And to accompany the wine, one should have some strawberries and cream.
I truly enjoyed my visit inside Kensington Palace. Every room I entered made me happy and take a big breath in wonder. It is rather spectacular. Even the signs for the toilets were photographable, and a sign of the humour mixed with tradition that was to come..
Could this be a logo for when we interview a royal on No Limits?My Aunty came to London for the day, and we decided to do something touristy. She had not been to the palace before, so it was a new experience for her. Entry was reasonable given the maynificent exhibitions - £15.90 for an adult - this includes a donation to the charity that helps maintain royal grounds and buildings, and £13.20 for concession, again including the donation. I used my (still valid) student card as concession. I am impressed with the acceptance of a student card here.
There are still royals living in a section of the palace - staff were quite tight lipped about who and where, but thye told me Prince Harry was returning next year. As we walked back along Kensington High Street, we saw a road that was probably the back entrance to the palace, and a sign saying no photography.
I loved the mix of old vs modern - old as in artefacts and paintings from hundreds of uesrs ago mixed with modern curation. Think giant cardboard doll cutouts, plywood light boxes, audio stories and light projections and the interactivity. The attendant told us she has received mixed reactions - some believe the exhibitions steer too much away from tradition.
There are three main exhibitions - Victoria, Jubilee (a mix between Queen Victoria's and Elizabeth's) and Diana, the King's and Queen's Quarters. Read the stories here.
This is the Princess Diana exhibition, with beautiful wallpaper and five of her most famous dresses.
The staff were very knowledgeable in the history, and they provided tourists with great detail about the relationships between the royals. This man played a courtier - and kept the theme going in our conversation, hoping my photo would go far amd wide so he could be promoted from courtier, and told me he is not freaked out by my iPhone! 
This was in the Queen's Quarters. The walls whispered secrets.
And the view from the window. Gorgeous hey?!
This room was very sad - titled "Anne's 18 hopefuls" - 18 chhildren's chairs set up. Queen Anne had 18 children, the oldest lived until he was 11.
This was also in the Queen's Quarters - which I felt was more beautiful and opulent than the King's. 
The Jubilee exhibition was fabulous - heavily focused on Queen Vidtoria's Diamond Jubilee, but also featuring elements of Queen Elzabeth's in June. There were old news clippings, quotes, light displays and an interactive element of being able to write a postcard to Queen Victoria telling her why you are visiting London, pictured in the bottom left of the photo below.
This was the menu at the celebration. An event was also held to feed the poor - theor was a lot of criticism about the lavish celebrations among the immense poverty of the time.
Here I am in a Punch and Judy puppet show. I love this picture! 
I took so many photos which I will have to sort through. This is just a selection of the best ones. Finally, one of the quotes from Queen Elizabeth's Jubillee. It truly describes how I am feeling on this trip.
I loved the Kensington Palace - it has been one of my favourite parts of the trip. It made me remember how much I loved history and curation. The only downfall was the gift shop - I had hoped it would feature more products themed with the curation style of the palace, but it didn't. Oh well, I will always have the memories.
The 
I wandered through Neal's Yard which is a beautiful laneway of cafes and skin care shops. 
And then I found 
I picked a small selection of goat's milk washed rind, cows milk brie, and soft cheese, and some delicious juicy cherries, and ate them with some hazlenut bread. I had seriously underestimated London's food - this fresh produce was wonderful. I have not had a bad meal yet.
My afternoon in Covent Garden ended with a stage show of Matilda The Musical. Its music and lyrics have been written by Australia's Tim Minchin. 
The Cambridge theatre was filled with excited school children, dressed up in their Sunday (Wednesday) best. It was a magical show - the lyrics were very clever (lots of Tim Minchin whimsy) the script really stuck to the original story by Roald Dahl and the stage and props were lovely - I think Quentin Blake assisted in the design. The stage reflected Matilda's love of reading, with letters and books as various partitions. And to top it off, the cast, particularly the children, were fantastic! I did enjoy it! 
Just after this picture was taken, a squirrel came to greet us. 
It came so close - I was able to take more than just one photo - and it even sniffed another tourist's hand very closely. I wore a maxi skirt so while I was excited to see it, I also feared it would run up the length of my skirt. The squirrel spent a few minutes running along the garden railing before scurrrying off into the greenery.
At the base of the sign (pictured above) there was a lone bunch of yellow roses, left by a mourner, almost 15 years on. As I read the sign, amd saw the roses, I felt nostalgic, remembering where I was when Diana died - in my room, doing homework and listening to the top 40 countdown, right after my then best friend's 16th birthday party. I thought about Candle in the Wind and reflected on how popular Diana was, and how the media hounded her until the end. I wondered what she'd be doing now. 
This is called "Being a Royal" - and on the other side of the box was a playful Prince Harry. Who might I say has not discovered my presence in England yet. Harry, if you are reading this, I am here for four more days and I am staying in Earls Court. A date would be nice.
Whole Foods is a giant supermarket filled with whole and organic foods including fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and dairy, wine, skin care, some clothes and homewares, prepared foods such as salads and soups, baked goods and a range of restaurants (think of a food court arrangement) including Mexican, Indian, Japanese, American, breakfasty foods, Asian noodles and some others. And it has free wifi. Overall it is quite expensive, but I think I am getting better quality food than a prepacked meal at a convenience store (and they are everywhere!) for a few more pounds.
It was really good - it has been ages since I have had eggs so this was a treat. 
So good! Tasted a little like Turkish delight.
I enjoyed the ribs - overall they were tender, but in places the texture was a little too like tree bark. The beans were great, would be good as a breakfast. And the mac and cheese was perfect - creamy and crusted with breadcrumbs. My favourite was the cornbread which was light and sweet. Yum!
My salad box - £7.99 for a medium box, quite expensive - was filled with around 10 different salads including purple sweet potato, edamame amd mango, tomato and mozzarella, and Moroccan carrot. Really tasty and interesting combinations. There isn't much dressing on the salads, so the produce does the hard work of making the flavours.
It is really tasty and makes me feel a little less guilty about the other food I have eaten! 
The florist.
Massive meringues at the bakery.
One of the salad bars.
The staff were quite helpful and the twitter team have been fun, tweeting back at me after my meal instagrams. I was excited to see a few Australian products stocked - including my favourite shampoo brand Alchemy, as well as a range of wines. 
We then took the bus to Selfridges. On our way through the wet streets, I couldn't help tell Maggie that I'd read her columns for so long and always dreamed of shopping with her as I know how passionate she is about fashion and shopping. And today this dream came true! Oh what fun!
We had a quick browse through Selfridges, admiring the shoes and contemporary clothes. There were some fabulous designs and perhaps I will treat myself from there before I go to New York. 
I am glad the mistake was made - I did enjoy the musical for most parts. It has been written by Queen and Ben Elton and has been playing for 10 years - though I think it has had an update given the many current pop culture and social media references. It was set in the future - on the iPlanet, with the recurring mention of "internet gaga" where music was forbidden. It was a comment on the rise of manufactured music and the death of rock and roll. It also reflected on the clones who follow the manufactured music. Really clever stuff by the writers. There were original Queen songs as well as lyrically adapted ones to fit the theme. There were some very strong voices singing - especially Brenda Edwards who played Killer Queen - and I'd be interested to hear some of the cast members' solo work aside from the musical. 
Jack, almost four, also has Netherton's Syndrome, the rare form of ichthyosis I have (I was diagnosed with ichthyosis form erythroderma at birth and Netherton's aged 10). In the UK there are only 16 people with the condition, less in Australia. There are some physical (genetic) similarities between Jack and I - he too is small for his age as I was, we have similar bone structure and facial features, red scaly skin (though his arms and legs seem less red - but no less painful - than mine) - and brittle hair. I didn't want to stare but I couldn't help noticing Jack's skin and its similarities to mine. The scales, the redness, the fineness - almost transparentness of it. It was like looking into the mirror at a much younger, blonder version of me. 
Until today I had only met one other person with ichthyosis - Jeff in Queensland, in 2007 - but Jeff has a different form of the condition to what Jack and I do. I kept saying to Jack, "we are like twins!" It was a good opportunity for me to share my medical and social experiences with Jack's parents, and articulate the pain that we feel - for it is hard for a little boy to do so. I was also able to reassure them that Jack will be just fine when he grows up. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, Jack said a footballer. His Mum said he will be working and drinking beer when he is an adult, they don't expect any less of him. I love the positive attitude and values Julie and Danny have - they are really teaching Jack that he is important and can make a difference to others - which he is doing, just by smiling that gorgeous grin.
I also commend Julie and Danny for instilling self belief in Jack and for being so positive with society's reactions and in their own expectations of Jack. They are very similar to my parents, who never stopped me from reaching for the stars. I think it is important for parents of children (and adults) with illnesses and disabilities to be positive and set good examples of positivity and strong work ethic for the children, and believe that their children will have "normal" lives, so they grow up knowing they will be valued members of society. Great work Julie and Danny!
Lately I have been learning about and discussing the "negative/positive feedback cycle" in relation to people with facial disfigurememts and visible differences (and also disabilities). James Partridge, CEO of Changing Faces sat down to chat with me during the week about this, and I have also discussed it with the Centre for Appearance Research. The negative cycle, explained simply, is the expectant behaviour of people who look different. Because of previous bad experiences - stares, nasty comments and abusive behaviour, people often anticipate their next encounter with someone will also be negative. And so, often before any interaction has taken place, the person who looks different assumes the worst, sometimes putting out negative vibes. This may be in the forms of not making eye contact, not speaking clearly and not smiling or just being rude. And so the person they are about to interact with assumes negativity, and in turn, reacts negatively. So the negative cycle continues.
Jack's personality is huge, and he is intelligent and a good conversationalist. He charms everyone with his smile and outgoing nature. At his hotel he had made friends with another little boy, and charmed the waiters by taking their photos. I see a lot of me in him, and not just in our looks - he is willing to have a chat, meet new people and have fun. He is also a pocket rocket - with so much energy - again, a trait we share. I think, again like me, he likes the limelight, in a good way, and is often oblivious to the stares. Julie and Danny noticed the stares so much more than Jack and I did. 
The golden man was sitting on air! A group of kids stopped to stare, point and comment at me, and I smiled at them, amd encouraged them to look at the gold man as he was far more interesting to look at!
And the Tube is nearby too. And my new friend Michelle is staying at a place just down the road. Turns out we were on the same train, in the same carriage this eveningnas we headed off to meet each other! We went to South Bank where we had drinks and dinner and went on the London Eye.
As we walked along South Bank, we kept on saying to each other that we cannot believe we are here in London! The city was so alive! We ate at the world food market - it had an array of cheeses, hog roasts, food from many cultures, and lots of drinks. Michelle and I had a sangria amd a cider. We also both had these yummy cheeseburgers - made from locally grown beef. 
Better than a Maccas cheeseburger! For dessert I had a piece of gooseberry and elderflower tart which was custardy and sour. So yummy! We met some Australians who were on a tour too.
And then we went on the London Eye! 
Before the Eye we had the 4D experience - an amazing short film filled with beautiful shots of London from the Eye, birds flying before us and actual bubbles and smells. It was so much fun! We wanted to do it again! 
It was a beautiful, breathtaking experience and we were glad we saw it at sunset. To be honest I was tired and so I did not take as much note of all the sites, merely sitting back and enjoying the view.
