals = 60x2, and Treetop Walkway = 118) |
Kew Gardens definitely lived up to my expectations. The Gardens were stunning, it was the kind of place I could wander around all day and still not explore every nook and secret garden. I will be dreaming about this place for a while. I hope to make it back soon!
Love,
Megan
