Kew Gardens

Day 4 and 5: sublime is an understatement

March 18 2016April 6, 2016

Day 4 was seriously one of the best days of my life. It was my favorite day by far! I loved Stonehenge and wanted to sketch it so bad. I loved the atmosphere, and I was giddy like a little kid in a candy shop. I loved how unique it is and that nothing can truly compare to this experience or atmosphere. I enjoyed the fact that it was pretty abruptly there in the middle of no where. The sheep were not really helping the atmosphere but it was pretty funny to see them so close to such a historical and amazing place.

Stourhead was beyond what I expected. I felt like I couldn’t breathe and after Stourhead my cheeks hurt from smiling too much. The colors of yellow, green, and blue were fabulous. Those colors are just so relaxing and happy which helped the atmosphere. I was disappointed with the little water but the experience altogether was magnificent and truly hard to explain with words. The grotto was more than I imagined. I loved how picturesque everything was and I didn’t want to leave. I wanted more time at Stourhead and Stonehenge to sketch and really take in everything that was around me.

Salisbury I was pretty disappointed in but it was still a great experience. I loved the Cathedral so much, it was so gothic and open. The stone glass was such a rich blue, it truly was mesmerizing. I enjoyed sketching the archway and was really relaxed after that. It was kind of cold and muggy which I didn’t enjoy but overall the Cathedral was amazing. I wish I could have stayed at the Cathedral the entire time. The Salisbury city didn’t really fascinate me. I enjoyed the small bakery but the festival was not my cup of tea. Overall, it was a fabulous day and I enjoyed it all.
Day 5 was nothing compared to day 4. The Kew gardens were lovely but nothing compared to the day before. I was disappointed with the Kew gardens but the bright flowers and adorable little places filled with flowers were fabulous. I loved the Diana memorial place. The flowers were breathtaking and so unique. I love orchids so those were great! We left Kew gardens a little early and got ready for tea. Tea was so adorable. Everyone looked amazing and it was wonderful to see everyone dressed up and laughing. The tea was not as good as American tea (which is kind of biased) but again I loved the tea time.
I also enjoyed trying to beat Troy to the National Gallery… We sadly lost but I loved having to figure out way around the Trafalgar Square while rushed. We were laughing the entire time and it brought everyone closer.
Day 5 was a great day and I truly am grateful for all these wonderful experiences.

I can’t get my photos to upload correctly so I can only post a couple 🙁

March 16 2016

Today I realized that at the end of every day I say the same thing, “Today was my favorite day!” It’s Wednesday night, and I am saying this phrase yet again. Today we ventured out to the quaint town of Kew and Kew Gardens.

The town was so cute with little cafes and boutiques. These shops soon turned into expensive homes. The houses were so cute and every one was slightly different in its own unique way.

When we got to te gardens, the first thing I noticed was how big the park was by looking at the map. It was huge! In the 3 hours we were there, we probably only saw about 20% of the whole park.

First, we explored the Palm House. It was so hot, but it was really neat to walk under the canopies of all of the trees. The best part about the palm house was the upper walkway. This walkway offered a whole new view of the plants, which was amazing. I really liked the character the design of the spiral staircase leading to this walkway offered.

Palm House

After leaving the Palm House, we went to the Temple of Aeolus. We climbed the hill and there was a beautiful view of the gardens below. This folly was nice because it was tucked away on the hillside and kind of private.

We then explored the Princess of Wales Conservatory, which I really enjoyed. My favorite part of this one was definitely the air plants hanging from the ceiling. In one area there were flowering plants hanging with their roots exposed above our heads. It was very interesting to me how these plants capture all of their nutrients through the air.

We explored the other gardens and went to the Orangery for lunch. While all of these conservatories were beautiful, my favorite part, above all, was definitely the fields of yellow daffodils. I was in awe of how many there were and how bright and magnificent their yellow color was. Of course I had to sketch these because I wanted to remember the pool of yellow spanning across the landscape. There were times as I was walking that no matter which way I turned, I was surrounded by these fields of yellow.

I wanted to capture the brilliant shades of yellow and green in my sketch.

I guess what they say about yellow meaning happiness is true, because these swarms of yellow flowers definitely brightened my day. Not only did they highlight the beauty of the landscape at Kew, but also were a highlight to my whole trip to London.

Surrounded by Daffodils

Kew Gardens

March 16 2016March 16, 2016

The first thing we did today was visit Kew Gardens. When we arrived we walked directly to the Palm House. It was amazing, the entire building was full of different kinds of tropical plants. There were two white, spiral staircases that went up to a second level where you could look down over everything. After the Plam House we ventured over to the Waterlily House, unfortunately it was closed. The walk over was lovely though, so it was worth it. We stopped to take pictures in a field of flowers. Next we went to the Princess of Wales Conservatory. There were beautiful orchids hanging from the railings and the ceiling. We walked around some more and eventually ended up at The Orangey. We stopped here to eat (the chocolate cake was amazing!). After this we went on the Treetop Walkway. It was cool, but I think it would have been better if the trees still had leaves. We climbed down from the walkway and walked over to the Temperate House. It was closed for restoration, but at this point we were close to the Japanese Gateway so we went there instead. There was bamboo, Japanese cherry blossoms, and a little house with a garden. From here we could also see the pagoda. It was almost time to go, so we wandered back through the gardens to the exit. We crossed a crossed a pond and saw a peacock on our way back. It was a great day!