Day 2

We woke up fairly early and headed down to breakfast before our 8:30 am London sightseeing tour. Breakfast was a cold breakfast and because we were trying to save money on meals, we filled up on cold meat, croissants, cheeses, fruit, juices, and cereal. It was raining and cold as we boarded the bus for our tour.

Our first stop was the Prince Albert Royal Hall - the scene of many concerts and events. This was across from Kensington Park and the statue of Prince Albert that Queen Victoria had built following his death.
From wikipedia - "The Royal Albert Hall is an arts venue situated in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941.

The Royal Albert Hall is one of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, recognisable the world over. Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from every kind of performance genre have appeared on its stage. Each year it hosts more than 350 performances including classical concerts, rock and pop, ballet and opera, tennis, award ceremonies, school and community events, charity performances and lavish banquets.

The Hall was originally supposed to have been called The Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed by Queen Victoria to Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences when laying the foundation stone as a dedication to her husband and consort, Prince Albert. It forms the practical part of a national memorial to the Prince Consort - the decorative part is the Albert Memorial directly to the north in Kensington Gardens, now separated from the Hall by the heavy traffic along Kensington Gore. The Hall also accommodates the second largest pipe organ in the UK (Liverpool Cathedral regains the title with the addition of the Central organ), and is the home of The Proms."



The statue of Prince Albert is at an entrance to Kensington Park. This statue was erected by Queen Victoria following his death from typhoid in 1861. The monument has only recently been restored and it is beautiful. It was raining that morning and we only saw it from afar, but a few days later, we walked through Kensington Park and were able to get an up close view of this beautiful monument. From what the guide said and various readings, Prince Albert would have hated having this monument in his honor.